§1What this business is
The unit buys hot-rolled steel wire rod in coils, usually 6 mm or 8 mm thick. The rod is de-scaled and pickled in dilute sulphuric acid to remove rust, rinsed, coated with lubricant, pointed at one end and pulled through a series of dies, each smaller than the last. Some wire is annealed in a furnace to make it soft again. The wire is checked for diameter, tensile strength and hardness and sold in coils. Very little metal is wasted; the SIDBI profile allows 6% for scrap.
Capacity: 700 MT a year in the NSIC profile; 750 MT a year of assorted sizes in the SIDBI profile, run at 40% in Year 1 and 80% by Year 5.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
An ITI, diploma or degree holder with a mechanical or metallurgy background who can buy steel well and sell to local industry.
Who it is not for
Someone with little working capital or no ready buyers for wire.
Advantages
- Wire is used in construction, nails, mesh, fasteners and auto parts, so there are many buyers
- Very little metal is lost in drawing
- Machines are made in India and the process is well known
- The same machines can later make nails, wire mesh or binding wire
Drawbacks
- Low margin: raw material is most of the selling price
- Large working capital is locked in rod stock and credit sales
- Acid pickling creates waste that must be treated
- High power load of 60 kW
Skills you need
- Setting dies and drawing speed for each wire size
- Pickling, coating and annealing
- Buying wire rod at the right price
- Testing diameter, tensile strength and hardness
Why difficulty 3/5: A known process, but it needs heavy working capital, acid handling and tight control of steel buying.
§3Market
Who buys
- Wire nail, mesh and barbed wire makers
- Fastener, spring and cycle part makers
- Builders and hardware dealers (binding wire)
- Cable and electrode makers
How it sells
- Direct supply to local factories
- Steel and hardware wholesalers
- Job work: drawing customers' rod for a charge
Good to know
- The SIDBI profile says about 88% of India's wire demand is for plain carbon steel grades.
- Of plain carbon wire, 75% to 80% is sold black or uncoated and 20% to 25% coated (galvanised, copper).
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Bull block wire drawing lines | 2 | ₹13,00,000 |
| Wire rod breaking machine | 1 | ₹6,00,000 |
| Wire pointing and welding machine | 1 | ₹60,000 |
| Coilers and de-coilers | 8 | ₹2,40,000 |
| Die repair and polishing machine | 1 | ₹1,50,000 |
| Annealing furnace | 1 | ₹4,50,000 |
| Pickling line | 1 | ₹2,50,000 |
| Surface treatment tank | 1 | ₹1,40,000 |
| Pillar drilling machine | 1 | ₹60,000 |
| Dies, tools, hand tools and gauges | — | ₹1,30,000 |
| NSIC list (no costs printed): four-block wire drawing unit, wire pointing machine, pickling, neutralising and washing tanks, de-scaling machine, hoisting equipment, butt welding machine, die polishing machine, flexible shaft grinder, platform weighing machine | — | — |
From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Wire Drawing (2018) — private guide — confirm locally · NSIC project profile — M.S. Wire Drawing — private guide — confirm locally
- Mild steel wire rod, 6 mm or 8 mmthe SIDBI profile takes ₹35 to ₹65 per kg for mild steel rod (2018)
- Sulphuric acid for pickling
- Drawing lubricant (powder soap)
- Drawing diestungsten carbide or diamond dies
- Fuel for the annealing furnace
From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Wire Drawing (2018) — private guide — confirm locally · NSIC project profile — M.S. Wire Drawing — private guide — confirm locally
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- Factory licence
- State Pollution Control Board consent (acid pickling)
- BIS certification where a Quality Control Order applies to the wire grade
- Fire safety clearance from the local authority
Start it in your state
Pick your state: today’s cost, central + state subsidy, raw material, land and help, on one page.
§6Schemes & subsidies
A small unit on the NSIC scale (₹27.7 lakh for machinery and working capital, building extra) may fit PMEGP, whose ceiling is ₹50 lakh of project cost for manufacturing — work out today's cost first. The larger ₹126.22 lakh unit is above that ceiling. CGTMSE can back a collateral-free loan of up to ₹10 crore.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Two official profiles. NSIC (700 MT a year): machinery and equipment plus 3 months' working capital = ₹27.7 lakh; land and building are not in this figure. SIDBI (750 MT a year): land ₹20.00 lakh + building ₹35.00 lakh + plant and machinery ₹33.80 lakh + fixtures and electrical installation ₹4.30 lakh + preliminary and pre-operative expenses ₹2.00 lakh + margin for working capital ₹31.12 lakh = ₹126.22 lakh.
Working capital: SIDBI profile: inventories ₹22.62 lakh, receivables ₹26.21 lakh and overheads ₹2.54 lakh, less creditors; the promoter's margin is ₹31.12 lakh and bank finance ₹42.87 lakh. Raw material is by far the largest cost.
The SIDBI profile's prices are from 2018 and the NSIC profile prints no year — check current machinery and steel prices.
§8Export potential
Export council / board: EEPC India
- The profiles print no HS code; look up the code for your wire grade in the ITC-HS schedule before exporting.
- The SIDBI profile says India's share in the world wire trade is small, and it asks exporters to take an IEC code.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Steel prices moving between buying rod and selling wire
- Slow payment from buyers
- Acid handling accidents and effluent penalties
- Competition from large wire makers
§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 ms wire drawing unit 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 registration), 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
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start MS Wire Drawing Unit?
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.