§1What this business is
Grey iron is melted in a 1-tonne rotary furnace and inoculated with calcium silicide in the ladle to make tough, shock-resistant 'Meehanite' type castings. Sand moulds and cores are made, metal is poured, then castings are fettled, ground, machined and tested. Buyers are makers of agricultural implements, machine tools and pumps.
Capacity: 72 tonnes of castings a year (production value ₹71.93 L at cost).
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone with foundry experience near an engineering or farm-implement cluster.
Who it is not for
Someone without metallurgy skills or in a residential area.
Advantages
- Steady demand from farm-implement and machine makers
- Low machinery cost for a foundry (₹9.33 L)
- Scrap iron is widely available
- Job-work and own products both possible
Drawbacks
- Thin margin in the profile (₹6.34 L on ₹79.20 L)
- Hot, heavy and polluting work
- Needs skilled moulders and metallurgy knowledge
- Large working capital
Skills you need
- Melting and inoculation
- Pattern and mould making
- Casting inspection and testing
- Selling to OEMs
Why difficulty 4/5: Foundry skills, pollution rules and thin margins make it demanding.
§3Market
Who buys
- Agricultural implement makers
- Machine-tool makers (machine beds)
- Pump and engineering units
How it sells
- Direct supply to OEMs
- Job-work castings to drawings
Good to know
- The profile values a year's sales at ₹79.20 L at full capacity.
- It describes the castings as ductile, shock-resistant and tough.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Rotary furnace, 1 MT, with 5 HP motor | 1 | — |
| Core sand mixer, 1,000 kg, with 3 HP motor | 1 | — |
| Muller machine, 100 kg | 1 | — |
| Moulding machine with 3 HP motor | 1 | — |
| Coal-fired core baking furnace, 2 × 2 × 3.5 m | 1 | — |
| 6-inch lathe with 8 HP motor; 1-inch drill; 8-inch double-ended grinder; flexible-shaft grinder | 1 each | — |
| Hardness tester, weighing balance, thermocouple, chemical testing equipment | 1 each | — |
| Diesel generating set, 15 KVA | 1 | — |
| Dies, tools, patterns, fixtures, moulding boxes, ladles, office equipment | lot | — |
| All equipment above incl. electrification and pre-operative expenses (total) | — | ₹9,33,000 |
From: KVIC Project Profile — High Duty Iron Castings (PMEGP)
- Pig iron and iron scrapmain charge for melting
- Calcium silicideinoculant added in the ladle
- Moulding and core sand, coal/cokefor moulds, cores and the furnace
- All raw material together₹44.40 L a year in the profile
From: KVIC Project Profile — High Duty Iron Castings (PMEGP)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
Process and Product Development Centre (PPDC), Agra · Agra →Fincast Foundry · Ahmedabad →IVP Ltd · Mumbai →Met International · Bengaluru →Sagri Industries · Mumbai →SANAS Foundry Project Engineers · Pune →Electrotherm (India) Ltd · Ahmedabad →Inductotherm (India) Ltd · Ahmedabad →
In our raw material database
Pig iron →Metallurgical coke (met coke) →Quartz and silica sand →Bentonite →
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam
- GST
- State pollution board consent — foundries are usually in the red or orange category
- Factory licence
- Fire NOC
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
₹21.33 L project fits PMEGP (this is a KVIC model profile) and CGTMSE; Stand-Up India for SC/ST or women founders.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: KVIC profile total ₹21.33 L: equipment ₹9.33 L (rotary furnace 1 MT, core sand mixer, muller, moulding machine, core baking furnace, lathe, drill, grinders, hardness and chemical testing, 15 KVA DG set, patterns, moulding boxes, ladles, office equipment, pre-operative), working capital ₹12.00 L. Land own, shed rented.
Working capital: Working capital ₹12.00 L — raw material is ₹44.40 L a year.
Year not printed on the KVIC profile — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: EEPC India
- Check the exact 8-digit code in the DGFT ITC-HS list.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Pollution board restrictions on foundries
- Pig iron, scrap and coke price swings
- Casting rejections
- Worker safety near molten metal
§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 high duty iron castings (foundry) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam, 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 High Duty Iron Castings (Foundry)?
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.