The Indian Foundry & Forging industry occupies a special place in shaping the country's economy. India is currently among the largest producers of ferrous and non-ferrous castings. The sector which was the world's fifth largest in 2008 has become the third largest with a growth of 47% in six years followed by China and USA.

West Bengal is the pioneer in Foundry and Forging industry in India. At present, around 500 units exist in West Bengal with an installed capacity of 1 Million tonnes. 95% of these units are concentrated in the district of Howrah forming an informal cluster. West Bengal's vast experience of West Bengal in making wide range of casting and forging for heavy industry & engineering sector make West Bengal a potential destination to become a leader in this sector.

In India forging industries include both closed die and open die. Quite a few car producers of the world have set up their manufacturing units in India and West Bengal is best suited to manufacture auto parts for auto mobile factories because of the availability of the large pool of highly skilled man-power. The open die forging industries is estimated to grow to one million ton per annum in next 5 years from the present level of 0.5 Million tons making West Bengal is the perfect destination for open die forging industry.

Scope in West Bengal
West Bengal is in the midst of coal and steel industries and with GDP expected to grow @9% for the next 10 years there will be lot of capital expenditure in this region. Strategic location of the State coupled with skilled manpower to work on furnaces, raw material availability, uninterrupted power supply, well connectivity by road, railways, airport and port facility, upsurge in demand for quality castings & foundry products in auto & non- auto sectors and business friendly policies of state government provide ample opportunities for investment in this sector.

With growing demand of sophisticated engineering goods and potentiality of the State, the German would find West Bengal to be a preferred destination to come and invest for such products.

Foundry Parks in West Bengal
Howrah in West Bengal is an engineering hub for basic metal products, machinery equipment manufacturing, electrical/transport equipment & spares etc. There are three foundry parks being developed in Howrah. Howrah Chamber of Commerce & Industries is developing a Foundry Park spread over 1000 acres (400 hectares) of land with all the facilities and common facility centres within the Park. This Park is being supported and facilitated by the Government. It will be one of its kind and largest in this part of the world. Another Foundry Park is being developed by Howrah Foundry Association over 20 acres (8 hectares) of land.

The Indian Foundry Association is developing a big Foundry Park over 200 acres (80 hectares) in the same region. MSME&T Department has hired the services of the National Institute for Foundry and Forge Technology (NIFFT) and Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) as Knowledge and Technology Partners respectively. The Department is looking forward to collaborate with internationally renowned foreign R&D institutions, technology developers for setting up state of the art R&D centre in the region. These parks are in close proximity to Kolkata and will provide the required infrastructure for setting up foundry industries.

Once developed, they have investment potential of Rs. 10000 crore (USD 1.5 billion).

Market size
At present, West Bengal occupies 5.5% of national turnover to the tune of Rs. 5000 crore (USD 751.5 million) in Foundry & Forging sectors. The sector is expected to grow @ 20% CAGR in the next five years to achieve a turnover of nearly Rs. 13,000 crore (USD 2 billion) by 2020 leaving a huge scope for potential investment of Rs. 8,000 crore (USD 1.2 billion) in the State.