I had planned to write on "Tin is in ". Unfortunately most people who wrote to me or interacted with me tended to believe that we are still few years away from saying that in India Tin is in. The apprehensions remained the same -- tinplate availability , tinplate prices and overcapacity in can making. I guess I 'll postpone my writing on "Tin is in" for some later date.
Here's a bit of information for tin can manufacturers. In case you want to keep a tab on international tinplate prices and trends have a look at www.tinplateoutlook.com.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Friday, November 16, 2007
Is Tin in
I shall be next writing on "Is Tin in". Is tin can really making a strong come back in India. Can tin can ride on growing enviornmental concerns to get its rightful place in packaging industry. I hope people in trade will join in to give their inputs so that a meaningful discussion can be started . You can either leave a comment or can get me at tinplate@vsnl.com.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
TINPLATE & SITA
A hindu friend who is in tinplate trade has send this story which dates back to mid 90 s when he was just starting and had gone to England to source tinplate for his Indian customers. This friend is an extremely religious man who says his daily prayers and without fail makes four visits to various temples in a year.
He had a meeting with the Sales Manager of then British Steel ( now Corus) . After exchanging pleasantries the friend gave the sales manager the various specs of tinplate he was looking for. After seeing the specs the sales manager asked my friend " How many SITAs are you looking for ?". My friend not understanding the question just said " What ? ". The sales manager repeated his question. My friend had by now started thinking of Ramayan and how Sita could be linked to tinplate. He almost started imagining of religious slur. He just said " I 'll get back tomorrow " and walked out of the sales mamager's office. The whole of that evening was spent calling his contacts back home to find the relationship between tinplate & Sita. Unfortunately no one could help him.
The next day he told the sales manager that he was looking for 200 tonnes of tinplate. The sales manager gave him the quote and later my friend got the tinplate he wanted without knowing what " SITA " was.
For the uninitiated , tinplate world wide is sold in terms of area and SITA is an acronym for System International Tinplate Area. SITA denotes a area of 100 sq mts.
This friend now is fully aware of relationship between tinplate and SITA. He now gets all his quotes in Sita terms and then converts it to tonnes for his Indian customers.
He had a meeting with the Sales Manager of then British Steel ( now Corus) . After exchanging pleasantries the friend gave the sales manager the various specs of tinplate he was looking for. After seeing the specs the sales manager asked my friend " How many SITAs are you looking for ?". My friend not understanding the question just said " What ? ". The sales manager repeated his question. My friend had by now started thinking of Ramayan and how Sita could be linked to tinplate. He almost started imagining of religious slur. He just said " I 'll get back tomorrow " and walked out of the sales mamager's office. The whole of that evening was spent calling his contacts back home to find the relationship between tinplate & Sita. Unfortunately no one could help him.
The next day he told the sales manager that he was looking for 200 tonnes of tinplate. The sales manager gave him the quote and later my friend got the tinplate he wanted without knowing what " SITA " was.
For the uninitiated , tinplate world wide is sold in terms of area and SITA is an acronym for System International Tinplate Area. SITA denotes a area of 100 sq mts.
This friend now is fully aware of relationship between tinplate and SITA. He now gets all his quotes in Sita terms and then converts it to tonnes for his Indian customers.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Bright Finish Tinplate
This fact was sent to me by a very knowledgable user of tinplate. I have known this person both as a customer and someone you could rely on for accurate market information. For his varied product range he uses different kinds of steel like CRCA , GP , tinplate , stainless steel etc.
In India most end users of tinplate believe that for any tinplate to be classified as Prime Tinplate it has to have bright finish. This mis conception has its roots in what was being offered by domestic manufacturers in the past. The domestic manufacturers only offered bright finish tinplate. If it had any matte finish it was downgraded to waste-waste and sold as such. So if you bought waste-waste you were sure to get matte finish tinplate. Hence it became established fact that any finish other than bright finish was not prime material.
Another misconception my learned friend has shared with me is in stainless steel category.
Most of us believe that for steel to be called stainless steel it has to be non-magnetic. The truth is quite different. Stainless steel can be both magnetic or non-magnetic. Non-magnetic stainless steel is costlier ( because of nickel content) . Kitchen Utensils can be easily made out of magnetic stainless steel but an Indian consumer invariably tests the stainless steel utensil he / she buys using a magnet. No wonder stainless steel utensils are costlier than what it would be if this mis conception is corrected.
In India most end users of tinplate believe that for any tinplate to be classified as Prime Tinplate it has to have bright finish. This mis conception has its roots in what was being offered by domestic manufacturers in the past. The domestic manufacturers only offered bright finish tinplate. If it had any matte finish it was downgraded to waste-waste and sold as such. So if you bought waste-waste you were sure to get matte finish tinplate. Hence it became established fact that any finish other than bright finish was not prime material.
Another misconception my learned friend has shared with me is in stainless steel category.
Most of us believe that for steel to be called stainless steel it has to be non-magnetic. The truth is quite different. Stainless steel can be both magnetic or non-magnetic. Non-magnetic stainless steel is costlier ( because of nickel content) . Kitchen Utensils can be easily made out of magnetic stainless steel but an Indian consumer invariably tests the stainless steel utensil he / she buys using a magnet. No wonder stainless steel utensils are costlier than what it would be if this mis conception is corrected.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Indian Tinplate Market Stories
My blog readers have sent a lot of interesting stories . These stories though true will need some editing so as not to hurt sentiments of various players in the market. Some stories are hilarious , some sensational and some outright boring but all have lessons for people in the trade. I will write three stories. So guys look out for these stories .
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Top Tin Can Suppliers of India
Today I am going to provide you with links to the web sites of top tin can manufacturers of India.
For the first time in many years tin can industry is poised for explosive growth. There are many pointers to this and I will briefly touch on some of these before providing prospective tin can buyer with the links.
1) Organised Retail boom
It is a well known fact that proliferation of super markets indirectly improves the quality of packaging of every produce. Tin Can is a very desirable packaging media for presentation of any product clamouring for shelf space in a store.
2) Processed food growth
Finally the Government of India has woken to the fact that too much of our agricultural produce rots . The way to prevent this loss is through processing more and more of the the produce. The most suitable packaging media for processed food undoubtedly is Tin Can.
3) Enviornmental Concerns
Terms like global warming was always known to all , its only now that this awareness is getting translated into desire to protect the enviornment. Among all the available packaging alternatives a Tin Can is probably the most eco friendly.
4) Brand India becoming strong
In earlier times India exported lot of food products in bulk which on reaching its destination was packed in smalls and branded. This activity of branding will now start taking place in India itself. This will create a great demand for Tin Cans
5) Availability of tinplate
With reduction in import duty on tinplate and increase in domestic capacity the availability of tinplate will improve in times to come. With increased availability of tinplate coupled with strong demand the service levels of tinplate manufacturers / importers will improve. In future a tin can manufacturer will no longer live at the mercy of tinplate availabality.
6) Export potential of Tin Cans / components
From enhanced quantity of production - improved quality of tin cans will emerge. Over the next few years I see a big investments by Can makers to a) improve the quality of cans b) increase the capacity . Once the quality of cans improve Can users will start sourcing Tin Can / Tin Components from Indian Can manufacturers. With enhanced steel / tinplate production in India , Indian Can manufacturers will find find the most cost effective tinplate being produced in the country and the world will find the most cost effective Tin Can / Component from India.
Now I will provide the links . If any Can supplier wants his site to be listed please get in touch with me at tinplate@vsnl.com.
1) Kaira Can http://www.kairacan.com/
2) Hindustan Tin http://www.hindustantin.biz/
3) Shetron http://www.shetrongroup.com/
4) Swastik Tins http://www.swastiktins.com/
5) Agro Dutch http://www.agro_dutch.com/
6) Evergreen http://www.evergreencans.com/
7) Zenith Tins http://www.zenithtins.com/
8) Packaging Remedies http://packagingremedies.tradeindia.com/
9) Manaksia http://www.manaksia.com/
10) Virat http://www.virat.co.in/
For the first time in many years tin can industry is poised for explosive growth. There are many pointers to this and I will briefly touch on some of these before providing prospective tin can buyer with the links.
1) Organised Retail boom
It is a well known fact that proliferation of super markets indirectly improves the quality of packaging of every produce. Tin Can is a very desirable packaging media for presentation of any product clamouring for shelf space in a store.
2) Processed food growth
Finally the Government of India has woken to the fact that too much of our agricultural produce rots . The way to prevent this loss is through processing more and more of the the produce. The most suitable packaging media for processed food undoubtedly is Tin Can.
3) Enviornmental Concerns
Terms like global warming was always known to all , its only now that this awareness is getting translated into desire to protect the enviornment. Among all the available packaging alternatives a Tin Can is probably the most eco friendly.
4) Brand India becoming strong
In earlier times India exported lot of food products in bulk which on reaching its destination was packed in smalls and branded. This activity of branding will now start taking place in India itself. This will create a great demand for Tin Cans
5) Availability of tinplate
With reduction in import duty on tinplate and increase in domestic capacity the availability of tinplate will improve in times to come. With increased availability of tinplate coupled with strong demand the service levels of tinplate manufacturers / importers will improve. In future a tin can manufacturer will no longer live at the mercy of tinplate availabality.
6) Export potential of Tin Cans / components
From enhanced quantity of production - improved quality of tin cans will emerge. Over the next few years I see a big investments by Can makers to a) improve the quality of cans b) increase the capacity . Once the quality of cans improve Can users will start sourcing Tin Can / Tin Components from Indian Can manufacturers. With enhanced steel / tinplate production in India , Indian Can manufacturers will find find the most cost effective tinplate being produced in the country and the world will find the most cost effective Tin Can / Component from India.
Now I will provide the links . If any Can supplier wants his site to be listed please get in touch with me at tinplate@vsnl.com.
1) Kaira Can http://www.kairacan.com/
2) Hindustan Tin http://www.hindustantin.biz/
3) Shetron http://www.shetrongroup.com/
4) Swastik Tins http://www.swastiktins.com/
5) Agro Dutch http://www.agro_dutch.com/
6) Evergreen http://www.evergreencans.com/
7) Zenith Tins http://www.zenithtins.com/
8) Packaging Remedies http://packagingremedies.tradeindia.com/
9) Manaksia http://www.manaksia.com/
10) Virat http://www.virat.co.in/
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
10 Things to do to reduce Global warming
Ten Things to do to stop global warming Want to do something to help stop global warming? Here are 10 simple things you can do and how much carbon dioxide you'll save doing them. Change a light Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Drive less Walk, bike, car pool or take mass transit more often. You'll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don't drive! Recycle more You can save 2.400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste. Check your tyres Keeping your tyres inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide ! Use less hot water It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year )
Avoid products with a lot of packaging You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10 %
Adjust your thermostat Moving your thermostat just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer you could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment. Plant a tree A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Turn off electronic devices Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you're not using them will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Spread the word
Avoid products with a lot of packaging You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10 %
Adjust your thermostat Moving your thermostat just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer you could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment. Plant a tree A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Turn off electronic devices Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you're not using them will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Spread the word
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