Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) is finalising necessary arrangements in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) for setting up a Product Development Centre (PDC) at a cost of Rs 20 million for assisting Sports Industry of Sialkot.
Official sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that the proposed development centre would consist of dyes and moulds workshop, testing laboratory and training development. The centre will be manned by highly skilled human resource team which would be providing training, technical advice, common services, testing, entrepreneurship services to the entrepreneurs willing to set up composite material based industry.
The PDC 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.
The proposed Product Development Centre (PDC) would lead the industry by acting as a vital knowledge centre catering to a wide spectrum of needs ranging material selection to final product testing. 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 Pakistan 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. Pakistan had lost its share in wood based products as in international market composite material based sports goods offer a lot of opportunities.
Keeping in view of the problem, Smeda had formulated a proposal in collaboration with Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Sports Goods Association and Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) for bringing out the industry from various clutches and to encourage sports goods industry for shifting towards composite material.
The local entrepreneurs in sports 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 dyes and moulds and absence of testing facilities.