§1What this business is
Bleached cotton thread is woven into plaster fabric on an air-jet loom. The roll then runs through an adhesive tape machine — unwinding, tensioning, zinc-oxide adhesive coating, drying, rewinding and slitting — and the plasters are packed. Buyers are hospitals, clinics, chemists, medical distributors and government health tenders.
Capacity: 120 boxes (8 cm × 6 cm) a day, 36,000 boxes a year; 55% in year 1 rising to 75%.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone with a pharma or medical-distribution background who can meet drug-licence standards.
Who it is not for
A first-time founder without regulatory or technical support.
Advantages
- Steady use in hospitals, clinics and homes
- Health facilities are growing (the report assumes 12% a year)
- Weaving in-house controls fabric quality
- Good margin once volume builds
Drawbacks
- High machinery cost for a small unit
- Drug licence and quality rules apply
- Big medical brands dominate chemist shelves
- Cotton price swings
Skills you need
- Loom and coating machine operation
- Adhesive formulation and quality testing
- Drug-licence compliance
- Selling to hospitals and distributors
Why difficulty 4/5: Costly machines plus drug-licence and quality rules.
§3Market
Who buys
- Hospitals and clinics
- Chemists and medical stores
- Government health departments
How it sells
- Medical distributors
- Tenders and GeM
- E-commerce (the report lists a barcode for it)
Good to know
- The report links demand to population growth, economic growth and new hospitals and clinics, and assumes demand for adhesive dressings grows 12% a year.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Air-jet loom for cotton gauze | — | — |
| Adhesive tape making machine (unwinding, tensioning, coating, drying, rewinding and slitting stations) | — | — |
| Gauze bandage packaging machine | — | — |
| All plant and machinery together | — | ₹35.40 lakh |
From: PMEGP sample project report — Surgical Adhesive Plasters (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Bleached cotton thread20 MT a year at ₹3,00,000 per MT = ₹60 L at full capacity
- Zinc-oxide based adhesive₹2 L a year (lump sum)
- Labels and packing materialfrom the local market
From: PMEGP sample project report — Surgical Adhesive Plasters (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam
- GST
- Manufacturing licence from the State Drugs Controller / FDCA (the report lists it)
- IEC for import-export
- Barcode registration for e-commerce
- Trademark for your brand
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
PMEGP (the report was made for it), CGTMSE for a collateral-free loan, Stand-Up India for SC/ST or women founders.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: PMEGP sample report: plant & machinery ₹35.40 L, furniture ₹1.27 L, working capital ₹7.33 L = ₹44.00 L. Shed 2,000 sq ft own or rented.
Working capital: Working capital ₹7.33 L (bank ₹6.60 L): 20 days of raw material, 10 days of finished stock.
Year not printed on the report — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: Pharmexcil
- Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Licence or quality failure
- Cotton price rise
- Low volume in early years
- Price pressure in tenders
§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 surgical adhesive plaster unit unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam, GST), 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
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 Surgical Adhesive Plaster Unit?
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.