The global geo-synthetics market is expected to generate revenues of $12.8 billion by 2020, says Tiru Kulkarni, President, Geo-synthetics Division, Garware Wall Ropes Ltd (GWRL).
The financial results posted in the first quarter of 2016 show good growth in the Geo-synthetics Division. What was the game-changer for GWRL?
The Geo-synthetics Division of GWRL has focussed on three core areas of improvement.
1.Pipeline generation for increasing the visibility of sales. The Division had an order in hand of pipeline of Rs 63.88 crore as of 31st March 2016 , as compared to Rs 48.70 crore in 31st March 2015, an increase of 31 per cent.
2.Focus on private sector projects where project delays due to administrative reasons are minimal. Out of the order book of Rs 63.88 crore on 31st Mar 2016, 94 per cent is from the private sector as compared to 45 per cent as of March 2015.
3.Focus on project management.
How is GWRL synergising its bouquet of offerings in the domestic market to sync with the ambitious infrastructure development plans launched by the Union government and various state governments in India?
The Geo-synthetics Division of GWRL is one of the pioneering companies in this industry in India since its inception in 1997. This coincided with the infrastructure development initiative that was kicked off by the NDA Government. Since then, the Division has registered a presence with its solutions in every aspect of infrastructure development, like:
- River chanelling solutions
- Coastal protection solutions
- Slope and erosion protection solutions and
- Solutions for landfill and industrial linings
The sheer range of sectors where the Geo-synthetics Division is active is quite unique, and enables GWRL to offer a synergistic solution compatible with the client’s needs by drawing expertise from the various domains. There are very few companies in the Geo-synthetics industry in India that are able to offer this breadth of experience under a single roof.
Could you further elaborate on the Geo-synthetics domain synergy you are leveraging to join the Indian infrastructure growth story?
The global geo-synthetics market is expected to generate revenues of $12.8 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of over 10 per cent. The market growth in the developing countries of Central and South America, and Asia are slated to drive the global demand in geo-synthetics due to their focus on infrastructure development. Now coming to India, it is a fast developing economy requiring large scale investment in infrastructure. Liberalisation of the economy has further facilitated planning and execution of many large scale infrastructure projects, including roads, railways, power and water resources, which will further promote applications of geo-synthetics for infrastructural works. The spending in the XII Plan (2012-17) in infrastructure is estimated to be $1 trillion, which is expected to grow for infrastructure activities for the XIII Plan (2017-2022).
The experience gained by the Geo-synthetics Division of GWRL in various sectors of infrastructure will hold it in good stead as the ambitious infrastructure development programme of the government kicks off. GWRL has much to offer in all these sectors that form the core of the programme; for example, GWRL’s expertise in river chanelling may come in handy for the government’s programme on constructing navigable waterways in the country, and GWRL’s expertise in designing and executing landfills may come in handy for the government’s Smart Cities initiative where all Smart Cities are expected to develop in-house waste disposal capabilities.
Kindly elaborate on the Geo-synthetics applications ability to complement the infrastructure thrust being witnessed in India.
Geo-synthetics have a wide array of applications in infrastructure. Some of the main applications are:
Geo-synthetics in Highway Construction
Geo-synthetics have made it possible to construct roads and pavements in seemingly difficult locations such as marshy stretches, soft/organic deposits and in expansive soil areas. Geo-grids are being widely used to construct flyover approaches and result in substantial time and cost savings for projects.
Geo-synthetics in Railways Construction
Geo-synthetics are used for separation and reinforcement in order to prevent contamination of ballast and minimise settlement of railway tracks.
Geo-synthetics in Coastal Engineering
Geo-textile bags with sand are usually used as a structure for revetment, groynes, artificial reefs, slope buttressing, and protection dykes, etc. Geo-textile tubes are popular structures for shore protection and are used for revetments, offshore breakwaters, protection dykes, containment dykes and groynes.
Kindly share some details on the successful projects completed in financial year 2016. Garware has completed a milestone coastal project in Pentha, Kendrapara district of Odisha in June 2016. This project was conceptualised using multi-layered geo-textile tubes as a ôsoftö solution for shore protection. In this vulnerable stretch, the ingress of the sea has been 500 m since 1999. This is the first three-tiered geo-textile tube structure in India that has been completed successfully in spite of several challenges. Geo-textile tubes are large tubular structures composed of sand pumped into a technical textile, and form a solid core protective wall. The energy of the waves is dissipated by the sand inside the structure, and hence the technology is called a ‘soft’ technology.
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