Increasing demand from end-user industries is boosting the growth of die and mould industry. While earlier only a few important components were manufactured using CNC machine, now the majority in the industry is switching to it. In this interview with Rakesh Rao, Ulrich Magnus Ofele, Director, Hoffmann Group India, explains how usage of new-age technologies is resulting in improving efficiency in dies and moulds industry.

What is the current status of the casting & forging/die & mould industry in India?
The casting & forging/ die & mould industry in India has evolved over the years and today it competes in a global arena. According to a latest market research report, analysts forecast the dies and moulds market in India to grow at a CAGR of close to 9 per cent during the forecast period. Currently, India is the third largest casting producer in the world. This will open many opportunities for castings and forging industries both for exports as well as domestic production. Incorporation of simulation technology in casting process is one of the major trends being witnessed in the dies and moulds market in India 2018-2022
 
What kind of opportunities are you looking at in this industry?
With increasing demand from industries such as machine tools, automobiles, auto components, electronics, electrical, etc, we see a huge potential in the die and mould industry. We are already experiencing high quality and high precision in the industry. The import of die and mould is decreasing and local manufacturing is increasing, which is a good sign. Earlier, only a few important components were manufactured using CNC machine but now the majority in the industry is switching to it to gain a competitive edge.

What are the emerging trends in die & mould industry?
Today, the automobile industry buys 80 per cent of the die-cast parts products. The trend away from the combustion engine has inevitable effects on the demand for die-cast parts. Each vehicle components which satisfy strict specifications and can be produced cost-effectively by die-casting will continue to be in high demand. In the manufacturing industry, we have also witnessed a significant increase in the industrial robots. With the help of these robots, the efficiency rate has increased. They have also reduced cycle time and enhanced precision in producing the final product. In the coming years, we will see the automation in the die casting process to propel the growth of the dies and moulds industry in India.

How is Hoffmann serving the die & mould industry?
The casting and mould industry mostly require cutting tools for applications like milling, drilling and turning. Hoffmann Group offers maximum products from its manufacturing brand GARANT and HOLEX like Solid carbide End mills, Bull mills and Ball End mills, which are suitable for mono machining. While our variations of GARANT Softcut, copy mill cutter, GARANT Power Q, GARANT Feed King and GARANT Twin Cut are suited for the modular machining applications.
We also offer all types of tool holders like SK, BT, HSK and PSC, along with work holding systems like GARANT Zero Clamp and GARANT X-pent Vice. Hoffmann Group offers more than 85,000 quality tools from the catalogue which offers the customers a wide range of tools to choose from.

Companies are looking to increase quality and precision of their products. How is Hoffmann helping these companies?
Majority of companies look for productivity, quality & technical support from the cutting tool industries to help reduce their work such as minimising the polishing, Spark EDM & conventional work. They also want to optimise the cycle time to get more productivity without investing in new machines with minimum tools. To support the customer and provide start to end solution, Hoffmann invests in producing high quality manufacturing brand GARANT which is as per the factory standards- this ensures good quality and tighter tolerances.