Digitalisation has supplemented the long pending innovation needed in the Indian construction industry, says Vikas Mittal, Managing Director, Nova Formworks.

Can you tell us about Nova Formworks and its core competencies?

Nova Formworks is one of the pioneers who dared to innovate in the usually stringent and old school construction industry. Ours is the first Indian plastic modular formwork system, introduced around nine years ago. We have been awarded various IPs for our unique technology and unique locking system, over 100 times usability, cost saving and green construction endeavours.

What is your long-term vision with NOVA?

Being a second-generation entrepreneur in the plastics industry, I believe in sustainable and conscious future. No matter the industry, we need to be more vigilant in our decision making, always keeping the plant and general good before us and I think that is only possible with innovation and making sure our products deliver quality that leads in building general goodwill of our customers. 

How do you see plastic formwork better than that of steel?

The rising cost of steel, lead time, different vendor different quality of fabrication, difficulties in procurement, supply chain hurdles, no locking system, sticking to concrete and heavy panels, all these are making people rethink how they approach formworks now. Plastic formwork is easy for handling, superior finish, reusable, environment-friendly, modular & flexible, safe, avails fast set-up, gives you simplified logistics, leakage proof, easy to store, cost saving on plaster, cost saving on labour, and lightweight with an average weight of 18 kg per sq m. It has high tensile strength and is impact resistant and wear resistant.

What are the major challenges?

Making people see the above advantages of plastic formworks over steel and plywood is a major challenge. Hence, we have taken up entering into the infrastructure sector as our priority. Our new project with NHAI for construction of highways has provided us that opportunity. 

Other than NHAI, what kind of client line do you have currently?

Apart from NHAI, we have clients like L&T, SPCL, ACIL, Tata Projects, MFAR, JMC, J Kumar, Leighton and many more.

What are the expansion plans?

We are very keen on expanding in the Gulf region, which is on the top of our list. We already have international clients from Europe and some parts of Africa 

What is special about this field that currently motivates you to innovate?

The New Normal of construction industry! I mean I have been waiting for this industry to open its gates to new ideas, new technologies, innovation. But in India, we still have a lot of friction in adopting this advancement. For example, NOVA-manufactured formworks are very green construction-friendly, being reusable more than 100 times and are completely recyclable. We designed our products for a greener future, but we are majorly our client’s favourite because we help them significantly reduce the costs over traditional wood or steel-based formworks. I think that vision has shifted in the last one year. 

What kind of changes do you foresee in constructions post pandemic?

Digitalisation and innovation! Construction industry for the first time has been pushed to go digital. For the first time, businesses in this sector started seeding brands with the future in mind by choosing digital presence rather than physical presence. In the last one year, the mode of communication for the construction industry that was dominated by traditional media has switched to digital media which is not just a great leap but it is the need of the hour. 

Digitalisation has also supplemented the long pending innovation needed in the Indian construction industry. Architects to contractors were attracted to this new digital era of online education and new IT solutions or that could revolutionise how we work. For example, initially 3D printing was seen as an evil, something that would take away jobs in India. But today is considered a viable option for offsite construction and innovation in construction. There are other more interesting pictures in the ideas of the much-needed conversations on green buildings or self-sustainable buildings that could support their own oxygen supply due to our experience with lack of oxygen in hospitals in the second wave of Covid. 

So, you think something positive will come out of this pandemic for construction industry?

Indeed, it will! The construction industry has been hit by pandemic like no other. The labour shift, the lack of access to site, the dip in the market, lack of investments on real estate may seem like a downfall but can actually be turned into something positive because it gives us time to innovate, rethink our basics like quality of material, benchmarking processes etc. This was the new normal that will rather be more optimistic and advantageous as due to the pandemic we are receiving more and more enquiries as people want to cut costs and improve their quality of work. Not all changes are bad!

Another important shift I see is this period has also pushed us to take care of our workforce. Train our labour to be more skilled and efficient.