The 11th Die and Mould India exhibition saw good participation from the Indian tooling, die and mould making industry with titans and pioneers of tooling giving an honest account of the current industry scenario.
Often referred to as the backbone of the Indian manufacturing sector, the Indian die and mould manufacturers was all set to exhibit their latest technology and products at the 11th Die and Mould India 2018. The Indian tooling industry is poised to meet the new growth challenges and achieve double-digit growth through capacity building and expansion. This show exhibited their latest proven technologies, incorporating features to improve productivity, quality and reduce costs to attract quality visitors to the exhibition.
The series of die and mould exhibitions, a trend setter organised by TAGMA since 1998, has developed a growing awareness and a reputation as a unique trade fair in India for the Die and Mould industry. Over the years, it has touched new horizons and is known internationally for being in the same league of similar Die Mould exhibitions held globally. The biennially held event was organised by the Tool and Gauge Manufacturers Association- India (TAGMA-India) which was established in 1990, an organisation that serves as a forum for the Indian tool room and die mould industry.
TAGMA has been instrumental in promoting training and diffusion of knowledge relating to standards in the manufacture of tools and gauges. It has also sought to promote and encourage improvements in tool room industries for greater efficiency. TAGMA has organised relevant seminars, workshops and exhibitions etc to impart useful knowledge to the tool and gauge manufacturers and has even established, run and maintained a library connected with the industry.
At the exhibition, there were several dedicated pavilions to delegations from different countries, robotics, and B2B pavilions. There was also a pavilion for the introduction of 3D metrology and printing.
DMI: Then and Now
The 10th DMI was held from April 6 to 9, 2016 at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bangalore and was highly successful with a growth of over 32 per cent in number of exhibitors, 35 per cent in exhibitor (toolmakers), 42 per cent in exhibitor (MSME), 19 per cent in exhibition area. The event attracted exhibitors, visitors from over 19 countries worldwide. However, based on the exhibitors’ feedback, TAGMA decided to host the 11th Die & Mould India International Exhibition in BEC, Goregaon, Mumbai.
In the 9th DMI, the exhibition was inaugurated by late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India, with his aptly chosen keynote address titled ‘ A vibrant die and mould industry for an economically developed nation’. There, he highlighted the importance and necessity to grow this vital mother industry, which largely contributes to a successful manufacturing economy of a country.
This year too, there was a similar address by the dignitaries, where they emphasised on the growth of the mother industry.
The DMI chief guest, Jamshyd N Godrej, Chairman, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company commented, “Injection moulding and die casting are an integral part of almost every product pertaining to the automotive industry or even the widely used electrical appliances such as refrigerators, ovens, heaters, stoves and so on. But many people are unaware of this widely used core component of every manufacturing process, which is so vital that it was also utilised in the manufacturing of the prestigious Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan missions where Godrej provided its contribution regarding the expertise in this sector.”
President of TAGMA and Director of Godrej Tooling, D K Sharma, called for earnest participation, saying “The 11th edition of Die Mould India is a must-participate exhibition opportunity for all the businesses related to the tooling industry; to display and market their products and services within a supportive infrastructure. TAGMA India cordially invites all to participate in DMI 2018 as a unique industrial exhibitor and eperience this excellent opportunity to grow their respective businesses.”
The dais was also graced by the presence of Wu Bingshu, President, Federation of Asian Die & Mould Associations. Wu is also the Chairman of CDMIA, the Chinese counterpart of TAGMA. During the inaugural ceremony he called for more participation from the Indian die and mould industry and praised Asian countries for their production and manufacturing prowess.
“As a part of the country’s policy initiatives on increasing India’s import to export ratio it is essential to focus on substantially increasing the contribution of foreign trade to the GDP and exhibitions such as DMI 2018 can definitely facilitate that focus,” says Suresh prabhu, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry.
The DMI exhibition offered an opportunity to the tooling fraternity for business potential. Not only did it strive to highlight the capabilites and presence in the Indian die and mould industry but it also exposed the industry workforce to latest innovations across all tooling applications and to attract new talent to the tooling industry. The inaugural address ended with a promise from MLA Raj K Purohit to the tooling, die and mould manufacturers, that they will always have backing from the government for any of their endeavours.
From The Toolroom
As we explored the exhibition, APF interacted with some of the tool and mould makers. Ashna Enterprises, a company that supplies mould bases for sheet metal stamping and die sets for and machine plates for the manufacturing of moulds, has majority customer share that comprises of automobile OEMs. Jiten Shah, Owner of Ashna Enterprises looks positively on the future of the mould industry even in the face of technological disruption.
“Even with disruptions, tools will still be required. As the mother industry, we are not dispensible and we will find one way or the other to expand. However, lot of things are being imported like big moulds for automotive sector. If that importing can be slowed down, we can manufacture for ourselves. At the same time, we don’t have full automation. However we are moving towards it,” says Shah about the mould making industry.
Commenting further about DMI 2018, he says “This is a sunrise industry and there is a lot of scope in this. As was mentioned in the inauguration, this is a Rs 16 billion market but it can go up to Rs 500 billion easily. Die and Mould India is like a family get together or a reunion because 60 per cent of exhibitors and might be each other’s client. It is really a pleasure to meet people of the same industry.”
Known as a formidable OEM, Force Motors’ Tooling Division also put up a show where it diplayed its big components likebig firewall parts which is one the biggest sheet metal parts. The Division has an expertise in parts that are bigger size, specialising in sheet metal stampings.
Mohit Narayan, Senior Divisional Manager, Force Motors Limited says “We are operating in a niche segment. We have machines that are bigger in size than most toolrooms in India, which are used for sheet metal stampings. That is our core strength in our tooling business basically.”
Speaking on Force Motors’ participation in DMI, Narayan says, “We have been participating since 2010 regularly. Everyone knows Force Motors as an OEM, but we also want to show them that we are into the tooling business and we are open and ready to make toolings for you. This is the whole purpose of participating in Die and Mould.”
Alex Machine Tools, showcased its machines for the production of automotive parts. Vernon Pontes, Director, Alex Machine Tools Pvt Ltd, commenting on the company’s participation in DMI 2018 said, “Certainly India is a growing exporter of dies and moulds and for those you need to have the surface ground flat, which makes it an important market for us as surface grinding machine providers. Our heavy duty surface grinding machines are designed for the die and mould industry where heavy tools can be loaded. It is precise throughout the scope and so we have products that are perfectly suited for it. The Indian buyer is obviously interested in how the machine improves his costs. The buyer also wants the machines to cost less. While we can show the customer how he can improve the cost of his part, we have continuously worked on how optimising the cost of our machines, giving the customer ultimately what he requires, which is lowest total life cyle parts.”
“Such machines are completely automated so that they can have single minute changeover. If the customer wants to change from one job to another, normally that process takes a few hours. With automated machines, they can basically put a new part in and the machine will automatically configure itself,” he adds.
As a tier-4 supplier to the die and mould industry, Ahire Machine Tools may not directly interact with the auto industry. The company has been in the manufacturing sector for 35 years and has also been responsible for bringing German technology in the Indian market with a manufacturing and technical tie-up with Allmatic, a German CNC maker.
“The people that make dies and mould use CNC and VMC machines and we provide work holding solutions for clamping the components of the machine so that they can be machined to required shapes,” says Nishikant Ahire, Chairman and Managing Director, Ahire Machine Tools about the company’s offering.
“As a good Indian engineer, I would like to explore more possibilities. I honestly believe, that the die and mould industry should produce in such a way that we compete with the Chinese market. Even today, almost 70 per cent of the moulds come from either China or Taiwan. Indian auto industry doesn’t purchase from Germany or Japan because of the cost. By taking focused effort and investing well, India definitely can compete with the Chinese industry and meet the market requirements,” adds Ahire, expecting Indian industry to do well in the forthcoming years.
A lot of things are being imported like big moulds for automotive sector. If that importing can be slowed down, we can manufacture for ourselves.”