The difference between light and heavy industries
Light (consumer)
industries
Characteristics
:
- Make small products, mainly to be bought by individuals.
- Most are small-scale, suitable for factory units on industrial estates.
- Only a limited amounts of investment capital is needed.
Examples:
electrical goods, clothing, food-processing and toys.
Heavy
industries
Characteristics
:
- Large-scale industries.
- Big plants covering large areas of land.
- Capital intensive, big investment needed to set them up.
- Make large products often bought by other manufacturing companies.
Examples:
steel, oil-refining, chemicals, engineering and ship building.
