62nd Indian Foundry Congress, hosted by Ahmedabad Chapter of the

Western Region of the Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF), held recently at

Gandhinagar (Gujarat), set several new records in 64 years long history of IIF.

It was held during 7-9 February, 2014 at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar

(Gujarat).

In spite of present recession in the foundry industry, total number of

registered delegates reached 1,400. In addition, about 500 engineering

students and faculty from several engineering colleges in Gujarat took

advantage of the congress, and visited the exhibitions; making themselves familiar with metal casting

industry, and career opportunities in foundries/die casting units. The concurrently held International

Foundry Exhibition (named IFEX 2014) and Cast India Expo 2014 were benchmarking events, satisfying

the exhibitors as well as the visitors.

The Organizing Team, led and inspired by Shri Subodh Panchal, had made elaborate arrangements to

conduct the congress in efficient way, and to provide comfort to all delegates and other participants.

Several new innovative programmes were introduced in this congress. The theme of the congress –

Inspiring Growth – was met to a large extent by such programmes.

The event consisted of Technical Sessions (including a WEBINAR from USA), Sessions on Cast Source

Meet, BRICS Forum, Students’ Forum, Techmart Session, Foundry Exhibitions IFEX-2014* and Cast India

Expo2014*, Cultural Programmes and post-congress Works Visits and Tours. (*Both exhibitions were

organized by KoelnmesseYA Tradefair Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai/Hyderabad.) Special focus was given to sessions

on Aluminum foundry practice (including high pressure die casting), Investment Casting, Green Foundry

Practice, Modernization of Foundries, and effective use of Instrumentation & Testing in foundry

operations. Presentations in Technical sessions (3 sessions running in parallel), as also in Cast Source

62nd Indian Foundry Congress & Exhibitions Set New Records Even in Present Recessionary Period in

Indian Foundry Industry

Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar was the Meeting Point for 3 days (7-9 February, 2014) for 1,400

Foundrymen from all parts of India and abroad, and almost 500 engineering students and faculty from

engineering colleges in Gujarat.62nd Indian Foundry Congress, and accompanying Exhibitions, set

several new records.

Events in Chronological Order

The First Day (7-2-14)

Delegate Registration

Good arrangements were made for welcoming the delegates and for hassle-free registration. There was

also a rush for Spot Registration by Foundrymen coming at the last moment.

Exhibition Inauguration

Inauguration of IFEX 2014 (10th International

Exhibition on Foundry Technology, Equipment and

Supplies), as well as Cast India Expo 2014, was the

first event of this congress. The exhibition was

inaugurated in a brief function at 10.30 am on 7-2-

14 by WFO President Shri Vinod Kapur, and IIF

President Ms. Reena Bhagwati. More than 280

exhibitors (including about 50 from abroad)

displayed their products/services in this exhibition.

This includes about 40 metal-casting units in Cast

India Expo.

These elite foundries had showcased their capabilities to accelerate their journey towards creating a

brand image of Indian casting capabilities. The exhibition, spread over 5 Halls, occupied approx. 15,000

sq. meter area, and was the largest foundry exhibition till today in India.

Cast Source Meet

This was the second event of this congress. There was separate additional registration fee to participate

in this meet. Due to participation by 16 castings purchasing companies from India and abroad, their

presentations were spread in 5 sessions of Cast Source Meet during first 2 days. The first session of this

meet started at 11.30 am and continued till 1.00 pm. Two more sessions were held after lunch and tea

break, respectively. The last two sessions were held on the second day. Cast Source Meet by more than

280 Foundrymen, with high attendance in each of the 5 sessions. It proves the attraction of such meets

to Foundrymen.

Technical Sessions

Technical Papers presentation also commenced today with the first session (session 1A) focusing on

Foundry Cluster Development. Useful information about activities and/or study in Foundry Clusters in

Coimbatore, Belgaum, Kolhapur and Faridabad was presented by three speakers in this session. One

more Technical Papers presentation session (session 2B) was held after lunch. This session had three

informative papers related to Steel Casting Technology.

Students’ Forum

A large number of students, with their teachers, from various engineering colleges in Gujarat had come

to visit the exhibition and to attend technical sessions of their interest. These students were guided by

Shri Prakash Vaishnav (from CFER, A’bad) and others about the foundry industry and the job careers in

metal casting. This session of 1.5 hours duration was held before lunch.

BRICS Forum

Representatives from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa presented useful information about

Aluminum casting (including die casting) industry in their respective country in a special session (session

2A) after lunch.

Congress Inauguration

Congress Inaugural function was organized in Forace Hall 4 in the first floor of the congress venue. The

function started at 5.00 pm with brief welcome address by Shri Subodh Panchal, Chairman of the

Organizing Team. He explained how this event reached

to a record scale in spite of the present recessionary

condition in foundry industry. He also welcomed large

numbers of overseas delegates, and especially BRICS

members.

In her Presidential address, IIF President Ms. Reena

Bhagwati highlighted the present scene of Indian

foundry industry and focused on the steps needed for

faster growth, and what IIF plans to do to support the

growth. She also felicitated Shri Vinod Kapur for having

become WFO President for 2014 and 2015. Shri Saurabhbhai Patel (Honorable Minister of Energy, Petro

Chemicals and Mines, Govt. of Gujarat) was the Chief Guest in the inaugural function. After delivering

highly informative address about the achievements of Gujarat state, and inviting Foundrymen to set up

new, modern foundries in Gujarat, he inaugurated the congress by lighting a lamp. Shri Saurabhbhai

released Technical Transactions in a Pen drive, and printed version

Annual IIF Awards were announced by IIF Hon. Secretary Shri Amish Panchal and were presented by

the Chief Guest to the recipients. The inaugural function ended with Vote of Thanks by Shri

Amish Panchal, who was also the Organizing Secretary of this congress.

Entertainment Programme & Dinner

Entertainment programme and Dinner were held in a grand style in the Lawns of Infocity Club and

Resort, S G Highway, Gandhinagar, 5 km away from the congress venue. The entertainment programme

was sponsored by MTC Business P. Ltd, Mumbai. The Dinner was sponsored by Bhagwati Group (A’bad)

and DISA India (B’luru).

The 2nd Day (8-2-14)

Technical Sessions (before Lunch)

The second day began with three Sessions parallel to one another (Sessions 3A, 3B and 3C) at 11.00 am.

Session 3A was on “Know Global Trends”, in which informative presentations were made by four

invited speakers – John Flintham (MD, Amtek Auto Ltd), Thomas Prucha (VP - Tech Services, AFS, USA),

Graham Cooper (Inductotherm Group, USA), and Andrew Turner (FESA, UK as well as WFO).

Session 3B was on Panel Discussion on “Effective Use of Instrumentation & Testing”. The Panelists

were : Dr. K. Gnanamurthy (anchor); Instrumentation expert Vishwas Kale, Pune; R. Duraiswamy and R.

K. Raj (Foundrymen from C’tore, expert in sand testing) and ........ (Foseco India, Pune).

Session 3C was on “Aluminum Foundry Practice” with presentations by three speakers – M. B. Bhimani

(on behalf of Andy Moores, Foseco Europe), Joe Muniza (ASK Chemicals, Germany), and M.

Thirugnanam (Foundry Consultant, Chennai). The fourth parallel programme was one more session of

Students’ Forum, in which about 150 Metallurgical / Mechanical engineering students, with faculties,

from other engineering colleges in Gujarat participated. Shri Prakash Vaishnav (CFER, A’bad) had

conducted the session.

Technical Sessions (after Lunch)

After lunch there were three parallel sessions (sessions 4A, 4B & 4C) on:

• Green Foundry Practice

• Developments in Melting Technologies

• Aluminum Casting Technology

These were in addition to one more session (4th session) on Cast Source Meet.

Technical Sessions (after Tea)

In the afternoon there were again three parallel sessions (sessions 5A, 5B and 5C) on :

• Modernization of Foundries, followed by Panel Discussion on the same subject

• Management subject + a WEBINAR on “Cooling Curve Analysis” by Prof. Dr. Stefanescu, Ohio Uni., USA

• Aluminum Casting Technology

These were in addition to the 5th (the last) session on Cast Source Meet.

The day ended with Entertainment Programme (courtesy: MTC Business P. Ltd, Mumbai); and Dinner

(courtesy: Ashapura, and Künkel-Wagner, Mumbai) at the lawns of Infocity Club & Resort.

The 3rd Day (9-2-14)

Technical Sessions (before Lunch)

The day began at 11.00 am with three parallel sessions (sessions 6A, 6B & 6C) focusing on following

subjects.

• Advancements in Production Processes

• Three Techmart presentations on New Technologies, also one presentation on Energy Savings in an

Iron Foundry in South Africa (by David Mertens, BRICS delegate from S. Africa).

• Investment Casting

Technical Sessions (after Lunch)

After lunch there were two more parallel sessions (sessions 7A & 7B) focusing on:

• Foundry Metallurgy & Quality

• Presentations from Engineering Colleges

Congress Highlights

Delegates : Around 1,400

Various Events : Inauguration of the Exhibition • Cast Source Meet • Inauguration of the Foundry

Congress • Technical Sessions • WEBINAR (from USA) • Techmart Session • BRICs Forum • Students’

Forum • Cultural Programmes • Valedictory Function • Post-Congress Works Visits and Tours • Ladies

Programmes

Technical Papers : approx. 50 (presented in parallel Technical sessions during the 3 days)

Techmart : Presentations by 3 companies on 9-2-14

IFEX 2014 & Cast India Expo 2014 : This exhibition was held in 5 exhibition halls. It was organized by

M/s. Koelnmesse YA Tradefair Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai/Hyderabad.

Cast Source Meet : It is now being held with each Indian Foundry Congress. This time sixteen castings

buyer companies presented their castings needs in 5 sessions of Cast Source Meet, spread over first 2

days.

Works Visits : Visit to a foundries in and around Ahmedabad, and other parts of Gujarat.

Post-Congress Tours : To Dwarka-Somnath, and Sasan Gir

Handbook on Metal Terminology: Released in place of traditional souvenir. Containing definitions of

more than

13,000 Metallurgical Terms, supported with many Advertisements in a separate section.

Inauguration & Cultural Programme & Dinner Venue:

Infocity Club & Resort Lawns

Organizing Team of This Congress

Chairman : Shri Subodh Panchal, A’bad

Vice Chairman : Shri Jagat Shah, A’bad

Hony. Secretary : Shri Amish Panchal, A’bad

Jt. Secretary : Shri Vikram Doshi, A’bad

Treasurer : Shri Mukund Shah, A’bad With Continued Active Support from

IIF President : Ms. Reena Bhagwati, A’bad

Chairman (WR) : Shri Anant Bam, Pune

Chairman (A’bad Chapter) : Shri Omprakash Kothari, A’bad

And members of many other Functional Teams of this event

Valedictory Session

This was the last session of this congress, held at 3.30

pm on 9-2-14. Shri Krishna Samraj (Mg. Dir., Magna

Electrocasting Ltd., Coimbatore) was the Chief Guest in

this function. A number of participants briefly shared

their feedback about the congress. Name of the

recipient of “Soli Commissariat Best Paper Award” in

62nd IFC was announced by Shri M. R. Shah of Tech

Papers Team. The paper was: “Experiences in

Developing eLearning Training Modules for Green Sand

Practice on Bentonite”, presented by Patrick Verdot,

Amcol, USA. Both – the Inaugural Session, as well as the

Valedictory Session – were ably by Shri Deepak Raval.

The BRICS Foundry Forum @ 62nd IFC

The 4th BRICS Foundry Forum was organized by IIF alongwith 62nd Indian Foundry Congress on 5th to 9th

Feb.2014 at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.

The delegates from Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa were present for the forum. This year the

focus of the discussion was Aluminum foundries.

The survey questionnaire was forwarded to respective Foundry Organization & Institutes of each

Country asking for information about Aluminum Foundries. This is a delight to record that every country

has submitted information as asked for. This information was received just before the event; hence the

cumulative study is not made. However the information is circulated to every BRICS delegate.

This information is of very much advantage to the +benefit of member Countries.

The program of the meeting was as follows.

Day 1 : Wednesday 5.2.2014

BRICS Internal Meeting

Agenda :

1. Welcome by India.

2. Status of Foundry Industry in respective country.

3. Academician & Industry Interaction.

4. Challenges and opportunities for foundry industry.

5. Hosting of BRICS Foundry Forum – 2015

6. Deciding of Study Topic for BRICS Foundry Forum – 2015.

The deliberations on above agenda points were made. The participation was very lively. The India has

presented a unique experiment which is executed

at Kolhapur, India. The city has around 200

foundries and with the help of State Govt. &

Polytechnic College (Academic Institute), the

industry has embarked on a Foundry Training

Institute. This Institute will care to provide

knowledge to the working Foundrymen. The status

is from supervisory courses to the Doctoral level.

This has proved to be a Successful Model for other

Foundry Clusters to follow.

The problem of all the BRICS Countries to attract

the youth towards foundry Industry is same. This

could be a good example to have trained manpower for the foundries.

The delegates also shared their experiences about the pollution and pollution control norms and

decided to share the information for benefit of each country.

The interaction was very well to understand the new development of foundry technology, further

market potential and towards overall foundry development. It is reveal that the 52% of casting

production of the world is made by BRICS Countries.

The next host is decided as Russia and the subject to deliberate is Steel Castings.

The forum is tentatively scheduled in Sept. 2015. The Russian Foundry Association will inform the details

very soon.

Day 2 : Thursday 6.2.2014

A) Works Visit.

B) Informal Interaction of BRICS delegates with National Council of IIF.

The BRICS delegates were invited to attend the National Council of IIF and to have informal discussions

to know more about foundry industries in respective countries.

The President of respective National Foundry Association briefed the National Council Members about

the reviews on foundry industry. IIF has presented a memento of the occasion to every country. The

program begins with opening remark from IIF National President Ms. Reena Bhagwati & was

coordinated by Mr. Sham H. Arjunwadkar.

The meeting followed with the dinner.

Day 3 : Friday 7.2.2014

The BRICS delegates have attended the program and enjoyed the warm welcome by IFC Organizing

Committee Chairman Mr. Subodh Panchal & his team.

The 4th BRICS forum

Focus on Aluminium High Pressure Die Casting & Global Foundry Trends.

Session Chairman: Mr. Sham Arjunwadkar, Chairman, IIF-NCTS.

The session commenced with the opening remarks by Mr. Subodh Panchal, Organizing Committee

Chairman 62nd IFC.

The IFC delegates and BRICS delegates have attended this program held at Forace Hall, Mahatma

Mandir.

PRESENTATION FROM INDIA

- Indian Aluminum HPDC Foundry Industry – Present Status & Future Potential

- A. Pari, Chennai.

- Die Casting Scope in India against Global Reality - Dilip Panjikar, Pune

The HPDC foundry scenario in India is presented by Mr. Panjikar giving information about various

Foundry Clusters & the SWOT analysis of the industries. He further informed about the role of the Indian

Casting suppliers to fulfill the global requirements. He reviewed the technological developments.

Mr. Pari informed about the market potential HPDC casting in India. His emphasis was on the need of

skill development & manpower training for the HPDC industry to become globally competitive.

Agencies/ association supporting the industry & profile of the industry & competents of foundries is

South Africa. He informed about the efforts made by Govt. of South Africa to promote the foundry

business through NFTN.

The production of nonferrous castings is 3,75,000 tons

PRESENTATION FROM SOUTH AFRICA

Mr. Mark Kreig, Executive Director, Aluminium federation of South Africa.

Mr. Mark Kreig has taken & over- view of South African competency in aluminum casting industry. The

major Foundry Cluster is Gauteng province when in 54% of total foundry industries are located. He

further explained that the South Africa Foundry industry is technically advanced has Excellence in

manufacturing practices. They have, good infrastructure, well establish supply base and high level of

Engineering versatility.

PRESENTATION FROM RUSSIA

Prof. Viadimir Belov, Head of Foundry Chair of National University of Science and Technology MISIS

Russia.

Prof. Ivan Dibrov, President of Russian Association of Foundrymen.

Prof. Viadimir Belov informed about current state & about the development of new alloys such as

NIKALIN alloy.

He explained the properties and utility of the alloys, which is very interesting.

He concluded his presentation by informing that Russia is an attractive object for investor and

entrepreneur for foundry industries.

Mr. Dibrov, further elaborated the subject matter and efforts made by Russian Foundry Association for

business developments.

PRESENTATION FORM BRAZIL

De Simone, President of Brazilian Foundry Association – ABIFA

Mr. De Simone presented the foundry scenario in Brazil. He gave the statistic for production of castings

and the availability of infrastructure for the foundry industry. It is interesting to note that the power

generation in Brazil is 80% Hydro Electricity. He elaborately explained about Foundry Technical Courses

& metallurgical Engineering Programs including foundry MBA. The Brazil has a good model for such

educational courses & because of this they have a well-trained man power for foundry Industry. Brazil

ranks seventh in Global Casting production & produces 2.8 million tons of castings. They are the big

exporters of castings & 55% of the exports are to USA, 16% to Europe, 14% to South America & 15%

other countries.

The Brazil foundry industry is progressing on defined road map for the capacity increased &

technological advancement.

PRESENTATION FORM CHINA

Mr. Libo Zhang, Executive Vice President & Secretary General, China Foundry Association.

Libo Zhang made the presentation on behalf of China Foundry which was very ably translated in English

by Mr. Gao, Director, China foundry association.

There are total 5800 Aluminum foundries in China & they produce around 4.4 million tons of Aluminium

casting.

The employment in foundry industry is direct 348000 & Indirect 52,000. The foundries in China are

normally accredited with ISO 9001 & TS 1694 certificate .

The trained manpower is available & also the university programs for foundry technology are available.

The total 205 universities/ colleges provide the Foundry graduation courses.

The pollution control norms are also very strictly employed.

There is national policy to decide a growth of foundry industry with respect to 12th five year

development plan which also cares for equipment manufacturing industry, recycling & revatization plan.

The Ministry of industrial information and technology & Ministry of science technology of the People's

Republic of China support the industry.

There is a good collaboration with universities & R & D Institute. The foundries undertake joint

development programs with universities & R & D Institutions.

The major markets for castings: -

Automotive - 80%

Infrastructure - 10%

Railway, Agriculture, Mining Home appliances etc (Misc.) - 10%

The exports are around 10% & the industries making efforts to develop the same.

The session was interactive & lively.

Mr. Sham Arjunwadkar, Session Chairman sum-up the presentations & monitored the interaction with

the delegates & expressed his thanks to the participating countries & respective honorable speakers.

Cast Source Meet

Cast Source Meet was a great success. More than 250 delegates (sellers) participated and there were 16

Buyers representing Domestic and Foreign companies. The Cast Source meet was extended over 5

sessions for 2 days and all sessions were fully attended by registered delegates. The Companies that

made presentation as Buyers of Castings were

Siemens AG ( Germany) – Energy Sector

AVK Holdings ( Denmark)

EQI Ltd. ( USA)

Regal Beloit ( USA)

Continental Disk Corporation ( USA)

TAFE ( India)

ITT Corporation ( India)

Ingersoll Rand ( Global Sourcing-India)

MES , Inc. ( USA)

LCB Sourcing ( India)

TATA Hitachi ( India)

Mahindra & Mahindra ( India)

NA-DICOM ( USA)

Met focus/ TNE Inc. ( India/USA)

Brakes India Ltd. ( India)

Buhler Industries ( Canada)

SAAB ( Sweden)

All the speakers made presentation about their

annual casting requirements, grades and types of

castings. Almost all companies laid out their

expectations from supplying foundries in terms of

quality and delivery. A lot of emphasis was laid on

design capabilities of foundries in terms of pattern

and tooling development to reduce lead time for

sample development which was vital in new projects

to come to Indian foundries. The demands and

volumes projected by companies had the interest for SMEs and Large Foundries. Some companies were

willing to participate with selected vendors for technical assistance and overall up-gradation of their

setup to suit global requirements. Many sellers questioned about the move from China to India by most

companies who made their presentation. Almost all companies echoed the price advantage India is

currently having over China which is forcing them for the change.

Overall the Cast Source meet was a huge success. Q&A sessions were very interactive and after each

session the buyers and sellers interacted one to one making it a satisfying experience for both.

We had also arranged for a one to one meeting of Aluminium Sand Casting foundries with SAAB

(Sweden) delegation which had a requirement for castings for Defence Industry on the second day.

SAAB delegation was very satisfied with the response they got during the one to one meet.