TPi October 2012

30 October to 1 November 2012

The biennial Tube India International’s fifth edition has moved from its traditional position in the year, early February, to late autumn with the 2012 edition taking place from 30 October to 1 November at the Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre, Goregaon (East), Mumbai. This year Tube India will run concurrently with related and complementary exhibitions Metallurgy India and Welding & Cutting India. India is an increasingly important market. When the Government of India in 1991 ushered in an era of de-licensing, price decontrol, lowering of import restrictions, lowering of duties and abolition of freight equalisation it resulted in increased domestic production and further opened up opportunities for doing business in India. The Indian copper pipes and tubes industry is poised for around 25 per cent growth in the next few years. Estimated investments in Indian steel production capacity will be nearly 243 million tons by the year 2020. This will take India from being the current 5 th largest steel producer to the 3 rd largest by 2015 and 2 nd largest by 2020, second only to China. India will offer $20bn worth of investment opportunities over the next three years for expansion of new ferrous and non-ferrous plants. As energy consumption and inefficiency in Indian smelters have been major problems, there is ample scope for improvement in the efficiencies of operations and India has the potential to rank among the world’s top 5 suppliers and markets for steel and aluminium. Major projects in diversified sectors like rail and air transport, energy, infrastructure, steel, power, oil refining, chemicals, manufacturing, automobiles, environment, defence and so forth promise a lot in terms of investment, growth and business opportunities in India. There is no doubt that Tube India International and the three concurrent exhibitions are must-visit events for metal forming and processing industry professionals.