Firms manufacturing masks hope to get relaxation on movement of goods (Image for representation)
Companies including micro, small and medium enterprises in Tamil Nadu engaged in manufacture of medical equipment like masks, PPEshope the government would allow movement of their vehicles during the lockdown in place to combat spread of COVID-19, officials said.
Several firms present in Tiruppur or Coimbatore or Ariyalur in the state have converted their companies to manufacture medical garments in order to tide over crisis since companies remain shut due to lock-down in view of the government's measures to control the spread of COVID19.
However, according to a company official those engaged in manufacturing such medical garments face biggest challenges which is the last mile connectivity in transporting the goods to customers.
A senior company official in Tiruppur who did not want to be named, said they are hoping for some kind of relaxation to be announced on Monday so as to ensure that the goods can be delivered to customers.
"Besides delivering the goods we are also unable to meet the customers as some insist of testing a sample of the products we make. For shorter distances with my essential services pass, I drive but I beginning to receive enquiries from Karnataka, Maharashtra... But I am unable to serve them due to the lockdown", the official told P T I. Similarly, another individual who manufactures personal protective equipment at his facility in Ariyalur, said they have started to produce the items based on the demand and were able to serve the customers on time.
"I am collecting payment from customers as advance and invest in the project as I am unable to put my own capital to run the business. Sometimes, some firms do not pay on time if we did not deliver to them as per their requisition," Kumar who is manufacturing the kits in Ariyalur, said. He said after receiving the initial payment with the support of his workers manufacture the goods and he himself deliver them to customers.
"I am delivering the goods on my own... therefore, I do not face any difficulty," he said, adding this trend may not continue if the business picks up.
To a query, he said some amount of payments received from customers go under Goods and Services Tax which can be relaxed considering the prevailing situation.
Noted industrialist and Apparel Export Promotion Council Chairman A Sakthivel said the need of the hour was to foray into 'medical textiles' and they would encourage companies to set up such products.
"From day one we always used to tell manufacturers about medical garments. It is good time to go in for medical
textiles business," he told P T I. He said the APEC has given ideas to manufacturers on how China was exportings its goods to other countries which
need such medical garments.
"We will advice manufacturers to go in for this product and also planning to arrange for a buyer-seller kind of thing once this gets over," he said.
He expressed hope that the manufacturers would be able to transport the goods from Point A to Point B without any hassle from April 20 as government would give some kind of relaxations from that day.
"After April 20 there will not be any problem on movement of transport. We can get special permission also...," he hoped.
On the challenges faced by the industry, he said to manufacture PPEs, manufacturers do need to use an machinery for which they need to import it from China.
"Currently some are doing their best based on the available machinery. But if this machinery has been imported then we can penetrate deep into the domestic market. AEPC also has given the name of the some suppliers (Chinese firms) to companies about the machinery," he said.
He said the AEPC would also request the government to provide GST benefit to companies once this medical textiles businesses picks up in the coming months.
