Raising quality bar could help India leap ahead in exports of sanitary castings, says EEPC India

New Delhi : Complying with high quality standards for sanitary castings could help India leap ahead in exports of these key items of which the country is a major producer alongside China, said EEPC India’s Product Panel (21) Convener and former Chairman Ravi Sehgal.
“The quality of a product is very important for both the producer and the buyer. The buyer has always been concerned about whether he is getting the desired quality of goods. And the trader’s effort is to address this concern of the buyer,” said Mr Sehgal.
He noted that meeting EN124 standard which is designed to ensure the safety, compatibility, and consistency of sanitary castings will help promote export of cast iron, ductile iron and sanitary castings.
India is the second largest producer of castings globally behind China. Casting is exported to over 189 countries.
As per EEPC data, India exported castings worth US$ 933 million in FY21 (April-November). The US and Europe are key importers of Indian sanitary and other castings.
“There are approx. 4,600 Foundries in India out of which 90% are MSMEs. Only one third of our foundries are having International Quality Accreditations. As we have mixed bag of foundries, initially, buyers have doubts as to whether the component they are sourcing has the right material, giving right functional performance and that whether they can rely on the manufacturers for the right quality, on time delivery and process capabilities to ensure consistent quality,” said Anupam Shah, Chairman, Committee on Technology Centre, R&D & TUFS while laying emphasis on quality.
Industry veteran and senior certification consultant Tilak Sen said that establishment of quality systems by industries in developing countries has become essential if they are to gain a significant share of European and North American markets.
UNI