Coimbatore small foundries report stronger orders but face labour shortages

Small foundries in Coimbatore have reported a revival in orders over the past six months after a period of sluggish demand, according to the Coimbatore Tiny and Small Foundry Owners Association. Association president A. Shiva Shanmughakumar said the improvement could encourage smaller foundries to invest again if the trend continues.

He said demand had spread to small operators because larger foundries were unable to handle all their orders amid a shortage of workers. The district’s foundries require about two lakh workers, but available labour is estimated at between 1.5 lakh and 1.75 lakh. As a result, foundries have reduced operations to 12-hour shifts from three shifts a day.

Shiva Shanmughakumar said businesses that had been operating at 125% of capacity had reduced to below 100%, while those running at 75% were now operating at full capacity. He said the distribution of orders had improved across large and small foundries. He linked the stronger demand partly to the pumpset industry.

Orders for pumpsets usually decline after June as monsoon rainfall increases, but poor southwest monsoon rain this year had kept demand high, he said. The textile and basic engineering sectors were also performing well in the Coimbatore region, according to the association president. He said timely payments would follow if orders remained strong, potentially giving smaller foundries the confidence to invest.

Raw material costs remain a concern. Prices increased by 5% in the week before the report and were expected to rise by a further 5% in the coming weeks. The combination of stronger orders, limited labour and higher input costs will shape whether the revival leads to new investment.