 Nashik
as an Industrial city
The industrial development of
Nashik area may be thought of mainly in two periods, namely pre-independence
and post-independence period. The post-independence
period, we may divide, again
in three stages i.e. from 1948 to 1960, 1960 to 1985
and the last one and a half decade
of the 20th century.
Pre-independence
Period
During this period the whole
district was humming with handicraft activities mainly in engraving on gold,
silver, copper and brass utensils,
Manufacturing locks, making paper
and weaving textile items like colored sarees, Paithanee,
carpets, blankets, silk cloth etc.Nearly 35000 artisans were engaged in
these cottage-industrial activities.
The first sign of modern industry
as such in this region can be traced back to
1882 when a Paper Mill at Yeola
with an employment of 200 workers was started.
The British Government started
Rail workshops at Igatpuri and Manmad sometime in 1900. The work of India
Security Press, with a capital investment of Rs. 28 lacs was started in
1923 and printing work was commenced in 1925. The printing of currency
notes began in 1928.
Encouraged by the favourable
conditions conducive to the industrial growth, the
private sector also stepped
in. The era of modern industrialization started during
the 4th decade of the 20th
century with the establishment of the Walchand Group at Ravalgaon. In
1933 the first sugar factory was founded in Nashik District.
That very year the first foundry
was also started. In 1936 the first soap factory was witnessed by the
Nashikites, coinciding with the emergence of power loom sector in Malegaon.
Nashik’s contribution in Service
Industrial Field, particularly in insurance
sector has been a pioneering
one. The first Insurance Company, the
Sahyadri Insurance Company
was commenced in 1936 at Nashik.
In 1943, the first Cement
Tiles Factory was started at Nashik.
During pre-independence period
only Nashik entered into a very special
cottage industry activity namely
Beedi manufacturing. In the absence of its
main raw material i.e. Tendu
leaves, it is indeed a great achievement that this
industry took a solid base
and shape at Sinnar. It provided employment to
thousands of illiterate and
poor adivasees, especially women, in the
drought-prone areas. Still
this industry assumes a great importance in the
rural economy not only in the
district but even in the whole state of Maharashtra.
Post-Independence
period
We may, briefly note the major
industrial happenings during the first two decades
after India got independence.
A government printing
press, with an investment of Rs. Two cores, was established· Bone
Mill was started at Manmad.Small units mainly related to consumer items,
like ice, soap, agricultural
implements, pharmacies, textile, processing and
packing food and other agricultural
products etc.were started . During this period, Malegaon in the District,
came up as a growing centre for power looms and
principally for weaving coloured
sarees. During the first decade of the post
independence period the number
of power looms doubled i.e. from 4000 to 8000
and by the end of 1970, the
authentic number of power looms reached the
incredible 25000.
Modern
Industrialization
The systematic, scientific and
channelised process of the modern industrial
development of Nashik, in the
true sense of the term, started in 1962 when Satpur M.I.D.C. was declared
to have come into existence with some land being handed
over to Nashik Industrial Co-Op.
Estate Limited; popularly called as NICE Area. During the first decade 50
units, mainly pertaining to consumer products and ancillary units, investing
about Rs. 25 crores and giving jobs to 3000 unemployed were started.
These include few large units
also like MICO, Tapadia, VIP etc.
During this period, MSEB started
Thermal Power Unit at Eklahare near Nashik Road. Other few large units
like Citric, Vindhya papers, Kirloskar Tractors etc. Were
established in private corporate
sector.
In this very decade, Nashik
was placed on the world industrial and defense map of India as MIG Air-Craft
Unit of the famous Hindustan Aeronautics
Ltd (HAL) was started at Ozar in 1964.
The major transformation of
Nashik took place during the last fifteen years. The
Satpur
MIDC Area (636.98 hectares) was flooded with industrial activities.
An additional MIDC Area of
520.55 hectares at Ambad was declared
in 1980 and at Malegaon near Sinnar an area of 587 hectares was added
in 1988. At Sinnar the
Sinnar Co-Op. Industrial Estate
Ltd. Came into existence on Shirdi Road at
Musalgaon with an area of 103
hectares. Now Nashik produces almost everything
from pin to Aeroplane. Recently
the State Government has declared a five star
industrial estate near Sinnar.
This would be covering an area of 7500 hectares
of land destined to be the
biggest industrial complex not only in India, but in the
whole of Asian continent. Mainly
it will cater to the needs of agro-based industrial products and their
exports oriented processing . At present more than 175 large and medium
industrial units are functioning with an investment of Rs 1169 corres
providing employment to more than 27000 workers .The total number of SSI
units having permanent registration is 7547 having an investment of
Rs 325 crores and employing more than 30000 persons.
Apart from Satpur, Ambad and
Sinnar, the district is having MIDC areas at
Malegaon, (Proposed)
Dindori, Vinchur, Peth and Surgana. Very recently
water of Girna dam has been
reserved for proposed Malegaon MIDC area and in the coming years, a tremendous
development of industrial activities in Malegaon MIDC can be witnessed.
The district is having industrial
co-operative estates at Nashik, Sinnar, Malegaon, Manmad, Yeola, Pimpalgaon
(Baswant), Kalwan, Igatpuri, Chandwad and Nandgaon. Efforts are also going
on to have such an estate at Satana. Presently 600 units, mainly SSI,
are functioning in these estates.
Similarly there are six big
industrial buildings three at Ambad, and three at Satpur, accommodating
76 units functioning at present. These buildings provide flat type
enclosures to small and tiny units.
Industries
Small
Scale Industries - Weaving rough blankets, cloth, curing hides,
making copper and brass vessels and rolling bidis are some of the small
scale industries of the district. Rough blankets are woven at Dubere and
Thangaon. Sinner and Nashik have bidi-rolling units. Wooden articles are
made in Peth and Surgana. Besides these, small villages are engaged in
making earthenware pots, leather chappals and shoes, bricks and tiles
etc.
Large
Scale Industries - There are sugar factories in Malegaon, Yeola,
Niphad, Kalvan, Dindori and Nashik talukas. Igatpuri and Peth talukas
have rice mills, while Malegaon, Baglan, Chandwad, Yeola and Niphad talukas
have oil mills.
The big industries
of Nashik :
Ginning and pressing mills
are situated in Malegaon, Ba. There are industrial estates at Satpur,
Ambad, Malegaon, Sinnar and Manmad. Nashik has factories manufacturing
dyes, nylon, luggage, engineering goods, electrical equipments, electronic
goods etc.
Ladies Industrial
Sector
Nashik is having one more speciality
of having a separate industrial area at Ambad MIDC, meant exclusively for
lady entrepreneurs. NICE has also constructed a big building for housing
such SSI units managed by lady-entrepreneurs.
Private Estates
One can witness the growth of
particularly large and medium scale industries
coming up on Mumbai-Agra road
sector, mainly in Igatpuri Taluka, between
Nashik and Igatpuri. Day by day
this area is taking the shape of an industrial complex having big as well
as export oriented units. Presently, establishments like Raymond Steel,
Shalimar Paints, Sapat, Titan Alloys etc. are working in this area. All
put
together the capital investment
that is made in this area by these units may be amounting to more than Rs.
100 crores. This site, it is estimated, within two-three decades will attract
an investment of thousands of crores of rupees.
Bright Prospects
Now Nashik offers most advantageous
position over many coming-up industrial
zones to the state, national
and multinational establishments. Though majority
are from engineering sector,
Nashik is also attracting agro-based and food units along with 100% export
units. In the near future nearly 8000 crores investment is expected. More
than 300 large and medium size units are expected to commence and take
shape within two decades to come.
Textile Centre
- Malegaon and Yeola
Malegaon is well known
for power-looms. This development started at Malegaon
mainly between 1948 to 1958.
More than 1,25,000 power-looms are functioning
and are producing daily one crore
meter cloth. The scope for textile and its
ancilliarization at Malegaon
is very large, particularly during the present decade,
as the state government has reserved
water for proposed MIDC at Malegaon which is expected within next few years.
 Paithanee,
a handicraft speciality of Maharashtra, comes from
Yeola and is having
bright internal as well as export market.
Agro Processing
Nashik offers King’s position
as far as grapesand onions
are concerned. Both these farm produces do have wide scope of processing
and exports also. Recently
the district has also taken lead
in strawberries, tomatoes, vegetables and other agriculture produces.
“Pepen”
is other speciality of Nashik from very bright entrepreneur Enzochem of
Yeola. It is having export
market.
Nashik is also exporting flowers,
mainly roses. Recently it has started exporting Tea.
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