§1What this business is

PTFE powder is sieved, mixed with a lubricant, pressed into a billet, extruded into a ribbon and calendered into a thin sheet. The sheet is dried to remove the lubricant, stretched, slit to width and wound on small plastic reels — usually 10 m of 12 mm tape weighing about 1 gram. Buyers are hardware and sanitary shops, plumbers, gas fitters and industries.

Capacity: 15,00,000 reels a year, each about 1 gram of PTFE.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

An engineering diploma holder or a building-materials salesperson with hardware-store contacts.

Who it is not for

Someone who cannot secure imported PTFE powder.

Advantages

  • Used by every plumber and gas fitter
  • Few makers — the profile counts about 12 in India
  • Export scope to the Middle East, Africa and the USA

Drawbacks

  • PTFE powder is mostly imported and sometimes short
  • ₹57.50 L of the cost is land and building
  • Below-standard tape in the market pulls prices down
  • Small profit — ₹5.19 L a year at best

Skills you need

  • Paste extrusion and calendering
  • Thickness and density control
  • Slitting and reeling
  • Hardware distribution

Why difficulty 3/5: Specialised machines and imported raw material, small margin.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Plumbers and gas fitters
  • Hardware and sanitary shops
  • Automobile and machinery makers
  • PTFE cable makers

How it sells

  • Hardware distributors
  • Direct supply to industries
  • Exporters

Good to know

  • The profile counts about 12 makers in India, mostly in the west.
  • Some Indian makers export to the Middle East, Africa and the USA (profile).

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Complete PTFE tape line: mixer, preforming press, extruder, calender, drying oven, stretching and reeling, slitting machine, cooling tower1 set₹40.35 lakh

From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — PTFE Sealing Tape (2018) — private guide — confirm locally

  • PTFE fine powder (tape grade)₹2,200/kg; mostly imported, some from Russia and China
  • Mineral turpentine oillubricant removed in the drying oven
  • Plastic reels and packing10 m tape per reel

From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — PTFE Sealing Tape (2018) — private guide — confirm locally

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST
  3. BIS certification to the tape standard if buyers ask (the profile notes a BIS standard exists)
  4. State Pollution Control Board consent

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

Stand-Up India for SC/ST and women founders (loans ₹10 L–₹1 crore); CGTMSE for a loan without collateral. Above the PMEGP ₹50 L limit as costed (land and building bought).

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Land ₹22.50 L + building ₹35 L + plant & machinery ₹40.35 L + furniture & electricals ₹2 L + preliminary ₹0.50 L + working-capital margin ₹3.76 L = ₹104.11 L.

Working capital: Gross working capital ₹9.05 L; margin ₹3.76 L; bank ₹5.29 L.

Stand-Up Mitra profile from 2018 — machinery and material prices will be higher now.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export

3920.99Other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip of other plastics, non-cellular

Export council / board: PLEXCONCIL

  • Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker before shipping.
  • You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Dependence on imported powder
  • Price war with cheap tape
  • Thin margin
  • Machine breakdowns

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

  1. Days 1–30: Visit a working ptfe thread seal tape unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
  3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

Not verified yet

Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

Want to start PTFE Thread Seal Tape?

DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — PTFE Sealing Tape (2018)

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.