The Mumbai edition of National Rubber Conference (NRC) 2015, held on Jun 19 & 20, 2015, was well-organized by Western Region team of AIRIA (All India Rubber Industries Association).

I have been attending this conference since its first edition and have seen it evolve successfully over the last 4 years, scaling up each year.

This NRC outperformed its previous versions and was different.

The sessions were designed around the theme, ‘Path to The Future – Stride With NRC’, in a thoughtful manner to impart cutting-edge knowledge to the delegates. Technology was embraced by shifting to electronic format of souvenir and giving tabs to the delegates.

Heavy rains bought Mumbai to a standstill on Friday, June 19 and its previous night. Despite the traffic being thrown out of gear, the presence of over 170 delegates at the venue (The Westin Mumbai Garden City) clearly demonstrated the relevance of this conference for the attendees.

While I spoke on “Extrusion And Screw Design….What You Should Know“, here are the top 6 things I learnt at NRC 2015 Mumbai.

1. Future of India – The Winning Leap, the keynote address by Shashank Tripathi of PwC, gives renewed hope that an aggressive GDP increase of 9% per year to reach a $10.4 trillion economy by 2034 is possible. If India can create capabilities for growth and new solutions, the opportunities, both at home and abroad, are limitless. His report is driven by the belief that India can build shared prosperity for its 1.25 billion citizens by transforming the way the economy creates value. A concerted effort from Corporate India, supported by a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem and a constructive partnership with the government will play a critical role to achieve this milestone, we are informed. The report analyses that up to 40% of India’s US$10 trillion economy of 2034 could be derived from new solutions. This new hope when India stands on the cusp of a major change is refreshing and motivational.
2. The discussion “Distilling India’s Competitive Advantage” had renowned business leaders in the panel. I learnt from Mirisch Damani of Zylog Plastalloys Pvt Ltd that the entrepreneurial skills together with frugal engineering mindset is unique to Indians and we should capitalize on them while we learn to innovate. When Mazhar Vohra of Zenith Industrial Rubber Products spoke of his entrepreneurial experience, he drove home the importance of anticipating changes and focusing on a niche to compete globally in business. I absorbed from stories shared by Anil Sampat of Elastochemie Impex Pvt Ltd that brand building is extremely important for you to gain premium in your market. Health and Safety along with investment on R&D has to be an important strategy for growth, I understood from thoughts shared by Vilas Dhavale on the practices at his company Lord India Pvt Ltd.
3. Cryogenic Deflashing is a cost-effective technology that is fast gaining popularity, I learnt with interest from Musahudeen of Nissanki GB APAC Sales Pte Ltd. Cryogenic deflashing is a deflashing process that uses cryogenic temperatures to aid in the removal of flash on your cast or molded work-pieces. These temperatures cause the flash to become stiff or brittle and to break away cleanly. Cryogenic deflashing is the preferred process when removing excess material from oddly shaped, custom molded products. By adopting cryogenic deflashing, you can aspire to meet stringent quality expectations of your OEM’s effortlessly.
4. I learnt from Sugundhan of Base Automation Technologies Pvt Ltd that Rubber Mixing Plant Automation is a necessity, if you aspire to gear up and meet the traceability demands of your customers. Because automotive leaders are forcing sub vendors to Implement Process Improvement systems like Traceability, Product Integration, and Genealogy. While they in turn are preparing themselves for the “voluntary recall code” of Road and Safety Bill 2014 that enforces stringent penalty, legal action, that leads to erosion of market image, high cost of recall, damages brand value, etc. Automation also increases your productivity and efficiency of rubber mixing plant.
5. Proactive Machinery Maintenance is not an expense and is an investment that has long-term benefits, I absorbed from Naushad Shikalgar of J N Engineering. He spoke extensively on Asset Management Strategy-Plan-Execution including the various approaches to maintenance.
6. Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) is not a threat rather an opportunity for the Rubber Industry, I learnt from a well articulated presentation of Mirisch Damani from Zylog Plastalloys Pvt Ltd.

 

I missed some sessions. However all presentations and panel discussions, I understand from other delegates, were of high quality. The organizers of this conference has done an extremely good job. (Congratulations to all of you and here’s wishing you greater success in future too.)

Here is the link to e-souvenir if you missed this conference or desire to know more of the papers presented and the key team members of the organizing committee.

Like me, I am sure each one of the delegates took back an idea or thought they could work on immediately in their area of work – overall a new hope, direction and an excitement of potential $10.4 Trillion Indian economy by 2034.

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