Ply Reporter along with Surfaces Reporter organised an e-conclave on 'WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF ACP?' with the awareness partner: EUROBOND having discussion on current status, market size, numbers, growth, future forecasts, factors that may hinder the progress or accelerate superb growth. The discussion was live on Ply Reporter’s facebook page.
The panel on discussion included: Ar Kshitij Limaye, Executive Director, Sankalpan, Mumbai; Ar CS Raghuram, Principal Architect, CR Narayna Rao Consultants Founding Partner, Trilogue Studio, Chennai; Ar Ajay Gupta, Founder, Knowledge Squrrel, former Executive Director, KGD Architecture, Bangalore among the architects fraternity and Mr Atmabandhu Gupta, Ganesh Associates, Telangana; Mr SK Bali, CEO, Hectafine Alusystems India Ltd and Mr Harpreet Singh, MD, Truwall Specialities Pvt Ltd, Mr HC Jain, Mahaveer Corporation, Bangalore among the distributors and other industry professionals along with Mr Rajesh Shah, Chairman & MD; Mr Divyam Shah, Director; and Mr Rahul Gada, COO, Eurobond.
The product has evolved in the last 25 years and the two-three manufacturers who took it as a value-added product are still doing excellent job, but those who followed the profit game have opted price as a criterion and their quality gone down gradually. The fabricator communities somewhere helped this trend to evolve leading to quality deterioration. But in the discussion it comes to picture the every stake holders are equally responsible.
Starting from the architects who specify the material in terms of thickness, quality, and material used, the level and standardization, etc to the fabricators to the owners of the property are equally responsible. If the owner himself wishes to use inferior quality PE material the ACP industry cannot be blamed. So, we all need to be intent full, and if there is a complaint there has to be equal responsibility to every stakeholder.
The industry is estimated to be nearly Rs 4000 crores. The ACP industry is having over 50 players with over 75 production lines and is growing at a rate of 15%. The industry is a bit fragmented due to which some additions may not be there. Besides, there is a fabrication industry associated with it and all including it has strength of over Rs 15,000 crores industry.
THE ARCHITECT’S PERSPECTIVE
ACP has been used, overused and abused over the years, still it could create a place over the facade in the building industry. What do you say?
Ar CS Raghuram: ACP has been around us for so many years. Today we see two challenges. One of them is a lot of materials like stone veneers; HPL, fabric, glass etc are coming on the facade with a lot of changes and innovations in them. Besides, we have clay tiles; porcelain, etc are being taught as an emergence for external cladding. But, with ACP we have seen innovations that are fire resistivity, aesthetics, material, and surfaces, etc.
Besides, the aspects are the energy efficiency of building and how ACP as a material can address them in some form that we should look at.
In terms of affordability, designs, and installation times where do you find ACP’s suitability?
Ar CS Raghuram: ACP is a go to material in terms of challenges with other material with its availability, ease of installation, and also the price value that many customers get. Even today ACP has its place in the industry.
We have seen ACP everywhere and with the building being so monotonous, what do you think?
Ar Kshitij Limaye, Executive Director, Sankalpan, Mumbai: When we think of material availability for a facade there are a lot of options. In terms of ACP it started about two decades ago in many parts of the world, like South East Asia, Singapore, etc. And in India it takes space as it is easy to install and there is no limit of application irrespective of how high is the building. Besides, a lot of old buildings are getting wrapped around it. In terms of application the material never should be blamed but the architects should consider all other factors also like sustainability, materiality, context or the environment, fire resistance and all others. It’s not the material but the mind behind its application matters.
Ar Ajay Gupta: It has been abused more than used especially in India as we have a habit of mimicking. When the IT boom happened we happened to mimic the same building that used to be there in the IT hub outside India. It flooded into the market and become the Xerox of the photocopier. We stopped conceiving the building with ACP, now we started fixing it mindlessly. That’s the biggest challenge. Both the manufacturers as well as the architects are at fault for it.
I think ACP is a great product as we were excited to have ACP 25 years ago as it is a material we have with undulation of metal as a complete panel. I think there is a lot of potential for architects to proceed to conceive the building with ACP as a design idea element, not an infill element. Secondly, the way we apply ACP here will change in the future. Its application is very rudiment right now in the majority part of India.
ACP actually should be applied as a rain screen and there should be a breathing gap between the material and the solid blocks of the building as the air circulation will reduce the thermal effect by 5 degrees. We are not using ACP for that. We are using it to fix the surface seeing it as an undulating material. Its premium quality has not been explored at all till now. We have to use it as a designing material there than to makeshift material.
What sort of innovations is happening in products and their design?
Mr Divyam Shah, Director, Eurobond: We are continuously developing new designs called rustic, wooden, metallic, zink, marvel, and stone finishes. Every six months Eurobond can have new colors and ranges. For more products, we have started manufacturing honeycomb panels in India. We are the first manufacturer to have a setup for it. We have Aluminum Core Composite Panels ACCP and FRACP as well. So the entire focus is more towards fire-safe facades. That is not only the future but the necessity. So, we are having a portfolio of fire-safe products. So, it’s a combination of development towards sustainability with FR and more of colors and designs with innovation.
What is your message to the industry fraternity?
Ar CS Raghuram: If the installation is not done properly the product is getting blamed instead of the team who has done that. The manufacturers should have a team for monitoring the correct application of ACP. Second, some innovation should be there for its sustainability and energy efficiency aspect either as a composite or as an open façade. We are focusing more on energy efficiency and sustainability. We are keen to look at the material's significant impact on the safety of the environment.
Ar Kshitij Limaye: It’s a great product and we have to bring about a change in terms of use. We have to look at it in a judicious manner. There is tangible change going to happen with innovation in material and design concepts so we have to do justice with that in terms of uses and applications.
Ar Ajay Gupta: We are young architects so they should be told what we can do. If we have been sold full solutions for the wall we would get excited, only selling as a panel will not work. The product should be understood and applied properly. The manufacturers should sell the whole system. This material is the principal skin so the proper offering will help its application in a better way. We are not applying it right.
THE FABRICATORS/ TRADE PEOPLE PERSPECTIVE
What is your opinion on the quality and supply of ACP?
Mr. SK Bali, CEO, Hectafine Alusystems, Delhi: Except for one or two products, I am not happy with whatever is available in the market due to the price threat what is happening in the industry. The manufacturers are not concentrating on the quality. Everybody just starts using it without knowing its applications and quality. We have to make and use quality products.
What is that particularly defines the quality in ACP?
Mr. SK Bali: The first that determines the quality of an ACP is its coating, the second is the skin of the composite panel, and the third and the most important thing is the alloy of the skin which is being used in composite panel.
Is there any way by which we can determine the quality of coating, grade, etc in ACP?
Mr. Harpreet Singh, Truewall Specialities Pvt Ltd, Mumbai: Quality has evolved, but at a certain period in the journey there were copy pest-like things going in this segment. Off late last 5 to 6 years there have been a lot of innovations. The companies have become more aware, and have taken the responsibility to provide good products. As far as the matter of how to check the quality there are two-three aspects by which we can check it at site physically like the testing thickness of the panels, skin, and peel-off whether they are specified or not? Most of the tests are conducted in laboratories.
Do you think that the quality of fabricators is needed an improvement?
Mr. Harpreet Singh: Definitely! The esteemed architects have rightly pointed out that application is not proper. Its end-use should be defined neatly and properly along with the installation systems. In tire two and three cities what has happened previously is that interior grade 3mm panel has been used as an exterior grade. This is not the fault of products like ACP. This product has to be rightly used. We have been using it for more than 20 years. When the complete installation system is specified rightly and the work is done in the right manner with proper engineering there is no question and in 20 to 25 years the building will not have any issues except for the fading of colours and PBDF which are in continuous improvement stage now.
Mr. SK Bali: Definitely, they have to have the right system for putting ACP on façade. I agree with Harpreet that in tier two or three cities, no rule has been followed for its application. For that first of all, I would blame the architect fraternity as well as the owner of the property because when the fabricator's role comes at the end of the project, till then they exhaust all their money and at last they say to manage whatever they have.
What do you do in terms of quality in Eurobond?
Mr Divyam Shah: Our quality is made under the guidance of a state-of-the-art in-house laboratory with proper testing and quality check. We align three things the Manpower, Mindset, and Machines along with our vision. We do not treat it like a commodity anywhere. It is a very auspicious product for us. We follow the entire system like machinery, material, testing, laboratories, and certifications.
We have a tie-up with UK-based Euramax and bringing innovative designs and colors. One of their color offerings has been applied in Abudhabi which is with a warranty of 40 years. So, that is the possibility of ACP which is what the architects were speaking of. So, we are ready to supply what is there coated with Euramax colors with 20 years warrantee. The architects are aiming for this. It is not at all a commodity, people have to change.
How is the demand and growth after covid?
Mr. HC Jain: The demand is constant. Posts covid the demand is improving and has reached to 80% to the pre covid levels. Hopefully, the demand is coming up as new applications are being made. The future prospects are quite good and we are expecting a growth of 25% in the next two years as the infrastructure spending from the government side is coming up. Private uncompleted projects are also finishing so the demand is expected soon.
In Bangalore the consumption of ACP is more, what is the reason behind it?
Mr. HC Jain: The cultural difference attracts people to showcase their building differently so they use it. Their intention is to have every building look different.
What is the potential in the top segment of ACP?
Mr. Aatmbandhu Gupta, Telangana: Recently Eurobond has launched Euramax for the top segment of the ACP market. Earlier there was no availability of such material. Also, we have done recently a project with honeycomb which is likewise a product of ACP. In this segment fire retardant product is also coming up, so instead of normal ACP, there is a lot of scopes to grow in the higher segment with new offerings with a value-added new range of quality products.
For the interior applications also ACP is being used and we have seen nearly 20% are opting it for interiors as well, so there are a lot of scopes. In Andhra Pradesh, there are a lot of places where a lot of termite issues are there so the use of ACP in the interior is also being opted. In residential high-end projects also ACP is being used in Andhra Pradesh. Opportunities are coming up from several untapped markets also.
Does the price matter in ACP?
Mr. Rahul Gada: The price issue comes in selling every product, but we have a huge range right from low price to high. But, for those who have to have quality, there is no price issue. In offering also there is no competition as the top brands are there in that segment.
What is the quality Eurobond has that you are associated with them for so many years?
Mr. HC Jain: I have been a part of Eurobond right from their inception. It is the promise of quality, commitment, and consistency that was delivered by them. Secondly, with emerging new management the coordination is very good now as the material availability is quite good and it easily comes to us without any delay. These are all factors that are building the brand Eurobond and this is the reason we are committed to that.
THE SUSSES STORY OF EUROBOND
What was the reason that you ventured into cladding from the panel industry?
Mr. Rajesh Shah, Chairman, and MD, Eurobond: There was no issue, it is a human tendency that people want to do something different and have growth from the existing position. In the panel industry, we were in distribution and you know that there is a limit. We had to go ahead despite being satisfied with our work as a distributor in Maharashtra. The Euro group was a Mumbai-based company and we were much known to them. Once an opportunity comes and they talked to us that due to some financial constraint they are willing to sell this brand. At the same time, we had to go to Dubai, we were unknown to ACP. In Dubai, we saw a lot of building with ACP installed and we got attracted towards it seeing the good look at building after ACP applications. In India, the product has not grown so much and we were getting a 10-year-old brand that is a pioneer in the industry. After coming from Dubai I discussed with my son. He said this is a very good opportunity. I offered him, if he is not willing to go ahead with studying further he can opt this.
Are there prominent demand, supply, and payment in the ACP industry?
Mr. Rahul Gada: The demand is considerably good after covid due to the continuation of hold on projects along with the new launches of government projects like railways, airports, bus stands, highways, etc. The application of ACP has also increased. In terms of payment, many people have changed the payment scenario now but due to our policy and sales through channel partners, we have no issue in terms of payment.
How has been the journey in ACP so far? And how do you feel now?
Mr. Rajesh Shah: I would say, it took a year or two to understand the product. When I was in panel products segment, my intention was to offer quality products. When we ventured into ACP the factory was handled by Divyam and gradually we understood the product. Since, we have had a rich dynasty of an established brand with the goodwill of - ‘what we say we offer’. We followed the same and gradually improved the quality and offerings with continuous innovation.
Whatever comes in the market, we take immediate initiative to offer that product in better quality. We had started with one production line is now have four lines. The future plan is to bring a coating line by which we will be offering every type of coatings from economical grade to high end. The initiative with Euramax is the testing to see whether India accepts good quality products without price consideration or not?
It was very successful, as we got an overwhelmed response from architects. In this category whatever innovation we will be lesser than the market demand. They have 400 designs but currently, in ready stock, we are offering only 30. So, for the coating line, we will have a tie-up so that we can offer quality products.
What is the quality difference between emerging players and old branded players?
Mr. Rajesh Shah: In my opinion, the quality is that what we commit to giving to the customers. If that happens slowly the brand gets stronger. India is a vast market where for different uses different products are required. The product applications play an important role in the determination of its quality. The pain point is that when a product is not offered on its claim by the manufacturers. Every stakeholder is responsible for it not only the manufacturers. We can offer each and every product, but what is being passed forward is the real driver of any product. If the industry stakeholders work together with good intent the future of this product would be quite good and the customers' trust will also increase.
Eurobond is going to be listed at NSE, what is your vision and future plan?
Mr. Rajesh Shah: We have gone to the NSE platform as we see a lot of growth in the future. The industry is also requiring a huge investment. To build its types of machinery in-house the process is capital intensive. In the current year, we have reached to Rs 200 crore. In three to four years over 25% will be there in this industry. The chances for exports are also very high. Currently, we are exporting in 10 countries without any person who can visit outside country, either participating in any exhibition. We are getting demand and customers from the goodwill which has been created in a long time. So, we see great growth potential and for that, we are willing to build that capacity that can serve them better.
What is your message to the Ply Reporter?
During the constraint time of pandemic what platform you have created is commendable platform. We had never thought that these types of platforms can be built. You people are doing something innovative always for connecting the dots in the industry. I wish many thanks to you for such splendid works in service to the industry.