MACHINERY SOURCE & PRODUCTION SETUP
The two options available were:
1. The machinery available in one of the sick units could be obtained from Government with the intervention of UNICEF & SACRED. This would help in discounting the burden of machinery cost & hence SHG would need to pay minimum government rent as per the regulations. But the option would be very time consuming as the government documentation would take at least 10 months to obtain NOC( No Objection Certificate) & transfer of machinery( as per discussion with BDO of Bhokardan). Hence the option did not appear to be lucrative.
2. The second option would be to procure machinery from the known source who had earlier supplied to units. The machinery details have been mentioned in Exhibit 3.
PRODUCTION SETUP INVESTMENT The 30 ft X 20 Ft space in Grampanchayat office premises would be taken on rent by SHG group, the lighting connection, water supply connection & interior construction needed to be done on priority. As per initial assessment of the site & discussion with village authorities & local builders, the investment was estimated at around Rs. 30000. This investment would be a part of investment made by SHG. The village authorities would help in pipeline provision under SME( SME:- Small & Medium scale Enterprise) development scheme. It was required to be taken up in regular monthly Gramsabha in order to arrive at consensus. Considering the total expenses, the initial investment for the SHG would be Rs. 255861.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS The process of manufacturing is given in Exhibit 4.
The product must be clean and free from foreign matter due to its use in sensitive areas. The sanitary napkin obtained through the above process would be subjected to sterilization to ensure a germ-free and safe product. This would be done using a UV Sterilizer before packing. Each napkin has standardized dimensions of 20 cm X 6.25 cm X 0.6cm.
During the production of Sanitary napkins following care had to be ensured:
1. The napkin manufacturing place should be clean. All work to be done on work table only( like QC, packing, etc.)
2. While making napkins, worker should wear work coat, hand gloves, head cap and mouth closer.
3. No foot wear allowed while making napkins. 4. Visitors would not be allowed( they sneeze or touch the napkins). If necessary, visitors could be allowed in workers uniform.
5. Everyday production would be packed and stored; no napkins would be kept open after production.
TEAM COMPOSITION
As per analysis & study of Jehur unit the following team composition was needed:
1. One member to take care of purchase & dispatch activity
2. Two members to take care of Quality control at final stage & packing. The product needed to be checked as per the laid down parameters & then only would be passed.
3. Four members to take care of the production. The production to be done as per the laid down machine parameters.
4. One member to take care of administrative needs. That member would preferably be the head of SHG in order to keep the discipline on the shop floor at unit.
After final production, the final packing into required lot size( 8 packets in one lot) needed to be done by all women in order to avoid the dispatch becoming a bottleneck. As per the study of production unit, in 1 day 180 pads could be produced by working for 6 hours daily. The details of production are mentioned in financials. The financial calculations for first two years based upon the study of Jehur plant & assumed efficiency attained are mentioned in Exhibit 5.
OPTIONS FOR FUNDING THE PROJECT OF STARTING THE PRODUCTION UNIT AT KEDARKHEDA
NABARD is the major agency which grants loan to the self help groups to start their own business. The self help group would need to register in the panchayat samiti office & should have a registration number allocated to it. The loan facility would be available with various banks also but with a higher interest rate as compared to NABARD. Secondly SACRED could work out the option, with the help of fruitful intervention from UNICEF, of acquiring the machinery lying unused in sick units in Maharashtra & get it rented for the production unit at Kedarkheda. That would help in significant reduction in initial investment and hence boost the confidence level of the self- help group.
Till the time the unit would be set up based upon the feasibility, the supply from Jehur unit to SACRED would continue. SACRED office at Bhokardan would act as a distribution hub from where Deepshikhas would be collecting the sanitary napkin packets and would be selling & distributing in their own villages. Details of a
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