New Delhi — India's mold making sector needs to boost its capabilities to both meet rising demands from global firms operating in the country and dislodge the imported molds that have a large share of the Indian market in some key sectors, according to speakers at a recent conference there.
Rajiv Gandhi, executive director of production for carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., suggested to the International Tooling Summit 2017 in New Delhi, for example, that the mold making industry and global firms like his should build stronger links.
“The auto industry is dependent on tooling imports,” he said, noting that Maruti imports more than 50 percent of its tooling. “There is a large demand and supply gap, and efforts should be made to bridge it by investing in capabilities.”
“There has to be an ecosystem where OEMs and suppliers support each other and coexist so that the overall growth objective is met,” he told the conference, held Feb. 9-10 and sponsored by the Mumbai-based Tool and Gauge Manufacturers Association of India.
He said the need for the local Indian industry to upgrade is driven both by shorter product life cycles for cars in India and more stringent emissions and environmental standards.
“With Euro 6 (Bharat Stage VI) emission norms to be implemented by 2020 and growing environmental and safety concerns, tooling rooms have to be ready to meet the challenge and invest in quality tooling,” Gandhi said.
The head of the tool and gauge association said Indian manufacturers are working to source more molds in India, and that could create opportunities for local firms.