The Waterproofing industry in India.

“Problem is not the solution but lack of awareness”

Waterproofing is very important part during or after any construction. Waterproofing is carried out during the construction to improve the quality of construction. All Waterproofing chemical manufacturing companies have two different lines of activities i.e., B2B and B2C. B2B business is the supply and apply of chemicals during new constructions and B2C is the business where supply and apply of chemicals are during repair and rehabilitation of old buildings / structures.

It is been observed lately across India that the market is dominated with only few big MNC’s through their elephant size advertising and marketing activities and due to which they succeed in creating a brand recall value among the end user in B2B and B2C business. As the consumers do not have any technical knowledge about the products and their applications, there are various issues what they face after any waterproofing application they have carried out. There are also consumers who would not be interested in carrying out waterproofing surface treatments for cost savings during new constructions and that is due to lack of awareness that up to what extent the structure can be damaged in short period of time.
As there is lack of awareness about the product and its application among the consumers, they are mainly dependent to choose the right product for their requirement through the contractors / applicators who are not from any company but are just interested to provide the application service without any technical knowledge. All these applicators who may be associated with any Waterproofing chemical brand who are providing them better rates for the material, so they are always ready to promote the said brand to their customers.

Looking at all the above working practice by big brands and their so-called authorized contractors enjoy the monopoly business without providing any transparency to the customers or providing any technical knowledge to their customers about the product and specialized application for respective surface. As the customer creates the blind faith on the brand due to their brand recall value and low application cost by contractors, the customer is least bothered to even read any document like Warranty document/ technical product specifications / etc. before they select the brand or appoint a contractor for application. For E.g., No. 1. Mostly all the manufacturing companies provide the warranty for waterproofing up to 10 years but that is only for the material cost and with reducing balance % of cost every year and there is no warranty related to application cost. E.g. No.2. There are several companies who are promoting an elastomeric paint as waterproofing chemical through their advertising campaign, but the limitation of the product and
application is not highlighted during the campaign to mislead the consumers and start using this elastomeric paint across all the surfaces without having any technical knowledge.

There are lots of MSME and SME companies who are into manufacturing of waterproofing chemicals, might have developed much better-quality products and also designed some good applications for different surfaces with latest technology are having slow growth. The problem in the industry is not to find the solutions but to create the awareness among the consumers and training to contractors to create better quality constructions with latest available products and applications. For E.g. “Brick bat Coba” is the oldest form of waterproofing carried out while constructing a new terrace and which is been practiced till date across India not only in rural but urban areas. This brick bat coba have various disadvantages like 1. The thickness of brickbat Coba is around 125 mm to 150 mm which increase the dead load of the structure. 2. The maintenance and repairing which is required for the Brick Bat Coba is very difficult
and complex. 3. There are the chances of developing cracks in the Brickbat waterproofing due to its rigidness. 4. If the cracks develop then it is impossible to repair it and prevent the entry of moisture for a longer period of time. 5. The Construction of the Brick Bat Coba waterproofing required skilled workmanship because it gets affected by the climate variations and heavy rainfall.

We at Engineer Plus have developed some polymer-based products and designed an application with the same which can replace this system of Brick Bat Coba with just surface treatment on terrace and also comes with 10 years company warranty including product and application. This will also provide a life upto 25 years on surface with approximately half the cost of Brick Bat Coba. I, Jigar K Parekh – Executive Director along with Mr. Alok Bhandari – Managing Director at “Engineer Plus” a brand owned by Indore Colot Organics LTd. Since 1991 have been working towards development of this unorganized sector through a system driven approach by educating the consumers and channel partners with latest technology available in the market.

SOURCE : https://successinsightsindia.com/the-waterproofing-industry-in-india/

Engineer Plus a brand of ICO LTD. appoints Jigar K. Parekh as an advisor to the Board.

Engineer Plus a brand owned by ICO Ltd. appoints Jigar K Parekh as an advisor to the board on 18th January 2023. Looking forward to implement the new business strategies and also to spread it’s wings across the country, Jigar would be guiding and creating new systems for the company and also design some new revenue generating models for the company.

Engineer plus having largest variety of waterproofing award winning chemicals have been focusing across North and East India since 1991 under the guidance of founder Director Mr. P. C. Bhandari followed by creating innovation in business by Director Alok Bhandari. Now it’s the time to spread the wings across India with new products and services along with adopting new technology as a tool to drive the sales.

Jigar K Parekh, is an entrepreneur having experience in various fields like IT, Design, Marketing, Business Development, Sales, Training and much more with over 18+ years of experience in India, UAE and Singapore. Before being an entrepreneur Jigar have worked with various MNC’s in Marketing, Planning, Communication and design. As a hobby, Jigar is passionate about learning of human psychology and Hypnotherapy.  Jigar have also been an author of a book called “Psychology Tricks for Instant Success”. With all his skills, Jigar is all set for the company to develop new workflow for waterproofing applications through online system, designing new revenue models, creating and planning of brand development and positioning in this competitive market. Jigar would also be responsible to create the brand image by creating advertising communication for different states respectively. Spreading the wings across India after creating the first pilot system for Maharashtra, Jigar would also be inviting some more Investors for the company through private equity in future.

SOURCE : https://times-bulletin.com/engineer-plus-a-brand-of-ico-ltd-appoints-jigar-k-parekh-as-an-advisor-to-the-board-2/

6th August 2022

Menstrual hygiene workshop conducted at Mumbai Police Marol Training Center

Lyvefresh ANANDA an initiative to promote Menstrual Hygiene practice was organized for the new batch at Marol police training center. To organize this workshop for these new batch of 316 women officers was initiated by the principal madam IPS N. AMBICA who had also initiated the similar workshops for 2200 Mumbai Police women officers while she was the DCP of Mumbai Police. This workshop designed by Lyvefresh ANANDA not only educates the women about menstrual hygiene but also tries to support them in creating better lifestyle.

The workshop was conducted by Nikita Gala Parekh – Training Director of Lyvefresh ANANDA which went on for around 2 hours followed by Q&A sessions. All the participants appreciated the program through which they felt that it was a life changing program. The details shared during the program was not only on menstrual hygiene but also shared the in depth knowledge on eco-friendly alternative menstrual product i.e. Menstrual Cup. Menstrual Cup being a reusable product for 5+ years it would save the nature from receiving disposable sanitary pads which takes around more than 500 years to get decompose if left open in nature.

We shall be organizing more such workshops with Mumbai Police Women officers to support them in having better lifestyle even during menstrual days.

The taboo… men talks on menstruation…

It is the need of an hour across India to support every women, so men should talk about menstruation.

We have always seen that there a Bollywood heroes who make films on menstruation or several other issues related to female where the hero being a male is been showcased as a person to take an initiative to solve the issue and also to remove the taboo in case if any across the society for the same issue. But when it comes to real life, still men are having limitation even to talk about the any kind of issues related to women.

One of the prime reasons why menstrual hygiene is neglected is gender inequality. Unequal power distribution between men and women has resulted in women’s and girls’ voices being suppressed and not being heard in decision-making within households, communities, and development programs. Recently, UNFPA Flagship State of World Population Report 2021 titled ‘My Body is My Own’ was launched, and for the first time, United Nations report focused on bodily autonomy. The report stated ‘Bodily autonomy’ as the power to make choices about your body without fear of violence or allowing someone else decides for you. Nearly half the women of 57 developing countries do not possess the right to make decisions regarding their own bodies, which includes using contraception, seeking healthcare services, or even on their sexuality. In few countries where data has been revealed, only 55% of women are entirely free to make choices over healthcare and related services, contraception, and the freedom to say yes or no to sex. According to NFHS-4 (2015-2016), only about 12% of currently married women (18-49 years of age) independently make decisions for their own bodies and healthcare services. For a quarter of women (23%), it is the spouse that mainly takes decisions about healthcare. Therefore these data suggest that men are the decision-makers and women need to depend on men’s advice for their health issues or any other problem. Working in the field of sustainable menstrual hygiene and interacting with both urban and rural women, I found many instances where women are suppressed and not allowed to take decisions or speak up about their problems.

And these boundaries and domination by a male have led to cultural taboos, stigma, and shame around menstruation, including the belief that menstrual blood, and menstruating women themselves, are impure. During menstruation, women and girls are excluded from using water and sanitation facilities in rural areas, are unable to participate fully in any social, educational, productive, and religious activities, and, in some cultures, are even excluded from the home. Therefore, addressing both the practical and the strategic needs of women related to menstruation and menstrual hygiene management requires comprehensive programs that target women and girls and men and boys.

Therefore boys and male teachers in schools need to be informed and should be confident regarding menstruation, menstrual hygiene management, and menstrual products so that they can support female students and create a less stigmatizing environment at school. This is also very important as there are fewer female teachers in secondary schools.

How can we involve men in menstruation?

Gender equality requires a partnership between males and females, and it cannot be achieved without the involvement of men and boys. So we need to involve as many men as possible. Men have an integral part to play in the conversation related to menstruation, as brothers, fathers, uncles, cousins, and teachers. Men and boys might find it awkward to initially discussing menstruation and menstrual hygiene because it is believed that menstruation is completely and pure women’s personal affair. But once men get a good understanding and awareness of menstruation and menstrual hygiene practices, they would get empowered to act. The actions may be advocating for clean and private toilets, role-modeling or creating a period positive environment among the students, communicating care and empathy rather than disgust and shame, or even stitching pads for the women. Also, decision-making power for the health issues should be given to the women themselves.

We will also try to involve men for taking up a workshop for other men or couple together on providing menstrual hygiene management and we hope to remove the taboo.