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PLUMBING CONNECTION
WINTER 2015
PLUMBING GOES TO BOLLYWOOD
F
or many visitors, India is a
confronting destination with
its huge (1.3 billion) population
and in-your-face poverty, mixed with
a rapidly growing middle class that is
embracing all the luxuries of the west.
In reality most Australians know
little about Indian culture and history
but too quickly share populist views
about Indian-based call centres and
Melbourne’s Indian- student taxi
drivers, while taking a liking for a serve
of Rogan Josh, rice and pappadums at
their local suburban Indian take-away.
India has a fledging plumbing
industry that has taken great strides
over the past decade, but it still has
a long way to go to resemble what we
think is the norm.
Having attended a number of World
Plumbing Council meetings over
the years, I have had the pleasure
to meet some enthusiastic Indian
representatives, some of who hold
positions on the WPC executive
board, in fact the current chairman
Mr Sudhakaran Nair, is a plumbing
engineer who hails from Bengaluru.
Another regular attendee at those
meetings has been a man who
commands attention. The
first time I met Rajendra
Somany I quickly surmised
he was the face of the new
emerging India, a classic
industrialist with a can-
do attitude and a
great listener who
was keen to take
back ideas from
the more developed
countries.
As the head and
major shareholder
of the large publicly listed HSIL (they
market their goods under the Hindware
label), India’s largest manufacturer of
sanitary ware and bathroom fittings,
it was extraordinary to see this
man sharing his time at such not-
for-profits events. These days you
are hard pressed to get a mid-level
plumbing sector executive out of their
office bunkers in Sydney, Melbourne
or Brisbane to attend virtually any
industry event. R K Somany is different
though and so is India’s need at this
time in its history.
Some say that the Indian economy is
at or about the point where China was
10-15 years ago. I’d suggest its middle
class is already ahead of that and its
manufacturing sector is more mature
in some ways.
India has a number of distinct
trading advantages such as English
being spoken more broadly, a
fundamental legal system thanks
to the British, a comparatively large
semi-skilled workforce and elite
universities producing some of the
most skilled engineers on the planet.
INDIA’S ECONOMY WILL OUTPACE CHINA’S THIS YEAR AND COULD ONE DAY BE THE WORLD’S LARGEST, SO MAYBE
WE SHOULD BE TAKING MORE THAN A PASSING INTEREST IN WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE SUB-CONTINENT FROM
A PLUMBING SECTOR POINT OF VIEW.
JEFF PATCHELL
RECENTLY VISITED NEW DELHI ON HIS WAY HOME FROM THE
ISH TRADE FAIR IN FRANKFURT.
Artisan finishing of ceramic goods is a skilled and highly prized job in India.
PLUMBING ABROAD