Reeling under stressed financial conditions, the foundry industry is witnessing reduced capacity utilisation coupled with cost pressure following market disruptions due to Covid-19, Ukraine-Russia war and uncertain Chinese supplies.
Trade sources said the Covid-19 blow was a hard one for the sector, which is ranked second globally with production of 10 million tonnes per annum. Small and medium unit, which form a large part of the industry, were worst hit due to the pandemic disruptions witnessed in the engineering and automobile sectors.
In foundry clusters such as Rajkot, Kothapur and Belgaum most of small units are operating at less than 50 per cent of their capacities, resulting in financial burden on them. The sector has over 90 per cent units in MSME category.
The Indian foundry industry is ranked second globally with production of 10 million tonnes per annum.
"Like all other industries, the foundry industry was also hit hard by the pandemic. The Ukraine war has worsened the situation in addition to uncertainty in raw material supply and fluctuations in costs," Devendra Jain, President, Institute of Indian Foundrymen, said while announcing the 70th Indian Foundry Congress to be held in Gandhinagar from April 17-19.
The 18th International Exhibition on Foundry Technology, Equipment, Supplies and Services (IFEX) and the Cast India Expo will be held as part of the congress
Raw material costs
According to Jain, the cost of raw materials such as pig iron, aluminium ingot, and chemicals have gone up by about 50 per cent in the past nine months. While Chinese supplies are uncertain, there is a shortage of steel across the world due to Russia-Ukraine war.
The IIF estimates suggest that there are over 7,000 foundry units in the country, of which about 3,000 are located in Gujarat. The sector provides direct employment to about five lakh people and indirect employment to 15 lakh people.
“The foundry industry was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, but things are looking up. The economy has made a smart recovery, and the time is right to host a mega-event that will bring together the local and global foundry industry. The 70th Indian Foundry Congress and IFEX 2022 is among the first few large-scale industry events since the pandemic relaxations started. We are confident it will play the role of a catalyst in helping the foundry industry reach the pre-pandemic levels," said Subodh Panchal, Chairman, Organising Committee, 70th Indian Foundry Congress.