The mills that gave Kanpur its industrial name are long closed, but the trade did not end with them. It fragmented.
What replaced the mills is a network of workshops, most employing under twenty people, supplying components and finishing work to buyers across the state.
What replaced the mills
Owners describe a business that runs on relationships rather than contracts, and one where the main constraint is not demand but working capital.
The working capital problem
Younger operators have started consolidating, pooling orders to reach the volumes that larger buyers require.
