The market opportunities for welding and cutting solutions are very bright. The infrastructure segment is poised for significant growth in India due to the government’s allocation of ₹10 lakh crore for infrastructure spending, says P Rajagopalan, Managing Director, Primo Automation Systems Pvt. Ltd.

Forrester’s E-Commerce Readiness Index 2020 categorised India as a large and developing opportunity for online retail in 2020. Online accounted for 3.6 per cent of India’s total retail sales. This is projected to rise to 6 per cent by 2025. This would imply nearly doubling warehouse capacity in the next two years.

Advance welding and cutting equipment and technologies for fabrication 
A promising development is the entry of the PEB concept into multi-story buildings for corporate offices and commercial complexes/malls. Given the benefits of the PEB concept in terms of shorter lead times, parallel processing of various parts of the construction, flexibility in the design of the building, etc., this promising development will significantly push the PEB industry. Today, technologies such as programmable AC submerged arc welding, laser seam tracking, laser cutting, and robotics are used in infrastructure and PEB.

Obtaining precision in cutting to fasten project completion
The developments in high-definition cutting processes with true hole cutting  technology make holes much faster than conventional drilling machines. The growth of WAAM into larger sizes makes the modelling and prototyping of
construction projects much faster and less expensive.

Procurement Challenges
The continuing disruptions in logistics, particularly in container availability and their abnormal price increase, lead to delays in the import of higher-technology welding equipment. The continuing chip shortage that disrupted the automotive sector also affects the PCBs required for welding equipment manufacturing. This further impacts the delivery schedules of capital equipment and is critical for project execution and meeting timelines.

Latest welding technologies
Automatic horizontal and vertical beam welding machines that integrate assembly, welding and material handling with the latest laser seam tracking technologies provide Increased productivity; Enhanced quality due to the laser’s accuracy; and Reduced dependence on human skills.

Using processes such as tandem submerged arc welding benefits almost  double the welding speeds of conventional submerged arc welding.

Laser technologies gaining momentum
Laser cutting technologies and equipment are becoming more and more affordable. The latest laser cutting  equipment is capable of cutting higher thicknesses also. It also brings the benefits of laser cutting to the infrastructure and PEB industry.

Future growth prospects
The growing trend in the cutting and welding industry will likely continue given the considerable growth expected in government infrastructure spending, online retail business and steel being  favoured for high-rise buildings.