§1What this business is
Plastic is light and easy to mould; a metal coat gives it the look and wear resistance of metal. Chrome-finished ABS parts are used as knobs for fans and coolers, push buttons, door knobs, drawer pulls, automobile and appliance trims and computer hardware. Plastic does not conduct electricity, so it is first made conducting: the part is cleaned, etched, neutralised, sensitised and given an electroless nickel coat. After that it is plated like metal — acid copper, bright nickel and decorative chrome — with water rinses between the baths. Plating-grade ABS gives better adhesion than ordinary grades. The unit works as a job plater for moulders and is charged by the square metre. The standard named is IS 1068:1993 for copper, nickel and chromium coatings.
Capacity: 25,000 sq m of plating a year on a single shift, valued at ₹75 lakh (₹300 per sq m).
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A chemist or experienced electroplater near plastic-moulding and auto-component units.
Who it is not for
Anyone who cannot get a plot where the pollution board allows electroplating.
Advantages
- Chrome-look plastic parts are used in autos, appliances and hardware
- Job work: the moulder supplies the parts, so you hold no product stock
- Low break-even of 37.31% in the profile
- A skill few small platers have, so less competition than metal plating
Drawbacks
- The profile calls it a polluting industry — consent and effluent treatment are a must
- Nickel anodes and sensitiser are costly
- Poor adhesion on badly moulded or wrong-grade ABS causes rejections
- Needs a trained plating chemist to keep the baths right
Skills you need
- Bath chemistry and daily testing of solutions
- Etching, sensitising and electroless nickel on plastic
- Effluent treatment and safe handling of acids
- Job costing per square metre
Why difficulty 4/5: Many chemical baths to control and strict pollution rules for plating units.
§3Market
Who buys
- Plastic moulders making knobs, buttons and trims
- Automobile component makers
- Makers of fans, coolers, radios, TVs and other appliances
- Hardware makers (door knobs, drawer pulls)
How it sells
- Job-work orders charged per square metre plated
- Regular contracts as an ancillary unit to appliance and auto-parts makers
Good to know
- The profile charges ₹300 per sq m of plating.
- It says there is enough scope for new job-plating units for ABS moulded parts.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Oil-cooled silicon rectifier, 1,000 A, 12 V, with stepless control | 1 | ₹2,00,000 |
| Filtration unit for bright nickel, 2 HP, 16 plates | 1 | ₹32,000 |
| Filter unit for acid copper, 2 HP, 16 plates | 1 | ₹32,000 |
| Bright nickel tank, 1,500 litres | 1 | ₹65,000 |
| Chrome tank, 300 litres | 1 | ₹4,000 |
| Acid copper tank, 500 litres | 1 | ₹15,000 |
| Drag-out tanks | 2 | ₹10,000 |
| Neutralisation tank, 300 litres | 1 | ₹5,000 |
| Sensitising tank | 1 | ₹5,000 |
| Etching tank, 2 ft × 2 ft × 2 ft, lead-lined mild steel | 1 | ₹40,000 |
| Motorised polishing machine, 2 HP | 1 | ₹13,000 |
| Immersion heaters, 3 kW | 2 | ₹7,000 |
| Testing equipment (reagents, glassware, pH meter) | — | ₹1,00,000 |
| Pollution-control equipment | — | ₹2,00,000 |
From: DC-MSME project profile — Chromium Plating on ABS Plastic (2011)
- Nickel anodes40 kg a month; ₹1,40,000 a month in the profile
- Bright nickel salt and brighteners80 kg of salt at ₹430 a kg, plus brightener at ₹400 a litre
- Sensitiser32 litres a month at ₹1,800 a litre
- Etchant, soak cleaner and neutraliseretchant 77 litres a month at ₹185 a litre
- Electroless (immersion) nickel concentrates A and B42 litres each a month
- Decorative chrome salt32 kg a month at ₹400 a kg
- Copper anodes and acid-copper brightener17 kg of anodes at ₹480 a kg
- Other chemicals (caustic soda, sulphuric acid, hydrogen peroxide, activated carbon)₹20,000 a month
From: DC-MSME project profile — Chromium Plating on ABS Plastic (2011)
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- State Pollution Control Board consent to establish and operate (electroplating)
- Hazardous-waste authorisation for plating sludge
- Factory licence where worker count and power use require it
Start it in your state
Pick your state: today’s cost, central + state subsidy, raw material, land and help, on one page.
§6Schemes & subsidies
CGTMSE can cover the ₹32.57 lakh project loan without collateral. For PMEGP, ask the bank how it classes job-work plating: the ceiling is ₹50 lakh for manufacturing but ₹20 lakh for a service unit.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Fixed capital ₹18,98,000 (land 200 sq m ₹4,00,000; building 100 sq m ₹5,00,000; machinery, testing, pollution-control and office equipment ₹9,48,000; pre-operative ₹50,000) + working capital for 3 months ₹13,59,000 = ₹32,57,000.
Working capital: Recurring cost ₹4,53,000 a month, of which plating salts, anodes and chemicals are ₹3,40,000 (nickel anodes alone ₹1,40,000); working capital for 3 months ₹13,59,000.
Prices from February 2011 — land, plant, nickel and chemical costs will be much higher now.
§8Export potential
This is job work on a customer's parts; the unit itself exports nothing.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Closure for breaking effluent rules
- Swings in nickel prices
- Peeling or blistering of plated parts
- Dependence on a few moulders for work
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working chromium plating on abs plastic (job work) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Chromium Plating on ABS Plastic (Job Work)?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.