In the male-dominated construction industry, Smita Tiwari is a notable exception. With heaps of experience in the cladding and architectural industry acquired through stints with several organisations, Tiwari was well aware of the dynamics of the industry, the incipient trends, and knew exactly what was needed.
Tiwari and her partner Siddharth Thakker launched Elevate Building Solutions with the aim of providing quality architectural products and services at competitive prices, under the brand name Articlad. The company began by trading in building materials that either weren’t available in the country or were expensive.
Today, Articlad provides concrete solutions for all kinds of cladding needs. “As a brand, we believe in the philosophy of customer-first by providing great value for money and upholding continuous innovation,” says Tiwari.
Innovative Cladding
Mumbai-headquartered Articlad offers a whole range of exterior and interior cladding products such as stones, bricks, flexible, 3D panels and various concrete artefacts. With state-of-the-art production units located in Mumbai and Bangalore, the company’s operations and networks span across the country.
Articlad switched to manufacturing to cut the dependence on imports as that not only made the products expensive but also less available.
Over the years, there was general apprehension in the market against using wet cladding on high-rise or curved surfaces. The founders decided to solve this problem with the first ever flexible cladding that's made of clay, 3mm thin, feather light, gives the exact look and feel of stone cladding and can bend too.
Since the industry is mostly unorganised with the presence of few players and little attention to innovation, Articlad is in a position to capture a larger market share.
The Road Ahead
The Global Construction 2030 report disclosed that the construction market was worth $8.2 trillion in the current year, China, India and the US are major contributors to this expansion. The increase in the construction market is expected to fuel the cladding systems market in the future.
“Easier access to the internet has made people more aware and they are interested in designing their homes and bungalows. Initially, it used to be one source i.e. the architect, but today the end user is totally interested and keen to learn.”
The company is constantly innovating, upgrading technology and is set to introduce new products. Tiwari intends to cut off competition from neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and China. Wet cladding, translucent concrete, not-so-typical cladding and plaster for water logging are some of the fresh innovations that can be expected from Articlad.