Manufacturing equipments - Forging the Future: The Importance of the Forging Industry

Forging industry is growing by leaps and bounds. In India alone, AIFI’s (Association of Indian Forging Industry) figures from 2016 estimated that 384 forging units operating in the fiscal year 2014-15 had a turnover of INR 6,100 crore. The progress does not stop there as investment in plant and machinery grew nearly twice from INR 15,500 crores in FY 2013-14 to INR 27,833 crores in FR 2014-15. Figures reveal that the Indian forging industry is here to grow and drive more employment while contributing to the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
According to another report, Indian forging industry has an installed capacity of 3.76 million tonnes and the capability to forge raw materials like carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, super alloy, titanium, copper, brass and aluminum. Estimates for the current FY 2017-18 project a reach of 2.97 million tonnes with a likely growth of CAGR 9.5%
Although unprecedented crisis has hit the forging industry pretty hard, not only in India but also in China, Korea and Japan. The Indian government has imposed minimum import price on steel imports from other countries and has made it mandatory to obtain compulsory BIS certification. Since forging industry is the backbone of every modern manufacturing company, any factor impending its progress requires an immediate remedy.
Forging industries are mostly small to medium sized businesses with as little as 20 to as much as 250 employees. But these factories cater to a major manufacturing base. For instance, the Brahmos Aerospace of the DRDO in India used the forged Titanium alloy rolled rings in the Brahmos missiles that gave India its powerful defense system in the history and gave the forge company, CHW Forges a great bump in the South Asian markets.
Due to the global slowdown in commodity sector, steel prices have fallen a record low in the last 18 months, consequently lowering the prices of major raw materials like steel scrap, coke, iron ore to drop by over 30 percent all over the globe. This has led China, Korea, and Japan to adjust their pricing accordingly which means that Indian forging industry is losing a lot compared to its Asian competitors due to the non-reduction of Steel prices by a great factor. Forging companies are the future of every business, since all heavy manufacturing industries depend on high-quality forged products.
There is a critical need to bring transparency in steel pricing by aligning to a weighted index of prices of essential inputs for steel making. An urgent and sustained action is what AIFI looks forward and in an effort raised concerns to the government urging them to take cognizance of the challenges being faced by the user industry and take suitable measures to provide a more competitive and level playing ground to the domestic players. AIFI believes in the government’s commitment to the country’s growth and are quite hopeful it will do what it takes to change the course of the nation for the better.