Forming Growth

January 13, 2016 12:42 pm

An analysis on how metal forming industry is contributing to country’s growth
  Metal forming industry in India is at nascent stage as compared to developed countries. The largest customer of metal forming industry is automobiles sector which is hardly 20 years old after the opening up economy in 1990. But today metal forming machine tools industry has become the back bone of automobile sectors and engineering industries. There is scope for investment and R&D to cater to the need of major industrial sector where production of small components plays a very important role. The new upcoming infrastructure and architectural projects are also utilising the metal forming machine tools to make the structures from imported and locally procure draw material. This is contributing to a major component of the growth and development of the metal forming machine tools industry in India. Present scenario is such that, without a major contribution from metal forming machine tools industry, production of components is almost impossible.
The focus of ‘Make in India’ campaign is going to be the proliferation of small to medium size industries and that involves substantial amount of segments and sub segments of the metal forming industry.
The year 2016 looks cautiously optimistic for the metal industry. This has been the sentiment for the past few quarter, as most companies expect sales and profitability to increase yet remain concerned about the increased activity. Increased sales also may require additional capital expenditures. Most companies have increased their capital expenditures in the last couple of years in order to meet the demands of increased activity.Is the Indian metal forming industry at par with global standards?The current metal forming machine tools industry is trying to compete globally in terms of the throughput using advance imported equipment, material and techniques. The Indian improvisation is also aiding the industries to be at global standard with better pricing.
The manufacturing companies that will survive and prosper in a global market must have the best raw material inputs and most economical manufacturing methods that is available in abundant and all that is needed is the mindset to improve and set new standards. As there’s a lot of foreign investment happening in the manufacturing segments, there are expectations to deliver the best.
The metal forming sector has been evolving since more than 100 years and the industrial revolution in many continents is a fair evidence of that gradual development. While the industrial revolution was taking place, the phenomena had vastly concentrated in some selective regions across the globe. Consequently some regions had to pass thorough immense technological struggle in order to match the peace. After many decades of striving efforts many other regions have proved their metal by technological advancement.
OpportunitiesWith ‘Make in India’ drive lot of investment is coming and the technological gap is narrowing. The prestigious brands like BMW, Mercedes Benz have already announced their investment programmes in India which would offer the opportunities to domestic manufacturers to upgrade their facilities.
The ‘Make in India’ is aiming to drive the splendid development to the base industries which supply the goods and material utilised in big sectors to manufacturing process. That is the case for metal forming industry as it delivers the raw goods to the enormous domains.
Government is intensively planning huge projects to enhance the infrastructure in tier 2 cities and this development just cannot be undertaken without involvement of metal forming industries.  Along with that heavy machinery as well as equipment manufacturing industries has initiated the reformation with collaborative efforts of private sectors and governments.  Speaking of electronics, ‘Power to all’ initiative of government is looking forward to provide power to all over India by the year 2019.
It is a good time for Indian manufacturers to look hard at opportunities to export their products.
ChallengesThough the industry is growing, there is clear instability in the demands and there are only a few growth drivers and majority of the sub-segments are under performer. The fall back in making capabilities enhancement has been hindering the productivity and the performance.
The fall back in making capabilities enhancement has been hindering the productivity and largely, the performance.  The acceptance of cutting edge tools which potentially push the productivity to the next level is significantly low.
The awareness about the laser technology is yet to find its way to all those concerned entities. Thus, the production cost of the laser machines is very high at the moment consequently the pricing also goes higher and that is a crucial point to make many of prospect turn down the buying decision.  To tackle those issues, all the laser technology requires is appropriate awareness amongst target audience. There after systematic education regarding its usability and its advantage must be employed.
Worrying about low demand, pressures on margins, obsolete technology have all put stress in the minds of SMEs, fear of their very existence. The limited availability and the inability to raise resources are common in small businesses however, the machine tools sector, is a high financial outlay driven business. Average product costs are greater, gestation period of investments are longer, time to market are higher and a purchasing system that is undeveloped.
The recent decrease in imports of machine tools was partly attributed to the growing competition among Indian firms. However, the Indian market is small and the Indian manufacturers have to build volumes in order to survive at global markets. This issue is of even greater relevance to a large number of SMEs in the sector where a large number of enterprises are manufacturing tiny and small component.
Solutions offered by the industryFIBRO India, a subsidiary of FIBRO GmbH offers standard parts for sheet metal forming tools, products such as nitrogen gas springs, compression springs, oil less guide elements, different types of CAM units, lifting elements etc. required in metal forming.
Laser machines segment is formed for diverse requirements by Sahajanand Laser Technology Ltd. For efficient cutting it has introduced Future X laser machine whereas for high productivity, Vector is the best alternative which is designed to perform tasks considerably fast. When it comes to laser welding Sahajanand provides precision welding laser system and for high mobility it offers Fibo 6X machines.
A complete range of CNC based oxyfuel gas cutting, plasma cutting and laser cutting systems are offered by Messer from its global units and Indian factory. Along with the cutting machines Messer also offers gas supply and control systems which are essential for this industry.Kabelschlepp supplies cable drag chains and cable carriers, telescopic covers, the components of which are imported from our principal company Tsubaki Kabelschlepp GmbH.Complete solution for cable and hose management system is offered by Igus India. Its chain system protects and safeguards all moving cables and hoses.
Godson Bending Systems manufactures plate bending machines, section bending machine, pipe bending machines, hydraulic shearing, hydraulic press brake, steel worker, power press and special purpose machines.
Fein has been developing solutions for everyday trade and heavy-duty industrial use. It develops reliable power tools and special solutions for metal, interior construction and automotive applications. Its range of specialised range includes cordless range of drills and screwdrivers, stainless surface processing, stationary belt grinders, parameter controlled fastening tools for volume line production in the automotive industry, jigsaws and hacksaws, sheet metal working range like nibblers and shears and impact wrenches.
IMTEX Forming 2016Metal forming machine tools players from all over the world are coming under one roof, i.e. IMTEX Forming 2016, an Indian metal forming industry event which will be taking place in Bangalore, in the month of January. It is South and South-East Asia’s apex exhibition showcasing the latest trends and innovation in metal forming machine tools as well as technological refinements. In this issue, we take a look at few players from the industry and their innovations that will be showcased at IMTEX.