Forging is traditionally considered as the back bone of manufacturing industry. It is a major input to the sectors which support economic growth of the nation, such as, Automobile, Industrial Machinery, Power, Construction & Mining Equipment, Railways and General Engineering.
The Indian forging industry is well recognized globally for its technical capabilities. With an installed capacity of around 38.5 lakh MT, Indian forging industry has a capability to forge variety of raw materials like Carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, super alloy, titanium, aluminium and so forth, as per the requirements of user industry. Over the years, the Indian forging industry has evolved from being a labour-intensive industry to capital-intensive manufacturing sector.
The current investment in the plant and machinery by Indian forging companies is worth of INR 27,833 Crore. Based on their installed capacity, the forging units may be classified as very large (capacity above 75,000 MT), large (capacity above 30,000 to 75,000 MT), medium (capacity above 12,500 to 30,000 MT), small (capacity above 5,000 to 12,500 MT) and very small (capacity up to 5,000 MT). Based on this classification it is seen that about 83% of the total number of units are small and very small, while only about 8% can be classified as very large and large units; the balance of about 9% constitute the medium sized units. Current share of auto sector is about 58% of total forging production while the rest is with the non-auto sector.
Changes in Indian automobile industry directly impact Indian forging industry, because the forging components form the backbone of the Indian automobile industry. Since the automobile industry is the main customer for forgings the industry’s continuous efforts in upgrading technologies and diversifying product range has enabled it to expand its base of customers to foreign markets.
The Indian forgings industry has made rapid strides and currently, not only meets almost all the domestic demand, but has also emerged as a large exporter of forgings. Defence Sector is also creating demand for forging parts, as a result, the industry has been making significant contributions to country’s growing demand. In order to reduce the impact of cyclicality and dependence on auto sector, the industry plans to diversify into non-automotive sectors.
Road Ahead
Overall the forging industry will witness a flat rate of growth this year, but there are enough positive indications in the long term which will put the industry back on the growth track.
BENEFICIARIES: BHARAT FORGE, MM FORGING, RAMKIRSHNA FORGING, MAHINDRA CIE, INVESTMENT AND PRECISION CASTINGS LTD.
