MNCs Eye India To Set Up Foundry Units

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Chennai, Aug 19: A host of foreign companies are scouting for acquisitions or setting up greenfield foundry units in India following the spiralling global demand for castings pushing the prices up. The idea is to make India as an export hub by cashing in low cost of production, according to S Srinivasan, director, Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF).

"The preliminary enquiries have just begun and the investors are showing interest in automotive castings because of the boom in the automobile industry," he said. Since the cost of making castings works out close to 30 per cent cheaper in India, compared to other countries, the investors are interested in acquiring foundries with machining facility or would set up a foundry with a machining unit, he said.

To present an extensive report to the potential investors, the IIF is preparing a comprehensive report on the Indian foundry industry. "There has been no document on the status of the Indian foundry industry so far, which is why we have embarked on this initiative," said Mr Srinivasan. Also apex bodies like Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) wanted IIF to come out with such a study which would help the user industry.

In this extensive exercise, the IIF aims to visit and get information about various foundries in the US, Mexico, China, Korea and Germany. It would be a comparitive study of the Indian foundry industry vis-a-vis the foundries in the other five countries. It would be helpful not only in showcasing the standard of the Indian foundry industry but will also be a learning experience with knowlegde about the industry in other countries, he said.