SC Kalyanpur, President, TAGMA and MD Sridevi Tool Engineers P. Ltd.
What are the latest trends and demand in die mould industry?
Die mould industry is the back bone of every industry; its demand will not diminish or reduce. It will increase as the manufacturing industry grows. No one can manufacture anything without the help of die mould. One needs to understand the fundamental of die mould first. What die mould industry does? They convert imaginative design into a real part.
Automobile industry has witnessed a slowdown, how much has it affected the industry?
I am the owner of a die mould company which is fairly known in the country. It has not affected me for the last two years. Whenever there is a fall in demand, people sit down and think what went wrong and then they go for renovation. So for any kind of renovation, new product development, new investment die mould companies get work. Probably the amount of work is less which might have affected some businesses but not everyone.
Today the die mould industry is more than Rs 20,000 crore, but import constitutes 50% or more than that, so where is the question of getting less work? In fact the tool room industry got a better chance because the import cost has gone up. So the Indian companies should get more opportunities.
What are the other emerging sectors for die mould industry?
Die mould industry is not only dependent on automotive industry, there are so many other industries who are creating good demand for the die mould manufacturers, like electronics, white goods, pharma and consumer durables among others.
Almost every manufacturer needs die mould, without tool room they cannot do anything, right from a tooth pick manufacturer to someone from aerospace industry, every product you touch is made in a tool room. It’s the mother of all industries; whatever you touch in your daily life has been touched in a tool room.
The technology level as compared to the western and Japanese counter parts…
All the technology that we are using to manufacture die and mould is from Japan or Germany, so we are very much at par with the Europe and Japan. We may be small compared to them, but we have expertise and technology both.
How has the emergence of south eastern countries affected Indian business?
It used to, but now since the prices have gone up due to currency fluctuation, India still has a better chance. We need not worry.
Education of Indian engineers, what’s your take on the same and what is TAGMA doing on the same front?
Although the engineers are trained in the institutes, but we manufacturers are far ahead of them as far as the equipments are concerned. We have to train young engineers and not only that, now that the complexity of the products has increased, it is becoming more difficult to thrive in the industry. Having said that, I also feel that apart from some big institutes, the practical training is missing in an average Indian technical institute.
TAGMA is working with heavy industry department and FICCI for skill development to bring out a proper course for skill development in the area.
What’s your take on 3D printing as a challenge?
As of now it’s not a challenge and in future too I don’t think it can pose any challenges to the die mould industry. Though we don’t know about tomorrow, but one thing is clear die and mould will exist throughout.
Please highlight the importance of Die Mould India 2014…
It is the best platform for the professionals associated with die mould industry to learn about the latest happenings in the industry, upgrade the technology level and connect with customers & partners. One can find the whole ecosystem of the industry be in tooling solution providers to CNC manufacturers, vendors to buyers, CAD/CAM to design, among others under one roof. Also being a focussed exhibition it attracts huge visitors from around the globe.
Looking at the scope for knowledge up gradation, it is good for visitors, exhibitors and customers.
