The Hindu Business Line : Foundry cluster to benefit small engg units

Coimbatore, April 3 With the formal dedication of the pump and foundry industries’ cluster project established by Coimbatore Industrial Infrastructure Association (Coindia) at a cost of about Rs 60 crore, the small and medium engineering industries are expected to overcome the constraints faced by them in accessing contemporary technology because of their size.

The project is expected to see new investment of Rs 200-300 crore in the next few years, in capacity addition, as the SMEs in the motor pump and foundry industries seek to expand their product range to meet the needs of different applications.

Speaking to newspersons here on Thursday, ahead of the formal dedication of Coindia project on Saturday, Mr G. Rajendran, President, Coindia, and Mr D. Balasundaram, its Vice-President, said the project envisages provision of infrastructural facilities required by the motor, pump and foundry industries in the region. While the Union Government provided a grant of Rs 39.39 crore, the Tamil Nadu Government gave a grant of Rs 1.21 crore and the contribution by Coindia and Coimbatore industries/industrial associations amounted to Rs 19.40 crore.

This project is the largest investment made by the Centre in Coimbatore since Independence and it is for the first time that tiny, small and large industries in Coimbatore have come together and made such a large contribution.

Project segments

They said the project included a Product Die and Mould Centre (PDMC) that would also house the Rapid Prototyping machine and this centre accounted for the largest single investment of Rs 29 crore under the project. Three foundry complexes at Arasur, Kallapalayam and Manickampalayam, with all infrastructural facilities, have been established.

A Common Modern Tool Room (CMTR), for which the State Government has allotted 50 cents of land at the Electrical and Electronic Industrial Estate here, would be established at a cost of Rs 15 crore (for which machines worth Rs 11 crore have already been purchased). This is the only work relating to the Coindia project which remains to be completed.

Mr Rajendran said the motor pump and foundry industries in Coimbatore had an annual turnover of around Rs 3,200 crore. Most of the pumps produced in Coimbatore region were used for water-lifting. But with the completion of Coindia’s project, the SMEs would have access to modern technology and be aware of pumps used for other applications such as process pumps, sewage pumps, industrial pumps, pressure pumps etc and would be motivated to enter these segments. He expected an additional investment of about Rs 200-300 crore to be made by the SMEs in the region in the next few years.

ENCOURAGE DIVERSIFICATION

Asked whether there was enough demand for pumps for specialised applications that would encourage the entrepreneurs here to produce them, Mr C.R. Shanmugasundaram, President, Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association (SIEMA), Coimbatore, said the industrial pump segment was witnessing a growth rate of 20 per cent and this would provide a good opportunity for the industry to diversify rather than focus on one segment – water lifting pumps.

Mr Balasundaram said the Coindia project would help enhance the design capabilities of the industry in the region. As the manufacturing capabilities of the industries improve, there would be greater investment to capitalise on the capability to produce pumps for diverse applications.

The Tamil Nadu Minister for Rural Industries, Mr Pongalur N. Palanisamy, will dedicate the Coindia project in the presence of Mr E.V.K.S. Elangovan, Union Minister of State for Textiles, at a function here on Saturday.

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