“KiTEC is an aluminium and polyethylene composite that combines the best features of both materials to form a pipe that is light, strong and free from corrosion. KiTEC pipe avoids the unaccepted thermal expansion and deformation of plastic pipe and retains the flexibility as well,” says Avinash Laddha, MD, Kitec Industries (India) Ltd.
 Kitec Industries (India) Ltd. is excelling in the business of manufacturing plumbing products. Its consistent efforts to introduce newer technology and newer products help it offering quality pipe fitting and plumbing services to clients. In an exclusive interview with B2B Purchase, Avinash Laddha explains why KiTEC pipes are unique in plumbing applications.
What are the products you are offering in the plumbing segment?We are not in many products as we are offering pipes only and focused on the same. We started in 1996 with composite pipes in different sizes. We have also developed technologies like fitting and jointing to meet the market needs.
Industry should start realising that plumbing pipes for a residential or commercial unit are as important as the blood vessels in human body. KiTEC Composite Pipe System (KiTEC CPS) combines the performance of polymer – high density polyethylene, and metal – aluminium, to give a light-weight, high strength, high performance product.
Explain us about the different range of your pipe fittings service.KiTEC pipes are available up to 4” size. KiTEC India is possibly the first company in the world to manufacture multilayer pipes up to 4” size. Full range of fittings in all sizes is also available to meet the specific application requirement.
Kitec composite pipe is considered to be a unique pipe in its segment, please elaborate.There are various types of pipes available in plumbing, mainly plastic and metal pipes. Keeping in mind, each material has its own strengths and weaknesses; KiTEC combines their strengths and eliminates drawbacks to bring a product. KiTEC is an aluminium and polyethylene composite that combines the best features of both materials to form a pipe that is light, strong and free from corrosion. By combining the two materials along with adhesive layers, KiTEC pipe avoids the unaccepted thermal expansion and deformation of plastic pipe and retains the flexibility as well.
Moreover, Kitec PE-AL-PEX pipes can be used for hot water up to 95 C whereas plastic pipes can be used up to 65 C only.
What are the present challenges or roadblocks the industry is facing?There are challenges but they are just part of a game. We believe that generated money should be put back into technology. We insist for innovation while manufacturing our products so that they will go a long way. Though there are some difficulties, I won’t call them as roadblocks as I feel roadblock is basically a mental block. Every product has its market. When we came up with composite pipes, nobody was thinking beyond GI pipe or PVC pipe. However, we started people making realise that there is a need to chase such product.
Is there anything that government can do to encourage the industry?It is important to have availability of continuous power at uniform rate throughout the country to avoid unhealthy competition. Govt should ensure the same. In addition, some factors should be taken care of which include availability of finance, improved infrastructure and elimination of labour unrest by providing them satisfying wages.
What type of industries you are looking at in order to grow?We definitely want to grow. We are working on new type of jointing system which will make things easier and be economical also. It will be revealed once we are done. Currently we are looking at different industries including gas market. Today composite pipes are finding themselves in domestic gas markets of countries like Australia and New Zealand. Though this is not the case in India, slowly the picture is changing. We just need to move on from our traditional way of thinking.
Would you like to share about your future expansion plans?At the moment, we want to develop simpler jointing system. Our second priority is to increase size of pipes even more. Also there is a need to look for some other materials to increase the pressure rating of pipes. Further, we are working on international markets as well which mainly includes Indonesia and USA and hope for more in the future.