Small and Medium Enterprise Authority (Smeda) has prepared a multi-dimensional strategy to modernise sports goods industry especially the soccer ball manufacturing sector of Sialkot.
Official sources told Business Recorder here on Sunday that under the programme Sports Industries Development Centre (SIDC) costing Rs 273.11 million would be established shortly in Sialkot.
The prime concept of the project was to enable Sports Goods sector to adopt new technology of mechanised ball, which is threatening the currently hand stitched inflatable soccer ball.
The main benefits to accrue from the project are facilitate sustainable Pakistan's position in international market of hand stitched inflatable balls in general and soccer ball in particular, provide skilled workforce to the sector, help to 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 molds.
Besides, Sports Industries Development Centre (SIDC) will introduce thermo-bonded ball technology in Sialkot industry while it will provide technical know how, trained labour force, reverse engineering prototype development and mold making services besides, the centre will also manufacture and sell thermo-molded balls to the exporters on order. The capacity of the centre on single shift basis would be 5000 balls per day.
The Sports Goods sector is the main export sector of the city with total exports of about 350 million-dollar per annum. The city caters to 85 percent of total world demand of hand-stitched inflatable balls, which means around 40 million balls, were being produced annually worth more than 210 million-dollars Sialkot sources added.
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