GeoPolitical tensions for last two years (Europe now, US before) have led to the evolution of China +1 strategy for most Global Companies in terms of sourcing of Castings. India is second in the world even if its five times smaller than China and even a small dent in Chinese basket has led to good market conditions for Indian Foundry post Covid. But if India has to truly exploit this demand, Indian foundry needs to evolve and Natraj Iron & Castings have a leading edge in this evolution.
Ductile Iron or Spherical Graphite Cast Iron (SGCI) is a complex metallurgical grade of casting encompassing such a wide range of properties that it competes with Steel and even Aluminium. Being one of the first Ductile Iron Foundry in Eastern India, Natraj Iron Castings (NIC) has Distinctive Specialization in Ductile Castings and has developed Mission Critical grades such as Austempered Ductile (ADI) and Solid Solution Strengthened Ferritic Iron (SSFDI).
Even though it has been around for almost 50 years now recent R&D have expanded the already versatile broad applicability of ductile Iron. It is the hot bed of innovation with ADI, thin walled castings and Solid Solution Strenghtened Ferritic Iron (SSFDI) competing with Aluminium as well as fabricated parts. Huge amount of components are being converted to Ductile Iron from Forgings as well as fabrications.
Wind Energy and Automotive are the two largest areas using thin walled Ductile Iron to replace Steel. There have been case studies of Aluminium Automotive Rims being converted to Ductile Iron castings with lighter weight. “We are not seen as just another foundry from the east selling “kilo based” castings. We are acknowledged as a cutting edge Ductile Iron components supplier. We have eminent customers like Bonfiglioli and KSB in our kitty and they do very strict audit by being on the shop floor rather than paperwork”, explains CEO Aman Sinha.
Environment, Safety & Welfare
The company is committed to the environment as well as to the people around us. It is a green foundry. Despite the populist image of foundries being hard on environment, Natraj is ISO 14001 and OHSAS approved and has Zero Effluent or dis¬charge as well as 60 percent green cover.
“We have 200 trees in our plant and almost five acres of green in the 10 acre we have within our boundary”, mentions Aman. Despite having easier and more lucrative opportunities in Gujarat or Maharashtra foundry belts the company has chosen to stay in Jharkhand and serve the people since 1999. Foundry is a labour intensive employment creation and people of Jharkhand must be given a chance to improve livelihood. “Education and Employment are the two pillars society rests on", in the words of the CEO’s Father & Founder MD A. K. P. Sinha.
Natraj Iron & Castings is passionate about investing in both education and employment for the local land even if access to manpower and technology is hard at times being in Jharkhand. The founder and MD AKP Sinha an Ex-Chief Engineer Merchant Navy and one of the rare Extra First Class Chief Engineers from India. Having conquered his professional goals at ship, he
decided to serve his motherland by establishing a manufacturing unit in backward areas of Bihar/ Jharkhand to spread development.
He chose to setup NIC as one of the first foundries in Eastern India in ductile iron in the 90s. Natraj Iron Spends a good portion of revenue on CSR and runs free school for underprivileged children in remote areas. “We run eye camps once a year with totally free cataract surgery of 30 people per year as part of our CSR”, adds the CEO. The multicultural professional team at Natraj runs the show with diversity. “We have people from TamilNadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand in our managementteam. We are equal opportunity employer and only talent speaks for the people in our firm”, he further states.
Wisdom Gained
Natraj Iron & Castings is a family owned company professionally managed and plans to be Publicly Listed is the thinking of the CEO Aman Sinha about his Foundry and CNC Machineshop unit of the company. Fresh from a major expansion, this 20,000 Tons per Annum, the foundry is one of the leaders in casting components market with majority of supply in Railways and Automotive sector. Natraj is now entering the Ductile Iron Pipe Fittings business with BIS approval and one of the largest warehouses for fittings and already supplying 2 entire water projects of Trichy and Vellore in South India.
The company has been growing at a CAGR of 10 percent every year since its inception in 1999. Its cutting edge plant located in Jharkhand has the capability to challenge the very best in the world of foundry with continuous R&D and development of some of the most sophisticated metallurgy being developed in India. Recent Cases of the success of the company includes Cutting Edge Development on a Mission Critical Part of Hydrogen Fuel Vehicle that it developed in record time of 75 days. Aman Sinha is the current CEO of this 23 year old Foundry. He did his schooling from The Doon School Dehradun, DPS Rk Puram Delhi and MBA from NMIMS Mumbai and after a corporate stint at Sterlite Technologies (Vedanta) , has joined the family business.
Market Projections
India is world number 2 in terms of Production. Out of an average of 12 Million Tons per Annum made shockingly only 1.2 Million is Ductile Iron and rest is Cast iron. World average is almost 50 percent each and shifting towards Ductile Iron. 26 Million tons of Ductile are made each year. “Indian Foundries will have to evolve to Ductile and we at Natraj are leading the way. Natraj Iron was setup with Ductile Iron metallurgy from day 1. We did not start with Cast Iron and then hobbled into Ductile Iron” says the CEO with pride. “Our Founder MD AKP Sinha foresaw the evolution 20 years ago while working with cutting edge tech in Merchant Navy ships as Chief Engineer – Extra First Class (one of the rare Extra First Class from India)”, he adds.
The Assurance of Quality
For years, NIC’s well-designed systems and processes have been producing only the best quality castings that pass even the most stringent RDSO (Railways) quality norms with flying colours. The company has a modern lab with an experienced team that helps the factory produce best results. NIC believes that quality is everyone’s business and so the team extends well beyond the lab.
NIC has sophisticated lab for quality control with software analyzers linked to metallurgical microscope as well as a railways certified chemical lab with qualified chemists. Floorshop is equipped with automatic temperature controllers and sensors as well as sophisticated software for charge mix optimization on furnace. Automatic sand property controllers for green sand plant. NIC has radiographic facility approved by BHABA Atomic Energy.
Despite the populist image of foundries being hard on environment, natraj is iso 14001 and ohsas approved and has zero effluent or discharge as well as 60 percent green cover
Next Step Forward
Not resting on its laurel, NIC is investing to expand in both machines as well as new products. "We are now investing in further expanding our CNC machine shop to incorporate a new Export Driven Shop with the latest in CNC Machines. We are targeting big components and installing one of the largest HMCs and CMMs in Eastern India. In terms of new products, our major play in 2023 is going to be Ductile Iron Fittings with a size range of up to 1600 mm.
We already have BIS approval (ISI) for most of them and intend to target the Domestic Water Segment where according to a report by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML), as much as US$270 billion is likely to be invested in water infrastructure over the coming 15 years, through programs for piped water supply, river-linking, Namami Gange and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana (PMKSY)", shares Aman. India’s central and state governments have spent a combined US$75 billion on water related projects in the last four years. The firm is forecasted to grow at 15 percent Per annum YoY in the next 10 years.
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