The Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) has prepared a multi-dimensional plan to set up 'Product Development Centre (PDC) here for sports goods industry costing Rs 80 million.
Official sources told Business Recorder here on Saturday that the proposed PDC would consist of dies and moulds workshop, proto development shop, testing laboratory, and training development.
The Product Development Centre will be manned by highly-skilled human resource, which would be providing training, technical advice, common services, testing, entrepreneurship services to the entrepreneurs willing to set up composite material-based industry, they added.
The Centre would not only help sports goods sector, but also usher in a new era in sectors like light engineering (auto-parts, surgical instruments, home appliances, pipes and conduits, LPG, CNG cylinders, etc), furniture, defence-related products, and construction. Lower costs and better mechanical and chemical properties coupled with falling prices of raw materials place composite materials as a viable alternative for metal-based in almost all the consumer and industrial products.
Sources said the proposed PDC would help the industry by acting as a vital knowledge centre catering to a wide spectrum of needs ranging material selection to final product testing, adding the century-old sports goods industry of Sialkot has progressed from cottage to medium scale industry by low levels of mechanisation, but the focus has been on impeccable craftsmanship.
The basic raw material required for the production of sports goods like leather and wood are available in abundance in the country, while the new materials like PVC and PU sheets are imported. The secured raw material sources amalgamated with historical advantage of having required special skills in low wage situation give Pakistan a unique competitive edge in the global market.
The monetary and other incentives provided by the government, the sports goods sector has taken new strides in the development of products. Pakistan holds first position when it comes to the supply of soccer balls, while it enjoys second position in sports gloves.
Under the directives of federal government, Smeda has been working on sports goods sector development as this sector was declared as one of the seven-priority sector. The strategy development is being finalised the detailed discussions with the local industry, trade associations and chamber of commerce and industry.
Smeda has also pin-pointed some hurdles that have stalled successful entry of local entrepreneurs in sports goods industry are lack of knowledge about new materials and process, high capital cost in setting up units, lack of skilled labour, poor knowledge in production of dies and moulds and absence of testing facilities. The work on setting up the Product Development Centre would be carried out in near future, sources added.
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