IMTEX FORMING 2024 along with concurrent Tooltech, Digital Manufacturing and Weldexpo, organized by the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA), was inaugurated on 19th January 2024 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Bengaluru.
The exhibition was inaugurated by C.K. Venkataraman, Managing Director, Titan Company Limited and Geetanjali Kirloskar, Chairperson & Managing Director, Kirloskar Systems Limited. Jamshyd N. Godrej, Chairman-Exhibitions, IMTMA, Rajendra S. Rajamane, President, IMTMA, Mohini Kelkar, Vice President, IMTMA and Jibak Dasgupta, Director General & CEO, IMTMA and BIEC shared the dais at the inauguration.
Speaking at the inauguration, C.K. Venkataraman highlighting the importance of the machine tool industry in the manufacturing space said, “With India expected to become a $5 trillion economy by FY 2026, the manufacturing sector needs to contribute $1 trillion and this demands a significant contribution from the machine tool industry. For the manufacturing sector to double its contribution to reach $500 billion the Indian machine tool industry needs to produce high-precision machines and meet the current demand of producing sophisticated parts in various metals like titanium and others. Also, with many foreign companies establishing their units in India, the country could become Factory of World 2.0,” he said.
Reminiscing about her journey which began on the shopfloor decades ago, Geetanjali Kirloskar said, “The manufacturing sector is positioned to do very well in the next few years.” She added, “The automotive sector and the machine tool industry have a symbiotic relationship with one sector’s growth pushing the demand in the other. The growth of the automotive sector has been the driving force for machine tools for many years. The automotive industry landscape is changing with the entry of hybrid, electric vehicles and flexi fuel engine vehicles giving new opportunities for the machine tool industry.”
Earlier while delivering his welcome address, Jamshyd Godrej said, “The exhibition size has expanded by around 80% compared to the last edition held in June 2022. This expressly reveals the growth in manufacturing and demand for machine tools in India.”
Emphasising the growth of machine tools and metal forming, Rajendra Rajamane said, “The consumption of machine tools during FY 2022-23 increased by around 55%. The numerous opportunities in sunrise sectors would further propel the demand for machine tools. Meanwhile, metal forming production is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 10% in the next 5 years.”
The five-day exhibition covers the latest technologies and trends in metal forming such as presses, bending, welding, and joining, high-speed laser machines, robotics and automation in sheet metal working, additive manufacturing, metrology, CAD/CAM, etc. Developments in forming machinery, near-net manufacturing, additive manufacturing, digital manufacturing, shopfloor automation, and Industry 4.0 are also being showcased.
