Proposal for a soap factory

Introduction

Background. Soap is a daily necessity for every household, hospital, school and hotel. Nepal's demand for laundry and toilet soap grows with its population and with health awareness. Much of the supply is imported or produced by a few large companies, and prices rise quickly. At the same time, raw materials such as vegetable oils and caustic soda are available in the country, and small-scale soap making is technically simple.

This proposal is for establishing "Sunaulo Soap Industries Pvt. Ltd.", a small-scale factory in Butwal Industrial Area producing 2 tonnes of laundry and bath soap per day.

Statement of the problem

• Large quantities of soap are imported, taking foreign currency out of the country.
• Soap prices in rural areas are high because of transport costs.
• Young people in Rupandehi district have few jobs.
• Small producers lack capital and a good quality standard, so their products are not trusted.

Objectives

General objective: to set up a soap factory that makes good-quality, affordable soap in Nepal.

Specific objectives:

1. To produce 2 tonnes of soap per day within the first year.
2. To supply soap to local and regional markets at a price lower than that of imports.
3. To provide employment to at least 35 people.
4. To meet the Nepal Standard (NS) quality for soap.
5. To treat wastewater so that it does not harm the environment.

Production process and market in brief

The factory will use the semi-boiled process: vegetable oil and tallow are heated and mixed with caustic soda solution, perfume and colour are added, and the paste is cooled, cut and stamped into bars. The main raw materials are palm oil, caustic soda, sodium silicate and perfume. The main customers are households, hotels, hospitals, institutions and rural cooperatives, supplied through district wholesalers. The investment of about Rs. 3.2 crore will be recovered in about four years.