With the manufacturing industry now in focus thanks to the 'Make in India' campaign, the Forgings and Castings industries would be playing an important role as prime movers.

Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localised compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it is performed: cold forging (a type of cold working), warm forging, or hot forging (a type of hot working). Casting, in the other hand is made by pouring molten metal into a mould, and can be used to make parts of complex shapes that would be difficult or uneconomical to make by other methods (such as forging, assembling components or cutting from solid material). Castings processes may be sub-divided into processes in which the mould is destroyed as part of the process and those in which the mould may be re-used (termed die-casting).

Forging ahead

The forging industry seems be on the go in India. India has several hundred forging companies - most of these SMEs barring a few large companies - that cater to the OEMs and aftermarket needs. Many firms are into manufacturing components that go into defunct designs still existing in the East European countries and the Middle East. These firms are nowhere as popular as those into the precision forging sector like Bharat Forge, Amforge, to name a few. 

The composition of the Indian forging industry is categorised into four sectors - large, medium, small and tiny. A major portion of this industry is made up of small and medium units/enterprises (SMEs). Only about 5 per cent is made up by the large enterprises in terms of number. Out of the 330 odd units the large sector consists of about 9-10 units, the medium and small sectors consists of about 100 units and the rest under the tiny sector. According to some industry analysts, the Indian forging industry has a pyramidal structure with 10 large units, 100 medium and small scale units and about 220 plus tiny units. While both the statistics are not far-fetched from each other, what they do best is to indicate the potential of the Indian forging industry, not counting the latest acquisitions some big wigs are involved in. 

The Association of the Indian Forging Industry (AIFI) is the governing body of the Indian forging industry, and currently has close to 180 ordinary members from all over India. AIFI's key role is to promote and develop the Indian forging industry so as to meet the demands and expectations of forging customers, both domestic and global as well as end users by improving the business environment for its members and contribute in increasing their competitiveness through mutual cooperation and understanding through constant updating of information and technology.

To better its service to the forging industry in India and abroad, the AIFI has promoted a new world-class R&D centre at Chakan near Pune with facilities for product testing and validation for the forging industry. The centre has been funded by the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Enterprises, Government of India and the Government of Maharashtra.

According to Viraj Kalyani, Executive Vice President, Kalyani Forge Limited, the Indian forging industry is facing a slowdown. There's not enough growth, and the ensuing fiscal may not bring good growth either. With the ever growing energy costs, which have shown a steep 36-38 per cent increase, the Indian forging industry is also suffering from compounding problems such as slowdown in the automotive sector, non-availability of adequate power, and the high cost of fuel.

Speaking on the current status of the Indian forging industry, Asheet Pasricha, President, AIFI, says, "The Indian forging industry has emerged as a major contributor to the manufacturing industry, and the turnover of the industry is estimated to be around Rs 20,000 crore. The Indian forging industry is highly fragmented, with a little over 400 units (out of which only 15-20 have installed capacities of above 12,500 MT per annum) scattered all over India."

Kalyani further adds, "Under the current volatile scenario, Kalyani Forge has systematically identified and implemented cost reduction measures in its production processes and focused on enhancing each employee's productivity. The future looks encouraging for the forging industry in terms of the expected surge in global demand. As a result of liberalisation, more MNCs have entered the domestic automobile market. This has opened up more business opportunities for the company."

Kalyani Forge has been consistently managed to be a globally competitive company with a lead in quality and technology. Kalyani adds, "We have gained a reputation of being a preferred source of forged and machined components. As an organisation, we have evolved through continuous innovation and technology tie-ups. As part of Kalyani Forge's overall strategy, the company's focus has been on developing value-added products for all market segments through R&D activities."

"For the growth of Indian forging industry, the industry needs to leverage the market opportunity through focused increase in productivity rather than mere capacity expansion, technology upgradation and modernisation of the units to comply with global productivity standards," said Pasricha. "The small sector forging units need to improve their operational efficiencies by allocating a certain percentage of their capital investments to technological upgradation of the existing manufacturing lines. This will help maintain consistent quantity and quality requirements of the product and meet strict pollution control norms. Testing and inspection facilities can be outsourced for these units," he adds.

Casting the spell

The foundry industry is the backbone for other industries and growth of industrialisation, and industrial prosperity can be measured by the growth of this industry. Foundry Industry has been identified as one of the major thrust area with substantial export potential.

The Indian foundry industry occupies a special place in shaping the country's economy. India is the fifth largest producer in terms of total casting production in the world, after US, China, Russia, and Germany. In terms of number of production units, it is second only to China, with over 5,000 units in actual production. Of these about 90 per cent of them are in small scale and unorganised sector, but it still leaves about 500 units which are in the organised, and are medium to large in size.

India is currently among the 10 largest producers of ferrous and non-ferrous castings and has over 6500 foundries in the small, medium, and large scale sectors. Approximately 90 per cent are in the small scale. India exports annually above Rs 700 crore worth of castings to countries like the US, UK, Canada, Germany, etc.

Viraj Naidu, Managing Director, Disa India Limited (DIL), said, "The Disa Group is the world's leading supplier of foundry equipment and solutions; especially in the vertical sand mouding machine (Disamatic). Disa holds over 90 per cent of the world's installed base, which are distributed across all major industrialised countries of the world. Other solutions, viz., Disamatch (horizontal flaskless moulding) and Disaflex (horizontal flaskless moulding) are also popular, apart from the mixers and sand plants."

Speaking about the core competence of the company, Naidu says, "DIL's core competence is its ability to execute complete foundry projects, incorporating the best and the most suitable moulding technologies for the Indian customers. DIL has executed over 100 complete projects and many more standalone equipment supplies. DIL boasts of a strong presence in nearly all the leading foundries in India. Understanding the specific casting requirement, then choosing and executing the right type of sand moulding technology with the right balance of sand plant equipment."

Some of DIL's major foundry customers, who are serving the auto industry, are Brakes India, Amtek Auto, Sakthi Auto, RICO Auto, Munjal Kiriyu, and more.

Basic technologies have not undergone much change but the emphasis has changed. The world has become more environmentally conscious and technologies have to conform to more and more stringent environment norms. The foundry population has declined by about one-third over the last 20 years largely due to the cost of legislative compliance. This has given the Indian producers a good opportunity for export market. But then a re-emergence in the developed world would be with cleaner technology.

However, there is a still lot need to be done. Even with these improvements the export of castings from India amounted to only one per cent of the world requirement. In the near future there will be ample scope for the Indian foundry Industry to forge strategic alliances with their counterparts in the developed countries which are on the verge of closure primarily due to three major reasons: waste disposal and highly stringent pollution control regulations, high manpower costs, and acute shortage of trained personnel to work in foundries.