Small foundries to commission plant for sand recycling

A group of small and tiny foundries here plan to commission a plant in six months to recycle the waste generated from the units.

A. Siva Shanmugha Kumar, president of Coimbatore Tiny and Small Foundry Owners’ Association (COSMAFAN), said the association inked an Memorandum of Understanding with Gujarat-based Rhino Machines on Sunday for this purpose.

The company manufactures machinery for sand reclamation. The waste sand generated from the foundries will be reclaimed using the machinery. While the company will install the machinery at Arasur, the association will provide the required infrastructure. “The total project cost works out to ₹5 crore,” he said.

The association has about 400 small and tiny foundries as its members and these units are located at Arasur, Manikampalayam, Pollachi Road, Avarampalayam, Mettupalayam Road, Thaneerpandal, etc. About 75 foundries are functioning at Arasur and Manikampalayam and the number can double in the future. The 75 units generate nearly 600 tonnes of waste sand a month. Almost 70 % of this can be reclaimed, he said.

The processed sand will be reused by the foundries and the waste generated from the reclamation process will be used to make paver blocks and hollow bricks. “We have prepared another project for it. The cost will work out to about ₹1 crore. We will run this plant,” he added.

The advantage for the small foundries is that they do not have to buy new sand regularly. “We have appealed to the Government to sanction a grant for the project,” he added.

Depending on the success of the project, more such reclamation units can be established in different foundry hubs in the region, he said.