How to Address Challenges in Cable Manufacturing in India

• cablemeasurement
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• Posted on April 2, 2025April 2, 2025

Cable manufacturing is a high-stakes industry. The security of the consumers is your prime concern. It is only after that that you can look at reducing production costs. 42% of cable failures occur due to manufacturing defects, even in environments where you may be following the strictest procedures and adhering to the most demanding technical standards.

As with every industry, just as there are opportunities, there are also challenges. But the good thing about challenges is that with a bit of ingenuity and proactive measures, they can be turned into opportunities.

Enumerated here are some challenges

1. Do you know that in 2019, the cable industry needed to import USD 1 billion worth of raw materials? As a nation, we have been thinking of doing less business away with China, yet one-third of the raw material was imported from China. These imports include Insulation and Semicon for 66 kV+ application materials for high temperature segment cable accessories like joints and terminations.
2. Many industries in the country import manufactured cables in highly specialized fields such as satellites, aircraft, and submarines.
3. It is often difficult to maintain quality while remaining competitive.
4. Presently there is no incentive if you want to export manufactured cables and wires.
5. There is a lack of quality standardization. Different states have different benchmarks. Consequently, when you submit tenders for the same cable, you may have to cater to different specifications for the same voltage class and the same utility. Countrywide standardization in specifications will help everyone, including manufacturers and consumers.
6. There exists an over-dependence on Europe for manufacturing machinery in this industry. This leads to higher production costs as well as the additional cost of high precision quality control equipment.
7. It is important to note that vis-a-vis the Indian cable manufacturers and producers, the overseas sellers wanting to sell in India have an advantage. Unlike the Indian manufacturers and producers, overseas sellers don’t need to obtain the ISI mark.
8. There is a glaring lack of a skilled workforce. There is no vocational training available in professional colleges and institutions. Most of the learning happens on the job. This takes its toll in terms of inferior quality and compromised specialization. Lower levels of digitization further exacerbate the problem.

By now, you have a fair idea of the various challenges that lie in the path of the wire and cable industry. These give you a perspective, especially the challenges. If you want to compete at an international level, high standards and quality are non-negotiable.

There is a greater demand for high-quality wires and cables at the international and domestic level, especially from China. If you cannot provide the desired quality, such cables can be easily imported. No cable manufacturer would want that, right?

The good thing is, cable manufacturers can easily turn these challenges into opportunities by using the right technology.

Conclusion

With an absence of skilled labor, low-quality issues, and high import prices, the cable manufacturing sector is experiencing severe challenges as discussed in this article. Since defects in production account for 42% of cable failures, the quality needs to be of the highest standard to compete.

However, these issues also provide room for growth. With the use of smart technology, manufacturers can step up their game and compete both domestically and internationally. Machines such as the insulation thickness measuring equipment by Cable Measurement can improve precision, crafting the foundation for superior quality and industry growth.