In response to the emergence of many sectors prominent for Tooling industry, TAGMA is all set to present DMI 2022 again, its flagship Die & Mould conclave at international level. From the early signs of interest in the industry and with online registration, it seems that this 12th Edition of Die & Mold India Exhibition would witness huge participation of stakeholders of the Tooling industry, bringing an astounding glory of success.
The 12th Die & Mould India International Exhibition 2022 is all set to get underway, starting from 27th April to 30th April 2022 after a gap of four years and there is palpable excitement among the manufacturers and willing participants for this highly sought-after exhibition for the Indian tooling sector. D M Sheregar, President of Tool & Gauge Manufacturers Association (TAGMA) India elaborates further on the importance of this year’s edition of the DMI.
“Die Mould India, being the only exhibition in this field attracts stakeholders from the various field of the tooling industry. In this edition, we are expecting a high turnaround from non-auto sectors as well. As we know, sectors such as aerospace, defence, toy, medical equipment, and infrastructure are growing and they are looking for toolmakers to expand their businesses.”
Excitement for DMI in the industry
Since 1998, the exhibition has been playing an instrumental role in helping toolmakers meet potential customers, and know the latest technologies, among others. It is a gateway for overseas companies and user industries to meet the toolmakers and forge a lasting business partnership with them. TAGMA’s vision for the exhibition is to make it a truly global event with a large number of participations from overseas companies and many country pavilions.
“The exhibition is happening after a gap of four years and exhibitors and visitors are eagerly waiting for the show and we are very much confident of the success of the show. We have much to show in this edition of DMI. Various latest technologies such as additive manufacturing, integrated CAD/CAM software, multi-axis CNC machines, latest injection moulding machines and Industry 4.0 solutions are the core attraction of our event,” D M Sheregar said.
From the early signs of interest in the industry and with online registration, it seems that the event will be a huge success. Mr Sheregar is confident to welcome over 30,000 visitors at the 12th edition of DMI. “We have invited a huge number of OEMs and public sector units and expect over 50 delegates from various organisations. Around 15 user industry associations will also be present to explore business opportunities with toolmakers. We are expecting a good number of visitors from aerospace, defence, toymakers and medical equipment industry as well apart from automotive,” he added.
Challenges faced by the Indian Tooling Sector
Some challenges are hindering the growth of the Indian tooling industry. Most of these challenges are related to various policy-related problems. One of the biggest challenges is proper and timely access to funding especially for MSMEs so that they can continue their business growth. However, Indian tool makers face many challenges concerning easy access to finance. Another major issue is the lack of a skilled workforce available for employment in tool rooms in India.
Workshops and skill development centres need to be established to address this issue of severe lack of talent in the workforce which imposes various restrictions on the operations of the industry. Import duty is another major issue in the tool industry. The import duty on the tools is lower than the import duty on the raw materials and bought-out components used in manufacturing these tools. This imposes restrictions on the development of indigenous tool solutions as people move to import from other countries due to lower input costs.
With the feedback from the user industry and with our own experience, the Indian companies need to brush up on their design skills, enhance capacities, work on skill development to keep ourselves updated with the new trends and most importantly need to work together to grab the bigger opportunities. India lacks the cluster approach and because of that many large orders are lost to companies from countries like China, Taiwan, and Korea. To enhance our competitiveness, we need to work on skill development as a unit, push the government to come up with friendly policies similar to the above-mentioned countries and work on developing tooling clusters around the country.
“As I said before, we act as a voice for the Indian tooling fraternity as we closely work with policymakers and share above mentioned challenges with them so that they can come up with a friendly framework. Toolmakers in other countries receive state-sponsored incentives to explore export markets but that is not the case in India. Thus it becomes to address the various issues of the industry to develop the industry further. In my opinion, we are among the best when it comes to making tools but we need some policy support from the government to grab the bigger opportunities and reduce dependence on imports,” Sheregar added.
Future Outlook for the Industry
The growth of the die mould industry is highly dependent on the growth of the manufacturing industry and the last decade has really been very good for the Indian manufacturing industry with very positive performance across all sectors. The tooling industry around the world depends on the automotive industry and the Indian automotive industry has grown to become one of the largest in the world in all segments. The growth has positively impacted the tooling business in India.
Apart from this, we are seeing the emergence of many sectors in India such as aerospace, defence, white goods, consumer durables, packaging, medical equipment, and railways, among others which will have a direct impact on the tooling business. Various innovations are also coming up which is a good sign of progress in this field. Some of the newest technology trends include barrel machining, Trochoidal Milling, 3-D Printing for rapid tool realization, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, laser texturing, hot/cold moulding, 2k/3k moulding and all types of industry4.0 solutions.
“I see a huge scope. We feel that since the last decade the industry is growing double-digit and will continue to grow in the coming years as well. I also feel the above-mentioned industries are going to play a huge role in the growth of Indian toolmakers in the coming decade. Industry-academia partnership is such a win-win model that helps the industry in skill development and reducing R&D expenses. It is a very successful model in some developed countries. In India, it is still in a nascent stage however there has been good progress in this direction. We are working with many educational institutes for skill development and carrying out several research projects.” Mr Sheregar adds.
Message for the Die and Mould industry
Since assuming office as the TAGMA President last year, the main priority areas for Mr Sheregar are to carry forward the good work started by the previous office bearers and build on their progress.” At TAGMA, our goal is to provide all the necessary tools and platforms to foster the growth of the Indian tooling industry ad I would like to continue to do the same. Specifically, I would like to focus on collaboration with international associations and exhibitions to provide a platform for Indian toolmakers.
Apart from this, my focus would be to work closely with the ministry to formulate industry-friendly policies,” he adds. This decade belongs to India. Many multinational companies are setting up manufacturing facilities in India. In such a scenario, these companies will also look to source tools from domestic players.
“I would encourage toolmakers to showcase their full capabilities and plans at the exhibition. Let us show that we can handle any type of tool and equip with all the necessary infrastructure and skills. We need to work together to reduce the imports. Also, skill development is going to be our focus in the coming days. We are also in the process of conceptualising some skill development program and will launch it after the Die Mould India show,” Sheregar said.
