An insight into the P/M (Powder Metallurgy) industry post COVID-19

In this unique and first of its kind situation after the Spanish flu in 1918 it is a huge wakeup call of nature with around 2 Lakh factories in India being shutdown with at least 5 billionman days lost until nowAs India along with the rest of the world looks to determine ways to tackle this pandemic some key elements that will determine the way forward will be people market demand supply and cash liquidityAs India moves toward the true essence of swadeshi the shift amp focus will be surely on ldquoMake in Indiardquo which will see an influx of capital as companies shift base from ChinaFor Indian manufacturers who have so far been heavily dependent on China like the rest of the world selfreliance and localisation will be the new mantra for sustainabilityWith a restricted movement of people labour goods transport in India and across the world technology too shall have its own limitations and any setup without an alternate supply will face a massive glitch due to hindrance in the supply chain although government initiatives like the 20L crores package for revival of the economy will help drive localisationIt would be pertinent to look at one of the lesserknown but an extremely important and interesting technologydriven sectors in our country the PM PowderMetallurgy sectorPowder Metallurgy in short PM is an art in the science of making metallic components from the corresponding constituent metal powders These metal powders produced are compacted and sintered diffusion bonded to make the required machine components called sintered partsPowder Metallurgy is divided into two broad parts one manufacturing metal powders of ferrous and nonferrous metals and their alloys and the other using powders to make the parts80 of metal powders used in the PM industry are Ironbased Powders while 20are nonferrousAlmost a million tons of iron powder is used worldwide each year Around 90 of this quantity is used in the production of sintered components amp 75 80 of sintered components are used in the automotive industry The rest can be found in appliances business machines bicycles hand tools and other implements made in large numbersThe history of sponge iron powders in INDIA goes to back to 350 AD evidence of which can be seen in IRON PILLAR at DelhiHowever it was in 1911 that Hoganas AB of Sweden reinvented the process of making sponge iron by a chemical reduction process using Magnetite Iron Ore as a melting feedstock In 1931 the process evolved towards the manufacture of sponge iron powder by employing double stage reductionWhile HOGANAS SWEDEN holds the worldrsquos largest market share of sponge iron powder the rest of the global players as QUEBEC amp KOBE make ATOMISED amp REDUCED grades Chinese companies sell a mix of these in India but their quality remains inconsistentIndia solely depends on imports of Iron Powders that are used extensively for components required for the automotive sector along with welding cutting and structural parts Due to this unprecedented situation it has become extremely necessary to be independent and start manufacturing in IndiaHere we would like to reinstate that these Iron Powders or any other nonferrous can be produced in India without any technological import or assistanceOne day in the year 1982 the legendary late Dr Henry HHausner the International Authority and Father of Powder Metallurgy told our mentor Mr S Mohanty The basics of Powder Metallurgy is a game of sizes and shapes of powder particles and is an ART of its classFor MrS Mohanty the researcher and inventor in this technology it has been a long journey of more than four decades of persistent efforts of pioneering applied research that led to the development of this technology It continues even to this day with many proprietary works some of which that are patented vide Indian Patents nos 154181 168601 171892 amp 18635Our company Involute Metal Powders IMPTformerly S Mohanty ampCo been instrumental in setting up many metal powder industries in India for the manufacture of Copper Bronze Tin Diluted Bronze and other alloy powderslsquoIronically though even after being the only technology provider in the world for the manufacture of sponge iron powder by the reduction process other than Hoganas India still lags behind significantly in setting up a manufacturing facility which can stand at par with world standards and break the monopoly of the Iron Powder giant of the worldrsquoAn indigenous process for the manufacture of Sponge Iron powder has been developed by the erstwhile SMohantyamp Co registered under patent no 154181 The process involves a twostage reduction of Iron Mill Scales instead of Magnetite This process remains unique as no other REDUCTION process has been developed so far nor could a prototype of the Hoeganaes process be implemented anywhere in the world In yet another first Involute Metal Powdershas developed a high compressibility Iron Powder by the same twostage reduction of Mill Scales vide Patent no171292Some APPLICATIONS OF IRON POWDERbull Selflubricating bearingsbull Parts with complicated geometry where high green strength is essentialbull Shock absorber partsbull Highdensity PM structural partsbull Clutches and pulleysbull Brake pads and brake shoesbull Soft magnet applicationsbull Welding electrodesbull Metal Cutting amp ScarfingThe Indian Automotive industry is the worldrsquos fourthlargest and expected to reach around 18 trillion rupees US 25142828 billion by 2026While the Twowheeler industry consumes approx 90000 tons of metal powder per year theFourwheeler industry consumes around 75000 tons per annum Thus even though the total consumption of sponge iron powder in INDIA is approx 132000 tonnesyear we are yet to meet the demand of the marketThe drawback of not having indigenous factories to produce metal powders and the resultant dependence on imports makes for an expensive proposition and depletes market competitivenessForeseeing a future where World economic and technological situations will alter postCOVID setting up captive plants for in house consumption and huge standalone manufacturing facilities would help cater to the demands of Indian and Asian markets that are growing rapidlyWith an emphasis on MAKE IN INDIA initiative amp ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT by our honourable Prime Minister the Indian government will incentivise the industry and its endusers to go for indigenous products processes and innovative projectsAn initiative by a local giant or a startup to go for an indigenous process to manufacture Iron Powder would go a long way in taking India towards being a gamechanger for the Powder Metallurgy industry and a market leader in the fieldCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever