16th September: The Association of Indian Forging Industry (AIFI), the apex body of the Indian forging sector, successfully hosted its 2nd Annual Conference on the theme “New Development Trends – Impact on Forging Industry”, bringing together leading industry stakeholders to deliberate on the evolving business environment and the opportunities and challenges shaping the futureof the Indian forging industry. The conference brought into focus the changing global supply-chain landscape, the emerging China Plus One opportunity, technology and automation, productivity, manpower, rising input costs and the need for greater resilience and competitiveness across the sector.
The discussions at the conference underscored that the Indian forging industry is at a pivotal point, with a significant opportunity to strengthen its position in global value chains as companies increasingly look to diversify their supplychains. However, the industry will need to move decisively beyond traditional manufacturing and supplier models by investing in technology, automation, engineering and R&D capabilities, skilled manpower, productivity and sustainability. The collective messageemerging from the conference was clear, while India has the manufacturing base, engineering talent and market opportunity to become a preferred global partner, forging companies must build the capability to take greater responsibility, manage uncertainty,meet rising customer expectations and deliver higher-value solutions to capitalise on the next phase of growth.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Yash Munot, President, AIFI & CEO, Varsha Forgings Pvt. Ltd., said, “The Indian forging industry is at an important juncture, with global supply-chain realignments creating significant opportunities for India. At the same time, we must remain prepared to navigate geopolitical uncertainty, rising input costs, technology disruptionand changing customer requirements. Our focus must be on increasing productivity, accelerating technology adoption, developing our people and strengthening innovation and sustainability. The opportunity before the Indian forging industry is significant, butwe must build the capabilities and competitiveness required to become a stronger and more valuable partner to global customers.”
A key highlight of the conference was the address by Chief Guest, Mr. Thomas Dose, Managing Director, BMW Group Plant Chennai, who spoke about the growing global relevance of India in the context of the China Plus One strategy. He highlighted that geopolitical turbulence and the risks associated with dependence on a single supplier are prompting global companies to diversify their supply chains. With its engineering talent, large domestic market andcapable forging ecosystem, India has a strong opportunity to emerge as the preferred “Plus One” destination. Mr. Dose emphasised that this opportunity goes beyond manufacturing and sourcing, with global customers increasingly seeking suppliers that can contributegreater engineering and development capabilities and take end-to-end responsibility.
Mr. Thomas Dose, Managing Director, BMW Group Plant Chennai, said, “We believe India should be the Plus One. India has engineering talent, a large market and a very capable forging industry. But China Plus One is not only about supply; we want to see much more partnership from India. Customers are looking for capable partnerswho can take responsibility, contribute to engineering and development, and become part of the development process. India is no longer just a supply chain; Indian companies needs to be part of our development. The challenge is to connect the capabilities thatare already there, and AIFI has a major role to play in this.”
