Labour advantage, lower costs to mould die-casting fortunes

India has emerged as a significant player in the global automotive supply chain, according to Alucast President Prasan Firodia. 

This industry accounts for 7 per cent of India’s GDP. With continued development in infrastructure and entry of newer FDIs, the auto component industry has cope for further growth, Firodia said.

This will have a positive impact on the die-casting industry as an estimated 60 per cent of die castings produced in India are used in the auto industry, Firodia said.
He was speaking at India’s biggest exhibition for the Aluminium Die Casting Industry, ALUCAST 2014, flagged off on Thursday at Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Firodia said, “We have an advantage of educated labour at competitive costs and economies of operations. This should help the industry grow and become the world’s largest aluminium die-casting base.”
There is an expectation that the new government will provide the country with an environment that will revitalise manufacturing especially the automobile sector.

One can already see encouraging signs with the Union budget supporting infrastructure and increased private investments. There is also the new foreign Trade policy for 2014-2019 which is designed with a long term strategy to boost the manufacturing sector and to bring it in line with the “Make in India” goal.
The global auto industry is moving towards improving fuel efficiency by reducing the weight of the vehicle. Replacement of heavier parts made from cast iron and steel by lighter aluminium parts is the future. These aluminium parts are now further being redesigned to achieve lower weights. 
The Theme of this year’s Conference “Light weighting of Aluminium Castings” is therefore very appropriate and timely.

“A major challenge is to comply with the CAFÉ Standards (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) for automobile vehicles. Most auto manufacturers are focusing on reducing weight of vehicle, by replacing parts made from the heavier cast iron and steel with lighter aluminium castings,” Firodia added.