In this large scale dissemination phase, the strategy has a special emphasis on dissemination through commercial technology promoters. Competent and experienced institutions such as Maharashtra Industrial Technology Consultancy Organisation (MITCON) in Pune and ALA Authentic Services in Hyderabad have been engaged as consultants to bring on board ‘Technology Promoters’ in specific regions. Besides such initiatives, other key avenues such as association with cement companies, rural housing programs etc, are being undertaken. By the end of this phase, it is expected that several dissemination models would emerge.
Activities pertaining to MCR dissemination in South India were initiated in 1994. Holtec Consultants, a premier market research organization, conducted market research in ten selected regions and recommended Mysore region as one of the high potential areas for MCR. South India is known for terracotta coloured sloping roofs with Mangalore Pattern clay tiles. The roofing market in Mysore region has characteristics which are quite distinct from northern and central parts of India. Previously, in South India, before tiles based on materials other than clay emerged, the word ‘tile’ simply meant a Mangalore Pattern Roofing tile. Therefore, the prime competitor for the MCR tile has been the Mangalore Pattern tile. Attracting commercial enterprises into MCR business was extremely difficult, as the market for them was not convincing due to the well-established supply channels existing for Mangalore Pattern tiles.
Emerging enterprises: Supply link
Roofing trends are changing; albeit slowly. The supply position of Mangalore Pattern tiles is adversely affected due to escalating energy costs, depleting (clay) resource base and galloping increase in labour costs. Several clay tile industries have already started cutting down their production. Entrepreneurs and end-users have started looking at MCR tiles as an alternative pucca roofing material.
A concerted effort for promotion of MCR in Mysore region has been initiated. In Chamaraja Nagar, a small town near Mysore, a few producers were engaged for MCR tile production. The producers were provided with machinery on hire, and, after a period of time, were expected to purchase a new set of machinery for commercial production. Access to finance was perceived by entrepreneurs as a major lacuna in taking up MCR business. A number of awareness creation campaigns were conducted. The product – MCR – started becoming popular in Chamaraja Nagar town.
With this success, the search for individual entrepreneurs
was
intensified. Among these were petty contractors, building material producers,
and others. It was learnt by the marketing team that petty contractors are less
likely to take up production, as they preferred to purchase readily available
products such as bricks and Mangalore Pattern tiles in the market. The
identified people were shortlisted and now seven entrepreneurs are in the MCR
business. This development took place within a short span of ten months. This
became possible mainly due to a loan facility offered to the entrepreneurs for
the purchase of production machinery from Technology and Action for Rural
Advancement (TARA).Existing channels of distribution and marketing: Demand link
The marketing and distribution channels for Mangalore Pattern tiles are well established and they are perhaps more than 50 years old. These tiles are sold in the market by ‘dealers’ in the order of magnitude of millions per year. The ‘dealer’ is a key role player in the distribution channel. The dealers have their own network of distribution and marketing channels for tiles. A typical dealer in a Taluk would have 50-200 carpenters under his umbrella, who are the influencers of the roofing material choice for builders, contractors and end users. In a Taluk/Tehsil, 3-4 such tile dealers would be operating.
The marketing team visualizes this key player in the market as a catalyst in promoting MCR in Mysore region, where seven commercial entrepreneurs have been engaged. The 'dealer-centered' approach for dissemination of MCR in Mysore region (to start with) and ultimately in other potential areas of South India, puts the 'Tile Dealer' in the key position. Dealers expect an uninterrupted supply of tiles in significant numbers. Mangalore tile factories have so far been ensuring a regular supply. MCR tiles need to be made available in the commercial market since the dealers’ need for initial marketing must be satisfied. One tile unit can give a maximum of 5000 tiles per month. This is not attractive from the dealers’ point of view. The seven individual enterprises established in Mysore region have started production and more entrepreneurs are in the process of setting up their units.
The task of interacting with prominent tile dealers in Mysore City, Chamaraj Nagar town and other Taluk head quarters has been identified. The marketing team is the key link between the MCR entrepreneur and tile dealers in respective locations, as an initial step towards commercialization of MCR in Mysore region. The supply and demand links must be ensured by enabling the producers and sellers into an agreement for moving MCR tiles in the market. Normally, the dealer gets paid upto Rs.0.50 per Mangalore Pattern tile of this commission, half this amount is paid by the dealer to carpenter who actually influences the householder and end user to buy tiles. This sort of profitability at each level is more likely to endure the sustenance of MCR tile production and sale in the market. Roof quality, of course, cannot be ignored while implementing this exercise. Quality of the MCR tiles must be ensured for their long-term sustainability. Carpenters under selected tile dealers must be (and will be) trained on roof construction, using MCR tiles.
Once this producer-dealer network is established and gains a firm footing, the MCR producers and promoters could be expected to sustain and flourish. q
