Belgaum Foundry industry in bad shape

Global meltdown or inflation, the result on the world has been staggering. The Aviation industry is in crisis and so is the Foundry industry in Belgaum.

Belgaum is recognized to be a reliable source of high precision, high volume and
economical castings. A significant percentage (almost 20%) of the foundry units at Belgaum has ISO 9000 certification and export casting.
The foundry industry at Belgaum caters to a wide variety of end-use applications Automotive/oil engines Pumps/valves Tractors/agricultural implements Food processing industry. The foundry industry at Belgaum came up primarily to cater to the needs of the automobile industry at Pune.

The Belgaum foundry industry is the first in Karnataka and the third largest in Asia. The production has decreased by 30% in last month. 8000 tonnes production has now come down to 6000 tonnes.

There are about 135 foundries in the industrial belt. More than 9000 workers work in them. The foundry industry has been seeing a tough time; the raw material prices have gone up by a whopping 200%. The demand has slowed down due to the meltdown, inflation has hit them hard, and now the industrialists say they at least need more than a year to come back on track.

To top the pie of hardships for these industrialists, now HESCOM is undertaking power cuts, which is causing much more production loss and cost escalation.

To the 9000+ workers, an additional 4000+ are involved in this industry in form of transporters, porters etc. All are feared what will happen to them if the same situation continues.
In the recent month, the prices of raw materials have seen a downtrend globally, which is one ray of light in this darkness. Globally metal and Commodity driven stocks are taking a beating, it is the case with them in India also.

Source: Esakal.com , Indianfoundry.com