The Indian machine tool industry is expected to grow around 20 per cent in 2017-18, and the metal forming industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 15 per cent in the next three years, said P Ramadas, President, Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA).

Speaking at Imtex Forming 2018 and Tooltech 2018, the association’s flagship event and South-East Asia’s largest expo on metal forming technologies, Ramdas said the domestic machine tool industry registered an impressive growth rate of 23 per cent in 2016-17.

Foreign exhibitors

The event was inaugurated by RV Deshpande, Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries and Infrastructure Development. The exhibition is being held from January 25-30 at BIEC here.

The expo has attracted over 500 exhibitors in three halls covering a gross exhibition area of around 33,000 sq m.

About 23 countries including India are participating in the show, with group participations from three country-group pavilions: China, Taiwan and Germany.

Technologies on display at the exhibition include robotics and automation, welding and joining, wire-forming and drawing, presses die casting, hydro forming, sheet metal forming machines, presses for applications, die and moulds, and hydraulic and pneumatic systems and elements.

Policy pioneer

Deshpande called upon the industry to invest in Karnataka, which, he said, was the first to bring a start-up policy.

It is also the only State to have an electric vehicle policy, he said. The State has been at the forefront of supporting the manufacturing sector and it has successfully created 12.61 lakh jobs and over 5 lakh jobs are in pipeline, he added.

He said the machine tool park in Tumakuru, jointly developed by the Centre and the Karnataka government, is being built as a model industrial cluster with infrastructure facilities for SMEs.

AS Kiran Kumar, former Chairman of ISRO, said that the polar satellite launch vehicles (PSLV) developed by ISRO are being indigenously manufactured with support from domestic companies, and ISRO is also releasing the lithium-ion batteries which can be adopted in the automotive sector.

This could revolutionise the Indian manufacturing landscape, he added.

Talking about Imtex’s stature in the Indian machine tools sector, Jamshyd N Godrej, Chairman, Exhibitions - IMTMA, said the popularity of the show can be gauged from the tremendous response and enthusiasm shown by exhibitors and visitors.

Backbone industry

Addressing the inaugural session, Nirmal K Minda, President, ACMA, said machine tool is the backbone of the manufacturing industry and contributes immensely towards its development. ACMA and IMTMA have been working closely towards addressing the growing needs of the automotive component manufacturers and shall continue to do so in the years to come, he added.

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