Foundries in Tamil Nadu require about one lakh workers a year. | Photo Credit: file photo

The Foundries Development Foundation (FDF) and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) will jointly develop here a centre of excellence that will be used to produce castings, train workers, and demonstrate new technologies.

Nithyanandan Devaraj, a Director at FDF, told The Hindu that the ₹ 35 crore project, including ₹10 crore investment from TIDCO, is for casting development and skill training. The FDF has purchased three acres at the CODISSIA Industrial Park at Moperipalayam and the centre is expected to be operational by April next year.

“The centre will have the capacity to produce 300 tonnes of castings a month and train nearly 800 workers a year in four batches,” he said.

The FDF is looking at different models to train the new workers and hopes for support from the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Council. “Tamil Nadu foundries require about a lakh workers a year. We are mostly working with migrant workers now. The situation has to change,” he said.

The FDF is also looking at collaborating with the Indo-German Training Centre and the National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology to offer at a later date post-diploma and post-graduate programmes. So, the centre will train workers in different shopfloor skills, it will offer programmes for foundry employees too.

China produces 45 million tonnes of castings annually and India produces about 12 million tonnes. While one tonne of castings is produced in a man month in India, it is 20 tonnes in China. The time taken to develop castings is also very less in China compared to India. Hence, the centre will also look at casting development, he said.

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Printable version | Aug 14, 2022 7:44:05 pm | https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/foundry-industry-to-get-a-centre-of-excellence-in-coimbatore/article65768894.ece