-SATISH HANDA
Ambala City known as Mixi Town in past has gone down in history as the city where first mixi in India was manufactured way back in 1963. Declining profit margin, hostile business environmental and indifferent government policies, especially higher rate of sales tax, higher electricity tariff forced mixi-juicer industry units closing shops as a result Ambala slipped way behind Bombay and Delhi when most of big mixi-juicer manufacturing units in the town shifted their units to adjoining Himachal state where government was offering attractive packages to industry in the state. Recalling the good old days, a mixi manufacturer told that it was boom time for Ambala mixi-juicer manufacturers in seventies as there was ready business for every body and despite the lack of sound technical know how the idea caught on like fire and soon there were nearly 500 units engaged in manufacturing mix. Juicers and components.
Rajender Nath Chairman of C. Lal Electrical & Mechanical Manufacturing Co said, stagnation in mixi business at Ambala City was due to multitude of of reasons, the most important of them include hike in sales tax in the state as compared to other states, non availability of raw material locally and higher rate of power supply in the state as a result profit margin to the manufacturers was too less and to meet tough price war between manufacturers they were forced to sell mix at a meagre margin of Rs 25-30 each, which adversely affected the quality of products and Ambala manufacturers started losing orders from indigenous as well as export buyers.
President of Ambala Electrical Appliances Manufacturers Association Ajay Aggarwal told that after lock down declared in the state due to epidemic outbreak, the manufacturers are facing severe crisis due to drastic increase in the prices of raw material like plastic pills and powder, copper and steel as such production cost of mixis and juicers increase up to Rs 100 each. He said, plastic pills was earlier available at the rate Rs 160 each kg jumped to Rs 380 each kg at present, the price of copper to manufacture components used in mixis too increased from Rs 425.to between Rs 700-800 each kg and steel prices has also been increased by nearly 20%.
