Aluminium fabrication industry suffers under Land row in Noida

The recent land acquisition trouble gripping Noida Extension has led to a total stoppage of all construction happening in the region. It has not just hurt the real estate companies but a lot of other allied industries here as well. One such industry was aluminium fabrication, which is also one of the hardest hit.

In the past decade, there has been a tremendous increase in the usage of aluminium structures in buildings owing to the various advantages that aluminium has over wood or iron. This increase in demand for Noida aluminium fabricators from Noida extension construction, which was one of the fastest developing real estate hubs in NCR, was a big support to the industry here, which was suddenly taken away.

"Noida Extension was a big demand generator for us, but for the last six to seven months, I have not received a single order from that region," said Daud Ahmad, proprietor r, Alfab Aluminium. "Because of the whole episode, we have lost close to 10 to 15 percent of our business." However, he added that there is still work going on in other parts of the city and NCR, which has kept the industry going.

Nitin Gulati, director, Nitson & Amitsu added that the unorganized nature of the industry is a major issue.

Fabrication industry mostly gets demand from real estate developers, but there is also demand from offices and commercial complexes. "Noida also has a happening commercial scene and it is from here we get the second highest demand," said Mr. Ahmad. The major reason that players attribute for the increase for demand is the increase in the usage of aluminium instead of other materials like wood and iron. The most important advantage Aluminium has over other metal is that it's corrosion resistant. "It does rust like steel or wear out like wood," said Mr. Gulati.

Aluminium is mostly used for making window and door frames in the buildings. However, Aluminium comparably has better aesthetic quotient and thus, is also used for making building facades. With more and more glass structures coming up, the usage of aluminium has also gone up proportionately.

He added that the other big advantage Aluminium has is its light weight.

Aluminium is slightly costlier as compared steel or wood but players say that doesn't deter people from opting for this metal. Mr Ahmad of Alfab said that although getting Aluminium is not tough, it definitely is costlier in Noida. "There are hardly any wholesale markets for buying Aluminium in Noida. We have to procure it from Paharganj market in Delhi and other parts of NCR," he said.

He said that what adds to the cost is the entry tax that has to be paid for bringing in the aluminium. "There is an entry tax of 5 percent on Aluminium which adds to our cost." Players say this is an extra burden that they are not able to pass on to the clients completely because of the ever increasing competition which has virtually started a price war between the aluminium fabricators.