The Indian foundry industry expects nearly 14% growth in the next two years, from the 5% to 7% now, according to members of the Institute of Indian Foundrymen here.
The Indian foundry industry, the third-largest castings producer globally, is looking at increasing production to 14 million tonnes by 2021. The current annual production is 11.5 million tonnes, the members told mediapersons.
Demand factors
Indigenisation of equipment by the defence sector, opportunities in the railways, and orders in automotive, machine tools and oil and gas sectors are driving demand. The order position is now good for the foundries for both export and domestic markets. The non-ferrous segment is expected to grow at a higher rate, they said.
Capacity utilisation ranges from 60% to 95%, depending on the size of the units. “Every foundry is investing. The investment last financial year was nearly $500 million. It will be another $500 million in the next two years,” said Nithyanandan Devaraaj, former secretary of the Institute.
While the investments are mainly for modernisation and expansion, there will be more consolidation, said C.R. Swaminathan, president of the Foundry Development Foundation.
The possibility of value addition is high. Customers buying from China are turning to India, the Institute members said.
