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Recession hits the Eastern India Foundries

Lesedauer: min

Indian foundry industry has been affected by the recent global recession. This was revealed by the Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) at a Press briefing on Monday in Kolkata. Mr R P Sehgal, President, IIF expressed at the conference that the dip in the economy and the set back caused by Tata Nano departure from the East has cast a shadow on the foundry Industry. The drop in the domestic front has also been reflected by the reduction in demand for pumps and other agricultural & Irrigational equipments and electro-steel pipes.

“The Foundry Industry thrives upon Exports, but owing to the current depression in the global economy the Exports have also crashed down by a whopping 50%. This has lead to the shut down of almost 25% of the foundry industry in India”, said Mr Sehgal. Along with Mr Sehgal, Mr. Rajan Vaswani, Chairman-Indian Foundry Congress organizing committee, Mr. B. Bhaskar, Secretary-Indian Foundry Congress organizing committee & National Treasurer were also present at the conference. In the past, the rate at which the foundry Industry was growing was quite spectacular. In last two years, India has overtaken Germany and has become the fourth nation after China, U.S.A & Russia. With the production capacity of 7.7 million tones, it targeted to reach at the third position in the next couple of years. But considering the present scenario, the prospects do not appear encouraging..

The Indian Foundry Association is to come up with a project called the Howrah Foundry Park which is expected to house around 250 foundries all equipped with the latest modern technicalities. “Taking into consideration the global market for the requirement of castings, India holds 1.01% of the entire market through Iron Exports. This presents an area of scope for the foundry industry in India. Even during this crisis situation India can aspire to grab a larger share of the global market, for instance up to 2% opening an avenue for growth, which means that we can almost double the production and be a high flier”, expressed Mr Sehgal.

This justifies IIF’s idea behind their motto of –“ Leadership through Technology.” With this idea the IIF came up with the concept of The Indian Foundry Congress & IFEX. This Congress is a conglomerate which brings together all the Foundrymen, technologists, and industrialists from all around the world to converge and exchange ideas to bring about upgradation, cost reduction, and be at par with the rest of the world. With this goal, the IIF announces its flagship annual event, the 57th edition of the Indian Foundry Congress at Science City, Kolkata from 13th -15th February concurrent with the IFEX 2009 – the International Exhibition on Foundry Technology, Equipment and Supplies. IFEX 2009 - The 5th International Exhibition on Foundry Technology, Equipment and Supplies being organized concurrent to 57th Indian Foundry Congress is going to be an excellent platform for the Indian as well as overseas companies to showcase their state-of-the-art technologies and services being offered to this vibrant industry to get exposed to new business opportunities. IFEX has come to Kolkata after four long years after their stint with Chennai, Agra, and Pune in the south, north & western regions.
 
“IFEX 2009 will be a focal point for the foundry industry in India, attracting a broad cross-section of representatives, from buyers and sellers, to trade associations and the media. A full programme of associated activities at IFEX 2009 provides a wealth of additional networking opportunities” said Mr. Sehgal. There are 144 exhibitors participating in the IFEX’09 and around
40 of them are from overseas. There are conglomerates of Foundry associations from Italy, China and Germany, whereas individual companies are participating from Spain, Poland, U.K, U.S.A, and Taiwan, as reported by Mr.Sehgal.

IFEX 2009 marks the beginning for the International Exhibition on Foundry Technology, Equipment and Supplies concurrent to the 57th Indian Foundry Congress. IFEX 2009 will be a focal point for the foundry industry in India, attracting a broad cross-section of representatives, from buyers and sellers, to trade associations and the media. A full programme of associated activities at IFEX 2009 provides a wealth of additional networking opportunities.  The exhibition starts with Mr. B Muthuraman being awarded the patronage for IIF. The product segments include raw materials, complete foundry plants, melting Furnace, accessories, moulding and Core making, sand preparation, treatment & reclamation, casting machines, accessories, knock out, finishing, heat treatment and drying, measuring, testing, process control & instruments materials handling, environment control,  auxiliary equipment, foundry services casting.

About IIF

Set up in 1950 and registered as a society in West Bengal under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860, IIF had modest beginnings. Today it has an enviable national spread of four regional branches and twenty seven chapters. Its current membership numbers over 3200 inclusive of Fellows, Members, Life Members, Company Members etc. From providing education, research and training pertaining to metal casting, to publishing the monthly Indian Foundry Journal, from hosting the Annual Indian Foundry Congress to being the nodal point of information, from being the one point reference for the Government to anticipating in the preparation of standards for foundry materials and products. IIF is multidimensional in its sphere of activities. The highlights of the IFEX 2009 are given as follows:India’s share in global export is 1.01%. India’s export in US MN dollar is 739.59 vis a vis global export of Us MN Dollar of 73469.09.

Highlights of IFEX’ 09

  • The IFEX will be inaugurated by Mr. B. Muthuraraman, MD, TataSteel Ltd,  who will also be felicitated with Patronship of IIF for dedicating his life to the Steel Industry at 9.30 am on 13th Feb’09.

  • The “Energy & Enviro Meet” with the theme “ Integrated  Energy Policy with focus on Renewable Energy, Coal And energy Efficiency” will be inaugurated by Union Minister for Renewable Energy, New Delhi at 11.00 a.m on 13th Feb’09.
  • A Panel discussion titled “ DISHA- The way for foundries to go” will follow at 2.00 PM. The invited speakers are Dr Arun Jaura, Group Chief Technical Officer and Head of Office and Global Advanced Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra who will deliver a presentation on "Tomorrow's Foundries: Enablers for Higher Fuel Economy & Low CO2 in Auto Industry". This will be followed by another eminent speaker, Mr Dilip Pithadia, Chairman, Pithadia Foundation, Detroit, USA who is a management expert with over 35 years of diverse global business management exposure in manufacturing, sales/marketing, project/program management, global supply chain management and teaching at Indian and US universities. He will speak on "DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION".
  • Chief Guest at the Inauguration of 57th IFC ,Mr Damodar Acharya, Director IIT Kharagpur will throw light upon the “Role of Technology and Engg. Education in bringing about a revolution in the Foundry industry” at 4.30p.m on 13th Feb’09.
  • Mr. Ramesh Maheshwari, President, Texmaco Ltd. will be the key ote speaker at the Inaugration of the 57th Indian Foundry Congress at 5.00 PM on 13th February 2009.

 

 

     

     

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