INDUSTRIES

section i- LARGE-SCALE AND SMALL-SCALE INDUSTRIES

Engineering Industries.

There are four engineering units, two of which repair equipment and manufacture trays, bolts, nuts, etc. The third manufactures agricultural implements and the last diesel engines, shaping machines, looms and agricultural implements. Two are situated at Koynanagar, one at Karad and the last near Satara Road railway station of the Southern Railway Line. Of these four, two are very small units, the third a small scale unit which had Rs. 66,444 as fixed assets and Rs. 56,047 as current assets in 1957. The fourth concern which is a large scale unit had an investment of Rs. 1.21,33,565 including Rs. 72, 48, 698 as working capital in 1958.

The small-scale unit consumed raw materials like iron, steel, etc., worth Rs. 65,342 and produced implements like ploughs, soil scoopers, winnowing fans, chaff cutters, etc., worth Rs. 1,83,619. The total consumption of raw materials like iron, steel, brass, copper, aluminum and chemicals by the large unit was 4,465 tons, valued at about Rs. 70,00,000 in 1958. It produced 8,135 oil engines, centrifugal pumps, shaping machines, looms and implements valued at Rs. 1,38,75,381 in the same year.

The total employment in the two concerns was 2081. The total wage bill of employees in the large unit was Rs. 37,51,587 and of those in a small unit was Rs. 43,759 in 1957. Surrounding villages were the source of labour supply to these concerns. The products of the former were marketed all over India as well as to Middle Eastern and Far Eastern countries and of the latter in Maharashtra only.

There is one furniture making concern at Koynanagar and one manufacturing handlooms, Ambar charkhas and Nutan Tel Ghanis at Karad. The latter is a co-operative unit.

The former unit which was started in 1955 had an investment of Rs. 65,000 including Rs. 60,000 as working capital. The total employment in it was 18 who were employed on daily wages' and paid Rs. 11,000 in 1957. The unit consumed materials like wood, nails, and polishing materials worth Rs. 35,000, and produced furniture worth Rs. 60,000 in the same year. The market for these products was Poona, Satara and Karad towns. The latter unit which was started for the benefit of ex-servicemen had an aggregate investment of Rs, 55,000 including Rs. 50,000 as fixed capital. It produced handlooms, Ambar charkhas and did repair work worth Rs. 53,000 in 1957-58. It provided employment to 10 persons who were shareholders and workers engaged on daily wages. A skilled worker was paid between three to four rupees and an un-skilled worker one rupee per day. The factory has now been attached to the Maharashtra Village Industries Board.

Two more concerns which repair automobiles are situated at Koynanagar. They were started in 1955 and 1956, respectively. One concern is owned by Government of Maharashtra. The other is a private concern in which about Rs. 11,00,000 were invested in 1957. The total employment in them was about 200 and the total wage bill Rs. 2,48,000 in 1957. The latter unit which employed about 175 persons purchased materials like petrol, diesel oil and spare parts worth about Rs. 2,00,000 in the same year.

Three depots, one each at Karad, Satara and Wai, owned by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, maintain and repair vehicles owned by the Corporation. Two were started in 1948 and one in 1949. An amount of Rs. 4,27,000 was invested as fixed capital and a total of 330 persons were employed in them. They consumed raw materials and spare parts worth Rs. 2,61,735 in 1957.

Electricity Generation,

There are five power houses which generate electricity in the district. The power house at Bhatghar was commissioned in 1916. The other three, at Satara, Karad and Koregaon were started between 1933 and 1940 and the last one at Wai was commissioned in 1956. The first and the last are under the control of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board.

The following statement gives the location of each power house, its nature, installed capacity, area of supply, quantity supplied, the number of consumers and charges per unit.

TABLE NO. 2.

POWER HOUSES IN SATARA DISTRICT.

The aggregate capital invested in these five concerns was lis. 29 lakhs in 1957-58. They employed 128 persons who were paid about Us. 1.50,000 per year as wages. A skilled worker was. paid between lis. 55 and lis. 100 as basic wage per month and an unskilled one between lis. 30 and lis. 40 per month.. Three concerns consumed crude oil and diesel oil worth, lis. 20,000 in 1957-58. All of them genera ted about 36,48,000 units of electric energy in that year.

The" industry faces two great problems, viz., the high cost at which electricity is generated and the inadequacy of the supply of energy, it satisfies the needs of only a fraction of population in urban areas. This long standing problem of inadequate supply at a high cost would be solved with availability of electricity from the Koyna Project. It would also help to introduce electricity in rural areas.

Sugar Industry,

This industry has developed only after the expansion of area under sugarcane plantation. Prior to 1933, sugarcane was mainly used for the manufacture of gul. With the expansion of area under sugarcane and availability of railway transport, the first sugar factory was started in 1933.

The factory expanded steadily during Second World War. One more sugar factory was started in 1954. The two factories which are situated at Phaltan and Sakharwadi and gul factories which are situated at different places in the district consume all the sugarcane produced in the district. The sugar factors' at Phaltan is a co-operative concern.

The former had an investment of lis. 6,05,848 in plant, machinery and buildings and Us. 14,34,059 as working capital in 1958. The latter had a total investment of lis. 2,22,90,340 including Rs. 1,85,80,616 as working capital in 1957-58.

Raw materials used are sugarcane, lime, sulphur and other chemicals. One factory produces some quantity of sugarcane on its owned land and also purchases from agriculturists. The other one has no cultivable land of its own and makes purchases of sugarcane from agriculturists. The total consumption of sugarcane by both the factories was 2,44,731 tons, valued at Rs. 1,12,96,422 in 1958. The other materials, valued at Rs. 2,44,843. were, consumed by them in the same year.

Each one is having a sugar plant with a crushing capacity varying from 800 to 1,000 tons per day. Coal, coke, fire-wood, oils, etc., are used as fuels. One of them consumed fuel worth Rs. 1,26,131 in 1958.

Though it is a seasonal industry working from November to May, it maintains permanent as well as seasonal labour. Permanent labour is used to overhaul machinery after the season. The total, employment in both was 2,700 including permanent, temporary and seasonal workers. The seasonal workers are employed during the season only when the factories work in three shifts. The total wage bill of both was Rs. 38,70,855 in 1958.

They produce two varieties of sugar, 29D and 29E. The total production of sugar was 25,238 tons valued at Rs. 1,78,38,975 in 1958. Most of the produce is exported to Poona, Belgaum and Bombay.

Sugar manufacturing is one of the biggest industries in India There is great scope for expansion for this industry if adequate capital and new machinery are made available. With the available facilities of irrigation, the area under sugarcane cultivation can further be increased which will yield larger output of sugarcane. Electricity will be available in abundance on the completion of the Koyna Project. There is no problem of finding a market for sugar. The problem of finance could also be tackled by organising sugar factories on a co-operative basis.

The following table shows the position of capital investment, consumption of raw materials and production of the factory in 1937-38 and 1946-47:-

TABLE NO. 3.

Process of Sugar Manufacturing.

Sugarcane is harvested in the fields and brought to the factory either in lorries or by bullock carts. The cane is loaded in a cane Carrier in which takes it to the mills for crushing. On its way, it is cut into pieces by two sets of knives and is prepared for milling. The milling operation consists of applying pressure to the cane by heavy rollers and extracting juice. The bagasse (cane after extrac. tion of juice) goes to boilers as fuel, where steam is generated for processing purposes and for generating the necessary power in the factory.

The whole quantum of juice is collected and sent to an automatic-weighing tank where it is weighed, and heated up to 60° C. and treated in a continuous liming and sulphitation. Lime, sulphur and triple superphosphate are added to the juice to precipitate impurities and clarify the juice. After the juice is treated with these reactants, it is boiled and allowed to settle in a clarifier. The clarified juice is taken to the evaporator where the thin juice is concentrated to a syrupy liquid. The residue accumulated at the bottom of the clarifier is filtered in a rotary vacuum filter and the filtrates are taken for re-processing. The residue is useful as farm manure.

The syrup is again sulphited for bleaching and this is boiled in vacuum pans and crystals are obtained and grown by maintaining proper supersaturation conditions. When the crystals grow to a fair size, the material is dropped in crystallisers from where it is taken to centrifugal machines. In these machines sugar crystals are separated from the mother liquor or molasses, which contains quite a bit of sugar. Molasses is then boiled twice to extract the remaining sugar content. If this process of boiling twice is found uneconomical, molasses is sent out as final molasses, which is a bye-product of the sugar industry. This can be subjected to several types of fermentation yielding several types of materials like ethyl alcohol, butyl alcohol, and acetone and acetic acid, etc. The sugar obtained in the centri-fugals is washed and then dried in a different set of centrifugals by superheated steam. The dried sugar is then graded into separate sizes and bagged. The weighed bags (each bag contains 2¾ maunds of sugar) are sent to godown.

Gul Making

The old Gazetteer of Satara district describes gul manufacturing as a major rural industry. Its position as a major industry remained unchanged almost till the period following the First World War (1920-30). The pace of its development received a set-back when sugar production began to make headway. During the thirties the sugar factory which was in existence consumed about 80,000 tons of sugarcane and the remaining sugarcane output of the district was diverted towards manufacturing gul. The position remained un-changed almost till the period following the Second World War. The establishment of another sugar factory and the steady expansion of the first gave a great set-back to the industry. In 1954 there were 49 gul factories registered under the Factories Act. But with the expansion of the two sugar factories, their number came down to only 29 in 1959. These factories were located in Karad, Phaltan and Wai talukas.

The aggregate capital invested in 14 factories for which information was available was about Rs. 2,50,000 including Rs. 1,39,947 as fixed capital in 1957,

Sugarcane is the main raw material required. Lime is also used to remove dirt from the juice. About 1,200 tons of sugarcane valued at Rs. 46,000 were consumed in these factories in 1957. Diesel engines, cane crushers and iron mills worked by bullocks were the equipments used in this process.

It is a seasonal industry which works for about three months after December. On an average each factory worked lor about two months in that season. About 200 workers who were paid about Rs. 16,000 were employed in the season of 1957. The total production of the season in these factories was about.13,000 maunds valued at Rs. 1,69,000. The market for the product was Poona and Baramaii. A small portion of the produce was locally consumed.

Process of Gul making.

Sugarcane is crushed by mechanised crusliers. The juice collected is mixed with lime so as to remove dirt from it and boiled in an open large pan. On cooling it is poured in a pit where it is solidified Finally it is filled in bucket-type moulds to give the required shane and is sent to the market for sale.

The methods adopted in the process of gul making are old and crude. Sugarcane juice is extracted on sugarcane crushers run by bullocks although a few diesel engine sets have replaced the bullocks in some factories. As there is a constant demand for this article- improved methods will have to be adopted for increasing its output. Improve-ment in the technique is an essential pre-requisite for increasing its production.

Edible Oil Industry

There are eleven oil mills and decorticating factories in the Industry district. Of these four oil mills, information for which was available, were situated at Karad. One each was started in 1947 and 1.948 and the remaining two in 1956 and 1957. Groundnut seeds which are mainly crushed in them are locally available. One mill crushes groundnuts and karanji seeds. They also bring groundnuts from Bijapur and Bagalkot as the percentage of oil content in the ground-nuts produced in that area is more than that of Karad. Three factories consumed about 2,312 tons of groundnut seeds valued at Rs. 12,94,720 and 48 tons of karanji seeds in 1957.

In 1957, the total investment in these factories was about Rs. 8,50,000 including Rs. 4,00,000 as working capital. Groundnut shell was mainly used as a fuel as coal was not available in the required quantity. Eight big expellers with crushing capacity of two tons each and two baby expellers with crushing capacity of a ton each were working in these factories.

The total production of the three factories in 1957 was 925 tons of groundnut oil valued at about Rs. 15,00,000 and 1,387 tons of groundnut cake valued at Rs. 2,77,400 and 63 tons of karanji oil. These products were marketed to Konkan areas and Poona.

In 1957, 59 persons were employed in these factories. The factories worked in two shifts in the season (from November to May) and in one shift afterwards. The average number of working days of each factory was 264 in 1957.

Lack of adequate finance was the main problem confronted by the industry.

Groundnut Decorticating.

Two factories, for which information was available, decorticated groundnuts and ground turmeric. Both were situated at Karad. One was established in 1928 and the other in 1954. More than a lakh of rupees were invested in them in 1958. Groundnuts and turmeric valued at about Us. 14 lakhs were decorticated and ground respectively, in 1958. They employed as many as 35 persons; most of them were employed on daily wages and a few on contract basis. Persons employed on daily wages were paid Rs. 1/12 per day. Those who were employed on contract were paid Rs. 14 for decorticating 100 bags of groundnuts.

Copper and brass works.

At Karad a factory manufacturing brass and copper utensils, was started in 1948. It is a rolling mill in which a sum of Rs. 6,76,586 was invested in 1958-59. The total investment in land, buildings, plant and machinery, etc., was Rs. 2,09,559 while the working capital was Rs. 3,67,027.

Brass, copper plates and zinc, which are imported from foreign countries and brass and copper scraps collected from various parts of the State, are used as raw materials. The factory consumed about 1,385 tons of metal and metal sheets, valued at aboui Rs. 24,00,000 in 1958-59 and produced about 1,070 tons of brass and copper coils and utensils valued at Rs. 33,00,000.

The factory has a rolling mill, heating and melting furnaces cutting, packing, drilling and shaping machines, etc. It consumed about 67,000 units of electric energy and 146 gallons of oil in that year.

The total employment in it was 53 including seven persons other than workers. They were paid Rs. 42,190 in 1958-59.

It is a small-scale unit and lias constant demand for its pro-ducts. But due to inadequate supply of raw materials and capital it is not flourishing.

Glass Manufacturing,

There is a factory producing glass and glasswares, lanterns and enamelwares situated at Ogalewadi. Started in 1916 as a small proprietory concern, it has made considerable progress during the last 45 years. Originally its output was restricted to glass articles, but subsequently, the factory began to manufacture hurricane lanterns. Its investment was Rs. 5,00,000. During the Great Depression of the thirties, when it lost much of its market, the factory began to produce safety stoves and stainless steel utensils.

The Second World War offered opportunities for expansion of the factory and it started producing other glass articles. In the post independence period a loan of Rs. 20,00,000 was given to it by the Industrial Finance Corporation of India for further expansion.

The factory produces electric motors in addition to the items enumerated above.

The investment in fixed and current assets of the concern was Rs. 51,53,877 in 1958. It had Rs. 25,00,000 as authorised capital and Rs. 14,87,315 as subscribed capital at the end of 1958.

The raw materials required by the factory are tin plates, black sheets, brass sheets, tin, sand, soda ash, saltpetre, lime, marble, powder, borax, sodium nitrate, titanium oxide and many other materials. Tin plates and black sheets are partly imported from foreign countries, like U.S.A. and U.K., and partly brought from Tatanagar. All other materials are available in India. The factory consumed articles worth Rs. 19,94,016 in 1958. It consumed diesel oil, furnace oil, kerosene, petrol, lubricants and electric energy valued at Rs. 5,87,658 in that year.

It produces glasswares like chimneys, globes, bottles, jars, roofing and flooring tiles, dishes, ash trays, bowls, hurricane lanterns, safety stoves, enamelwares and electric motors. In 1958 the total production of glasswares was 2,800 tons, of lanterns 61,800 dozens, of enamelwares 3,10,000 sq. ft. and of safety stoves 26,100 units. The total value of all these products was Rs. 64,76,581. The market for these products is indigenous and also some middle-east countries.

The total employment was 1,644 including 195 persons as super visory and other staff. Nearby villages are the source of labour supply. A skilled worker is paid between Rs. 55 to Rs. 100 as basic pay per month, a semi-skilled worker between Rs. 30 to Rs. 50 and an unskilled between Rs. 26 to Rs. 56. The monthly wage bill was Rs. 1,37,900. The factory works in three shifts.

Lack of capital and inadequate supply of raw materials are the main factors that have hampered its yet greater development. The industry has much more scope for expansion as its overseas market is increasing gradually. The factory trains apprentices in new methods of glass manufacturing.

Plastic Industry.

A factory producing phenol formaldehyde moulding powder is a recent one, started at Satara in 1947. It was closed in 1954 and was reopened in 1958. The total investment in 1959 amounted to Rs. 5,50,000 including Rs. 4,00,000 as working capital.

Phenol, formaldehyde, hexamine, carbon black, dyes, pigments, lactic acid, wood-flour, magnesium oxide, cotton waste, asbestos, slate powder, mica, lime, stearic acid, oxalic acid, caustics etc., are the materials used in the manufacturing process. Most of the materials like phenol, formaldehyde, hexamine, carbon black, pigments, lactic acid are imported from foreign countries, like U.S.A., U.K. and Germany, while rest of the articles are available in India and are mostly purchased from Bombay. Coal, fire, wood and diesel oil are used as fuel.

The factory employed 45 workers, 18 permanent and 27 temporary, in September 1959. A skilled worker was paid between two and three rupees and an unskilled worker about a rupee.

About 250 tons of phenol formaldehyde moulding powder of different kinds valued at Rs. 6,00,000 was produced in 1959. The products are sold all over India. There is a great scope for further expansion of the industry as there is a growing demand for its products. The factory has recently started producing phenol formaldehyde, cast resinous sheets, rods and tubes.

Printing and book-binding,

In 1959, there were nine printing presses in the district which were registered under the Factories Act. Six were situated in Satara town, two in Wai and one in Koregaon. The oldest press which is in Satara was started in 1867. It was followed by the other in 1925 in the same town. Five more presses were started between 1935 and 1937 and two in 1948. All these presses print books, booklets, hand bills, memo forms, etc. One press published a weekly also.

The total investment in them in 1957 was Rs. 4,03,251 including Rs. 93,456 as working capital.

They use paper, printing ink, a variety of types, stationery and binding materials, most of which are brought from Poona and Bombay. The value of articles consumed in 1957 was about: Rs. 2,60,000. Their mechanical equipment consists of printing machines, cutting and stitching machines, treadles, perforating and binding machines and cylinder machines. About 20 treadles were working in these factories in 1957.

They consumed kerosene oil, crude oil, and electricity as fuel worth Rs. 4,000 in 1957.

The industry provided employment to 102 persons whose total wage bill amounted to Rs. 94,509.

All these presses did job work, binding work and printing of books. This industry does not get sufficient work so as to get even marginal returns on its capital, Some units are running at a loss. Competition among the printing presses and paucity of demand have deteriorated the economic position of the presses.

Ayurvedic Medicine.

The Ayurvedic pharmacy at Satara is the only one of its kind in the district. Started in 1941 with an investment of Rs. 34,000 and employment of 11 workers it has expanded greatly during the last 20 years. Its total assets in 1958 were Rs. 2.32,667 including Rs. 1.65,789 as working capital.

It utilises various kinds of herbs and plants, mercury and vermilion as raw materials. Most of the herbs and plants, are brought from the Konkan forests and other materials from Bombay. The value of raw material used in 1958 was about Rs. 60,000.

The factory uses a grinding machine for making powders, bottle washing, filling and capping machines and a tablet making machin in the process of manufacturing.

Babul wood is mainly used as fuel. About 36 tons of babul wood valued at Rs. 4,459 was used in 1958.

There were 63 workers of whom 39 were permanent and 21 temporary. A male worker was paid Rs. 1.25 and a female worker one rupee per day. Their annual wage bill was Rs. 26,488 in 1958. Three persons were employed as Supervisors and Clerks who were paid Rs. 3,456 in 1958.

The factory produces 16 different varieties of Ayurvedic medicines of which 11 are its speciality. The total value of products in 1958 was Rs. 81,905. The biggest market for the products is Maharashtra which consumes about 75 per cent. of (he total produce. The remaining is exported to Mvsore and Madhva Pradesh.

Transport difficulties and lack of finance are the main problems faced by the factory, which has good scope to expand if necessary capital is made available.

Silk dyeing

A factory, twisting and dyeing silk yarn situated at Satara was started in 1929. The aggregate capital invested in it was Rs. 1,50,000 including Rs. 60,500 as working capital in 1957. The total employment was about 55 persons who were paid Rs. 12,000. It consumed 57,600 lbs. of art silk valued at Rs. 2,78,000. The market for the goods was Belgaum, Poona, Sholapur. Ichalkaranji. Malegaon and Bagalkot.

Power loom weaving.

There is one power loom factory at Satara. Originally it was started at Limb and was shifted to Satara in 1948. It produce dhotis, saris and other varieties of cloth. The factory had 10 power looms of which only four were working. It employed fourty persons who were paid Rs. 1,500 in 1957-58. It consumed 3,300 lbs. of yarn valued at Rs. 6,000 and produced 11,000 yards of cloth in 1957-58. The market for the products was Satara district.

Brick Manufacturing.

The two brick factories registered under the Factories Act were located at Satara and Karad. The former was started in 1947 and the latter in 1951. Both were seasonal and worked about four months in the year. The latter is reported to have closed down. The total investment in both in 1958 was Rs. 6,000, of which working; capital formed a major portion.

Clay, coal-ash, horse dung and other materials, valued at Rs. 4,300 and fuel like coal, firewood, etc, valued at Rs. 3,600 was consumed by them in 1958. Most of these materials are available in the towns where factories were located.

About 40 persons who were paid Rs. 6,400 as wages were employed. Thev manufactured about 4,00,000 bricks, valued at about Rs. 11,500 in that season The availability of abundant clay on the banks of the Krishna and Koyna enhances the scope for the development of the industry. The industry does not require large capital. This industry can advantageously be organised on a co-operative pattern.

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