A Rubber Products Incubation Centre (RPIC), which will help non-tyre products manufacturers in the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector to develop innovative processes and products, is all set to start functioning on the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) campus at Puthuppally.
K.N. Raghavan, Chairman and Executive Director, Rubber Board, will inaugurate the facility at 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday.
According to officials of the Rubber Board, the facility will act as a hub for converting ideas and innovations of entrepreneurs into quality rubber products. The objective is to develop a vibrant rubber product manufacturing industry working together with natural rubber growers to add value at each cog of the supply wheel.
“Scientists and engineers attached to the RPIC would handhold individual entrepreneurs through various stages of product development while providing access to machines and holding equipment available here. They would be able to gain access to technical books and journals available in the library at the RRII,’’ an official said.
Ideas and innovations can be in the field of rubber farming, processing, product development, recycling of products and pollution control. India has around 4,000 registered non-tyre products manufacturers in the MSME sector, which together earned foreign exchange worth ₹11,740 crore in the fiscal 2018-19. However, several of the small players lack expertise and in-house research and development facilities, which hampers timely technological upgrade and compromises competitiveness.
