Smeda prepares strategy to modernise sport goods industry

Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda) has prepared a multi-dimensional strategy to the modernise sport goods industry, especially the soccer ball manufacturing sector, enabling it cope with the new challenges of global market, said Smeda provincial chief Alamgir Chaudhry.
Talking to Business Recorder here on Saturday evening, he disclosed that under the programme, Sports Industries Development Centre (SIDC), costing Rs 272.61 million, would soon be established in Sialkot.
Apart from this, Product Development Centre for Composite, Training Institute for Sportswear and Testing Centres for sportswear and personal proactive equipment projects were in pipeline, he revealed. Alamgir Chaudhry said the purpose for setting up SIDC project would enable the sport goods sector to adopt new technology of mechanised ball, which was threatening to the hand-stitched inflatable soccer ball.
The main benefits from the project are to help Pakistan maintain sustainability in international market of hand-stitched inflatable balls in general and soccer balls in particular, provide skilled workforce to the sector, help develop imported machinery locally through reverse engineering, develop an indigenous patent for mechanised soccer ball and get it registered internationally, provide assistance in setting up mechanised ball production lines in individual industrial units, developing prototype balls for the industry and developing quality vulcanisation and past moulds, he pointed out.
The Smeda provincial chief said the sport goods sector of Sialkot was the main export sector of the city with total exports of about 350 million dollars per annum.
The city catered to 85 percent needs of the total world demand of hand-stitched inflatable balls, which meant around 40 million balls annually worth 210 million dollars, he said.
The soccer ball manufacturers were facing serious threats in the form of "thermo-moulded ball" that used medium end technology to produce a ball having most of the characteristics of hand-stitched ball, he added.
Under the plan, he said the SIDC would introduce thermo-bonded ball technology in Sialkot industry and would provide technical know-how, trained labour force, reverse engineering prototype development and mould making services. Besides, the centre would also manufacture and sell thermo-muolded balls to the exporters on order, he added.
He said the capacity of the centre on single shift basis would be 5,000 balls per day, while the centre would generate employment opportunities. According to a rough statistics, the balls, which are exported to the world market, are stitched by a workforce of more than 60,000, including female stitchers.