Roof India 2019: Array of innovations, opportunities

The 18th edition of Roof India 2019 was held in Mumbai from April 25-27. The event provided a powerful platform for a host of companies in the building construction and infrastructure industry, to converge, network and form business collaborations.

Asia’s largest roofing and allied product exposition contributed to expanding the booming building construction and infrastructure market. Visitors included aerospace establishment personnel, architects & designers, military establishments personnel, large warehouse builders, PEB contractors, retail malls promoters, sports infrastructure personnel, waterproofing contractors, airport infrastructure authorities, builders contractors, EPC consultants, landscape architects, media representatives, quantity surveyors, roofing contractors, town planners, amusement parks owners, civil & structural engineers, factory builders, metro rail infrastructure personnel, real estate promoters.

Exhibitors showcased products in roofing systems, metal building systems, waterproofing, roof fastening systems, polycarbonate roofing, concrete, roofing tiles, metal building system, steel building systems, structural glazing, curtain walling, turbine ventilators, green roof technologies, solar roofing technology, anchoring systems, scaffolding equipment & fixtures, architectural cladding, tensile membranes, tensile architecture, roof insulation, steel roofing, waterproofing membranes, roof landscaping products, safety equipment & services, PEBs, among other profiles.

Currently, demand is still high for pre-engineered buildings/factories, airport modernisation new airports projects, metro rail, new hotel/resorts, IT parks, retail malls, hypermarkets, multiplexes, integrated townships etc.

Roofing can sustain the requirements of a structure on the levels of acoustics, thermal, wind and rain, along with its loads. Coming with its partner from Germany, BEMO – holding company of metal envelopes – Aditya Profiles Pvt Ltd has formed a joint venture in India showcasing the various projects it has done and engineered long lasting and state-of-the-art solution.

Airport structures are designed to last for minimum 50 years. The company explains its role in ensuring sustainability of passenger, traffic, acoustic that can affect the airport around and from inside. Already, airports had projected the structure and roofing is stable, safe and appropriate in terms of design for 50 years.

“Our systems are designed to give architects the freedom they want to get the desired aesthetic. We’ve done a lot of complex structures in India and worldwide. While the challenges there were hard to deal with for a roofing company, we have overcome the same with our design team in Germany,” according to Sajin Thomas, Sr. Regional Manager – South, Aditya Profiles Pvt Ltd.
Currently, the company is designing Navi Mumbai Airport and providing solutions that would help the architect give aesthetic appearance to the prestigious project. Besides this, it is combining multiple facades of the building in terms of acoustic and roofing, also savings in terms of cost. In addition to this, the company is also doing its fourth airport at Agartala. It started with Delhi Terminal 3, Belgaum airport and a small work at Kochi Airport.

Experts believeIndia is a price-sensitive market. Hence, national materials should be introduced in the market to make India a niche market with niche projects, where there is limited amount of usage of these products. Structures like temples, domes, churches, some of the high-end residential buildings, villas etc., can turn out to be one of the places tourists would like to visit and they would like to see their stuff being used in south-east of Asia.

The market for roofs, floors and facades is growing quite well because people are pretty much done with composite panels. The upcoming trend would include use of aluminum composite panels for aesthetic appeal. Going ahead, the industry would witness bent towards natural products.

Lotus Roofings Ltd displayed a range of roofing sheets quite different from metal roofing sheets, which were also displayed at the expo along with plastic roofing sheets. Metal roofing sheets are used for PEB buildings, while it is mostly decorative roofing sheets in our case mainly used for residential and commercial purposes. In addition to this, the company has different colours, transparencies and different designs in metal roofing sheet.

Our range of products also carry different feel and colours, largely suited to the taste and requirements of the customer,” says S. Thanapal, Marketing Manager, Lotus Roofings Ltd.

While initially there was not enough awareness of metal sheet, people are more aware of it now, given that several companies have entered the market. Thus, the market for metal sheet has expanded. Similar is the case for polycarbonate, which is likely to be the future. Once the manufacturers come in and market expands, people will come to know about the products, he says.

The insulation market is growing with growth expected to continue. The exhibition provided a good platform to insulation products that in turn led to increasing awareness about insulation.

Roof India 2019 also showcased building rolls which are used in PEBs and residential buildings or commercial buildings. Being one of leading manufacturers of stone wool products,Thermocare Rock Wool (I) Pvt Ltdleveraged the expo for its products in thermal insulation, acoustic and fireproof products.

“Sunrock building roll is our latest offering, which is a fireproof, water-repellent product and a good sound absorber,” says Rachit Agarwal, Director, Thermocare Rock Wool (I) Pvt Ltd.

According to the stone wool supplier, a lot of awareness is yet to come into the insulation market and the common misconception is that stone wool is for industrial purpose. However, the product has notable utility in residential projects too. To give out for extra stone wool in a residential and commercial project is somewhat challenging.

Zenith Birla India Ltd believes that Roof India 2019 has helped the company to better understand the customers’ requirements, and how the market is perceiving certain things. “We would like to work more on projects, since greater number of projects entail increased feedback and insights from customers,” Nandakumar Krishnan, Advisor – Marketing, Zenith Birla (India) Limited.

The company has developed two products, one of them being developed through a vendor but not yet launched. These are made from composite materials developed through vendor made from recycled plastics and combination of sand and additives put together. The cost of this product will be far lower.

Indian construction industry is witnessing booming demand with the inflow of projects in the infrastructure space. According to industry data, by 2030, Asia’s third largest economy will have become the world’s third largest construction industry, behind only China and the United States.

The current scenario comprises sizeable construction work that involves completely new projects, innovative new designs in addition to entirely new roofing materials, as against repairing or renovating. The construction industry in the present times is rising the infrastructure momentum that has given rise to a multitude of opportunities and increasing scope for manufacturers and suppliers of roofing materials.

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