Kolhapur is a medium sized town in the state of Maharashtra, located at a distance of approximately 400 km from the state capital Mumbai. The town, since long, is deemed to have great importance from an industrial perspective. Kolhapur is a big energy intensive industrial town comprising of a number of iron / steel Foundry units. The cluster comprises of more than 250 Foundry units which convert iron/steel scrap, into high end utility castings.
The foundries in Kolhapur cluster are one of the prominent ones in India and cater to the market for high end castings in the automotive and electrical machinery sectors. The major components being produced in the cluster include automotive components, flywheels, motor and pump casings etc.
The foundry industry in Kolhapur is concentrated in several industrial pockets in proximity of Kolhapur city. The main industrial pockets in and around Kolhapur with significant number of foundry units are :
- Shiroli
- Udyamnagar Kolhapur
- Gokul Shirgaon
- Kagal
Important Foundry Clusters in India :
Foundry business is a major sectors to industrial sectors such as Automobiles & Auto Components, Railways,„ Power Sector, Earth Moving Machinery, Pumps, Compressors, Pipes Valves & Pipe Fittings, Electrical/Textile/Cement/Agro Machinery, Machine Tools & Engineering Industries, Sanitary Castings,„ Engineering Exports.
In the present economic globalization, the role of industry cluster in upgrading international competitiveness of the enterprises and the region is becoming increasingly obvious. With the advancement of new scientific and technological revolution, the industry cluster competitive advantage is being changed from traditional economy to innovation advantage. Continuous innovation is the origin of dynamic industrial cluster; and persistent innovational capability is the sustainable development industry cluster, fostering and improving the cluster innovative capability is the key of the acquisition, promotion of the competitive power and sustainable development.
"As Maharashtra has one of the largest deposits of iron ore in the country, the foundry cluster will help the manufacturing sector in the state to source its requirements cost-effectively," With the government planning to set up industry clusters for automobiles, gems and jewellery and other manufacturing sectors, the foundry cluster will be one of the 14 such industry-specific clusters being developed across the state.
Though India is the second largest producer of foundry-based castings after China, its share in the global market of 92 million tonnes is about 10 percent. The industry held its 60th Indian Foundry Congress at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre on the city’s outskirts March 2-4. It coincided with the eighth international foundry technology, equipment supplies exhibition in which about 200 Indian and overseas firms and 1,500 delegates from 15 countries participated.
