§1What this business is
Mild steel wire rod of 6 or 8 mm is pickled in acid, neutralised in alkali and washed, then drawn on heavy drum-type wire drawing machines, annealed and drawn again to the final gauge. The wire then passes through a copper coating bath and is wound on spools. The copper layer protects the wire and helps current pass in submerged-arc (SA) and metal inert gas (MIG) welding. Buyers are railways, ship builders, fertiliser, cement and petrochemical plants and pipeline makers.
Capacity: 240 MT of copper coated SA and MIG welding wire a year; the profile allows three years to reach full use.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone from the wire drawing or welding trade who can reach fabrication shops and industrial buyers.
Who it is not for
Someone who cannot run a small lab — coating bath and wire chemistry must be checked all the time.
Advantages
- Welding wire is a consumable, so buyers reorder regularly
- All machinery is made in India
- Wide set of buyers: railways, shipyards, fabrication and pipeline work
- The profile says the process creates no pollution needing special treatment
Drawbacks
- Acid pickling and the copper bath need careful chemical handling
- Wire rod is the main cost and its price moves with steel
- Buyers test chemistry and coating closely
- Large welding wire makers compete on price
Skills you need
- Wire drawing and die care
- Pickling and copper bath control
- Annealing
- Testing wire chemistry and size
Why difficulty 3/5: Several machines and chemical baths to manage, and buyers test every lot.
§3Market
Who buys
- Railways
- Ship builders
- Fertiliser, cement and petrochemical plants
- Water pipeline makers
- Fabrication workshops
How it sells
- Direct supply to industrial buyers
- Welding-consumable dealers
Good to know
- The profile says SA and MIG welding cut labour cost and rejection, so demand for the wire keeps growing.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy-duty non-slip wire drawing machine, 24 in drum, 25 HP | 1 | ₹95,000 |
| Heavy-duty non-slip wire drawing machine, 22 in drum, 20 HP | 1 | — |
| Wire drawing machines, 12 in drum, up to 18 SWG, 5 HP | 4 | ₹2,00,000 |
| Roller-type wire pointing machine, 10 mm to 2 mm | 1 | ₹25,000 |
| Butt welding machine, 6 mm to 2 mm wire | 1 | ₹40,000 |
| Heavy-duty reeling machines | 2 | ₹65,000 |
| Electric annealing furnace, 20 kVA, with temperature controller | 1 | — |
| Pickling and copper coating baths with bus bars | 3 | — |
| Wire polishing machine, 5 HP | 1 | ₹40,000 |
| Laboratory equipment and chemicals | 1 lot | ₹90,000 |
From: DC-MSME project profile — Copper Coated M.S. Wire (2002)
- EQ-grade MS wire rod, 6–8 mm20.5 MT a month at ₹18,000 a MT in the profile
- Copper coating chemicals, acids and anodes
- Masonite board spools400 a month at ₹20 each in the profile
From: DC-MSME project profile — Copper Coated M.S. Wire (2002)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
Graver and Weel India Ltd · Chennai →Inducto Heat Inducto Therm India Ltd · Ahmedabad →Meta therm Furnace Pvt. Ltd · Thane →Saran Engineering Works · Mumbai →Viksa Shahu Udyog · Delhi →
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST
- State Pollution Control Board consent to establish and operate (acid pickling waste)
- Factory licence under the Factories Act
- BIS certification if a Quality Control Order covers the welding wire you make
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
PMEGP fits the project size; CGTMSE for loans without collateral; Stand-Up India for SC/ST or women founders.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: DC-MSME profile (Branch SISI Varanasi, Oct 2002): fixed capital ₹14.05 L (plant and machinery ₹12.00 L, installation ₹1.20 L, furniture ₹0.35 L, pre-operative ₹0.50 L) + working capital for 3 months ₹14.84 L = ₹28.89 L. Building rented at ₹20,000 a month.
Working capital: Working capital is ₹14.84 L for 3 months; raw material is ₹3.87 L a month, mostly 20.5 MT of EQ-grade wire rod at ₹18,000 a MT.
Prices from 2002 — machinery, raw material and wage costs will be much higher now.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: EEPC India
- The profile prints no HS code; confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or a customs broker.
- You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Steel wire rod price swings
- Rejection for poor coating or wrong chemistry
- Disposal of spent acid
- Credit to large industrial buyers
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working copper coated ms welding wire (saw / mig) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Copper Coated MS Welding Wire (SAW / MIG)?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.