Surendiren Venkataramani, Deputy General Manager Marketing, L&T Special Steels & Heavy Forging Ltd)
“For the last 10 years, the tooling fraternity has been asking us to make it in India. They wanted this shift. And now, together (BMSS Steel Industries Pvt. Ltd and L&T Special Steels & Heavy Forging Ltd), here we are – delivering exactly that,” says Surendiren Venkataramani, Deputy General Manager Marketing, L&T Special Steels & Heavy Forging Ltd and Ashish Bhansali, Director (Special Steel Division), BMSS Steel Industries Pvt. Ltd
-Neha Basudkar Ghate
Q: How do you see the role of ‘Made in India’ tool steel, especially in the current global context?
Mr. Venkataramani- Made in India automotive tool steel – with the current volatile political and global situations – is truly the need of the hour. At L&T, with our special steels and heavy forging capabilities, including the biggest press we have, we are well placed for this challenge. We have an integrated steel melting shop and all the required facilities under one roof.
We have already delivered on several import substitution projects, and we are fully geared up to take this forward. This is a challenge we have consciously taken up, and we are confident of meeting the goal of manufacturing all tool steel dies here in India itself.
Q: What are the main challenges when it comes to manufacturing tool steel in India?
Mr. Venkataramani- One of the critical challenges we face is ensuring through‑thickness hardness as well as achieving the right microstructure. The cleanliness of the steel is extremely important, and that’s where L&T’s integrated steel melt shop plays a big role – it allows us to monitor quality right from the raw material stage itself.
The real challenge lies in producing a steel with a clean, consistent microstructure, achieving the required cleanliness, and maintaining good through‑thickness hardness. These are the core factors that determine the performance of tool steel, and they are the challenges we are working to overcome in manufacturing.
Q: How is the Indian steel industry evolving in BIS‑certified steel, specifically tailored for plastic mould manufacturing?
Mr. Venkataramani- With the BIS certification, it has become increasingly important to have an Indian manufacturer who can produce tool steel locally. Until recently, tool steels of smaller sizes were available in India, but when it came to larger sizes – anything beyond eight tons in a single piece – the industry had to depend on imports.
Now, we are fully geared up to meet that challenge. At our facilities, we can supply tool steels as heavy as 50 tons, or even 75 tons, in a single piece if required. This capability is a significant step forward for India in terms of self‑reliance and catering to the specialised needs of plastic mould manufacturing.
Q: What are the key advantages of producing tool and die steel under the ‘Make in India’ initiative?
Mr. Venkataramani- One major advantage is that it makes India self‑reliant. Another big benefit is the reduction in lead times, which is critical in the tool and die steel industry because technology evolves very quickly. In such a fast‑changing environment, having the first‑mover advantage is absolutely imperative.
By manufacturing locally, lead times are drastically reduced, and you also gain a reliable source of supply, which may not always be the case when depending on global imports. These are the two main advantages that the ‘Make in India’ initiative brings to tool and die steel.
Q: How have the requirements for tool and die steel evolved over the years?
Mr. Venkataramani- Over the last 25 years, as we’ve worked with our partners and with the growth of EVs, we’ve seen tool makers becoming larger and larger. That means the demand for single‑piece tool and die steels has also grown – both in terms of size and thickness. So, the challenge of producing thick and large tool steel has changed significantly over the years.
At the same time, there is now much greater importance given to the aesthetics of finished plastic moulds. This is another area we are working on, ensuring that we can cater to the industry’s requirement for high‑quality, well‑finished surfaces as well as large‑size tool steels.
Q: What steps are being taken to ensure Indian tool steels meet global standards, and what do you expect from mould makers in this journey?
Mr. Venkataramani- One key thing we are focused on is consistency in the grades we manufacture. As was also shown in the presentation, if you look at test certificates from different batches, our control over the chemistry and the properties we achieve is very strong. Through the technologies we’ve institutionalised and the SOPs we follow, we are confident of setting that standardisation benchmark.
Whether it’s tool steel blocks that were earlier imported, or high‑end steels from overseas, we are confident that our standardisation meets those levels and can easily be scaled up. The important thing now is to scale in line with market availability and ensure that everyone gets the opportunity to experience it.
And that is what we want from mould makers – the initiative to try our steel. Once they experience it, we are confident that our products will stand at par, if not even above, global manufacturers. That’s our priority: to ensure mould makers see the performance themselves. Because only with mutual support – us manufacturing and them adopting – can both sides grow together.
Q: What would you say are your top priorities in serving the tooling industry with Indian‑made steel?
Mr. Bhansali- The three priorities I would highlight are lead time, cost, and consistency in quality. These are absolutely critical. Today, most of the steel is imported from Korea, Japan, Germany, or Italy. So if you need a block size which isn’t readily available in India, you end up waiting four months — provided they even have it in stock in those countries.
With L&T, it’s a different story. We have around 500 tons of orders ongoing throughout the year. So even if an ingot hasn’t yet been cast, we can tweak the size and produce the required block within our production timelines. That instantly reduces lead times and gives far more reliability to the tool makers and OEMs.
It’s important to understand that the pressure on tool makers is not just because of their speed or decision‑making. A big part of it comes from raw material availability itself. By manufacturing here in India, we remove that uncertainty.
Personally, I’ve spent 25 years selling some of the best global brands of plastic mould steel in India. In fact, with my mother company, Anand Mould Steel, we were instrumental in bringing plastic rolled steel into the country. They taught me well. Now, I’ve voluntarily taken the decision to stand against that dependency and change the game — by building with L&T and creating a competitive market not just in India, but ultimately exporting L&T steel to Europe.
Q: How do you see your association with L&T Special Steels & Heavy Forgings Ltd. impacting the industry?
Mr. Bhansali– See, first of all, the relation is almost like a bond — a long‑term partnership with L&T Special Steels & Heavy Forgings Ltd. If we exist for 100 years, then this relationship will be there for those 100 years too. That is the commitment we share.
As I’ve said, the most important factor today is lead time. Earlier, when cars were manufactured, the development cycle could take three years. Now, once the blueprint is frozen, within just eight to twelve months a car is already out on the road. That’s the speed the industry has to work at.
If steel is made available right here in India, we can overcome this lead time challenge and shorten the cycle in the best way possible. Of course, these are still early stages — our baby steps — but I’m confident that by this year or the next Tooling Summit, we will have several benchmarks to showcase. And these will be proudly Make in India products. From there, we will be on the highway to catering to the automotive industry in a big way. That’s the aim.
Q: How do you see the current stage of Indian tool manufacturing and the road ahead?
Mr. Bhansali– We are still at the nascent stage of tool manufacturing. The bigger challenges are yet to come. Today, we are talking about big‑size interior and exterior tools for automotive, but we have not even touched industries like lighting, or the premium electronics industry.
For example, if I want to generate a ₹1 crore sale in the automotive segment, I need to sell 50 to 100 tons of steel. But the premium grades that we will be developing in future with L&T will go into far smaller applications – like moulds for connectors or very intricate components. That kind of steel will cost anywhere between ₹600 to ₹3,000 per kg, so the value is high, but precision is everything. That’s when we will have to prove that we are truly precision mould makers and precision component makers.
Today, everything is still coming from Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam – in fact, Vietnam is serving some of the highest‑quality lighting moulds for the world. So we have a long way to go. Honestly, what we have done so far is just the beginning – it is only the trailer. The real challenges will come as we move forward.
Right now, we’re working with the two larger commodity grades because volume matters. If I don’t generate volumes, even close partners like L&T will reasonably say: “Show me the business first.” That’s why we started with commodity grades. Down the line, as the market matures, we will also have to mature with it. We have the techniques, we have the knowledge, but the ecosystem and the confidence in adopting premium steel grades in India are still developing. It’s just a matter of time.
Q: How do you see standardisation being ensured in practice at L&T?
Mr. Bhansali- To add to what was mentioned earlier, every standardisation process needs a proper system, and that system has to be in place. Once such a system is implemented and followed diligently, consistency and standardisation automatically follow.
With a group like L&T, even the employees are trained in that system and in those standards. And imagine – here we’re talking about equipment where an investment of ₹1,700 crores has been made. In such an environment, if you feed a requirement into the system, it will never deviate. If it’s perfect, it passes. If not, it flags an issue. It doesn’t depend on any human factor – not on the operator’s mood, not on anxiety – but purely on rigorous process control.
I’ll give you a simple example: even for the smallest size deviation, say I order a block of 805mm thickness and it comes out 2mm short, they will immediately send me an email saying, “Please confirm before production can proceed.” Until then, it won’t move forward. That is the discipline that comes from systems being in place. And when the system is disciplined, standardisation is bound to follow.
Q: What are the biggest challenges in convincing tool makers to adopt Indian‑made steel, and how are you addressing them?
Mr. Bhansali– The real challenge is trust. For the last 20–25 years, tool makers have been using the same imported steels and have built complete confidence in them. Imagine this: the steel block I supply may cost ₹1,00,000, but once it goes onto a CNC machine, every day of machining adds another ₹10,000–₹20,000 in processing cost. By the time the block is taken off the CNC after 15 days, its value runs into lakhs.
So, from the tool maker’s perspective, if something goes wrong, it’s not about the steel alone. Even if I offer to replace the ₹1,00,000 block, what about the ₹9,00,000 worth of labour, machine hours, and timelines they have already invested in that component? That time lost is priceless and cannot be compensated. Which is why they don’t want to take chances on quality. For them, it has to be right the very first time.
And that is exactly why we, along with L&T, push ourselves so hard on perfect processes, consistent deliveries, and internal R&D. We work with a mindset that there can never be a “sorry” moment. That is not in our dictionary. Once our steel goes into the system, it must only bring confidence — so much so that when my children one day ride in a car, I can proudly tell them the components in that car were built with L&T steel. And that thought should bring smiles, not doubts.
The truth is, for the last 10 years, the same tooling fraternity has been asking us to make it in India. They wanted this shift. And now, together, here we are – delivering exactly that.
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