The Hindu Business Line : Foundry meet to focus on casting for future

The National Foundry Conclave 2006, the third in series of the biennial event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, is slated for December 7.

The conclave is expected to focus on `Casting for the future', a theme in sync with the present trend of this sector.

"Over 200 foundry leaders are expected to congregate at this event,'' said the Chairman of the CII National Foundry Conclave 2006, Mr N. Krishna Samaraj.

Briefing presspersons on the foundry industry, he said the country was currently among the 10 largest producers of ferrous and non-ferrous castings, with over 4,500 units, of which 90 per cent were categorised as small and about 500 in the medium and large-sized category.

Growth rate at 13-14 pc

The industry has recorded an annual growth rate of 13-14 per cent in the last three years. "Exports surged from Rs 1,500 crore in 2002 to Rs 2,500 crore in 2004. Almost all foundries are looking to double their capacity. This expansion phase is expected to show results in the next two years,'' he added.

The steering committee member, Mr C.R. Swaminathan, noted that the Indian foundry industry saw good export potential because the legislative compliance in the US was turning to be a costly proposition leading to a sharp decline in foundry population.

According to him, there would be ample scope for the domestic foundry industry to forge alliance with its counterparts in the developed countries where waste disposal and highly stringent pollution control regulations, rising manpower costs and acute shortage of trained people is an issue.

"In this scenario, the Indian players should equip themselves with the latest technologies, automate the processes and gear themselves to face the global challenges,'' he said.

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