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INDUSTRY PROFILE

METAL INDUSTRY

The Metal Industry is primarily concerned with metallurgy and metal working. At first the metals are extracted from the metal- ores found in their natural state deep within the earth and then these ores are purified a detailed procedure to obtain the metals in their pure form of the metals in their pure form, these processes comprise metallurgy. Then the pure form of the metal so obtained is used to manufacture structures as well as different machines and parts of machines. The procedures which involve the

manufacturing of machines and other useful items form the so obtained through the metallurgical processes constitute metalworking.

The manufacturing of alloys is also carried out in the Metal Industry through the proportionate homogeneous mixing of two of more metallic elements 9metal in the pure state). The alloys so formed are mainly manufactured in order to enhance the natural properties of the metals by combining together. Steel is one of the most popular as well as useful alloys of iron, formed through the chemical combination of mainly iron and carbon. In addition, it may also contain other metals, as added to the combination in order to attain desired properties form the alloy. Metal industries are indispensable part of an economy; they from the backbone of industrial development of any country.

HISTORY

India ought to be known as the Great Grandfather of the World Metallurgical Industry. However due to the unfortunate Historical circumstances many Indians

themselves remain ignorant of this fact. The art of Bronze Casting had been practiced in India several centuries before the Modern World Discovered Metallurgy. Copper and bronze were perhaps the earliest Non- Ferrous Metals which man shaped into tools. Metal is the part of the Indian mystique as each Metal has its own alchemic and healing powers as documented in ancient Indian Scriptures written over 5000 years ago. Metal in India has been used as a way of expressing Art in several forms using techniques such as Inlay, Casting, Carving, Appliqu Enameling, Engraving etc. Metal craft has also been and integral part of Indian culture.Indian Metallurgists had perfected the complex process of extracting Zinc from its ores by the Downward Distillation method that required exceptional care in the type of furnace, retorts and a reducing atmosphere as well as temperature management, as evidenced by the archaeological finds at Zawar in Rajasthan as early as the 4th century BC. It may be noted that it was only in the 18th century AD that the same process was re-adopted in Britain, and patented too. In the classical age of India, the metallurgy of Copper also assumed macro-dimensions. In the field of Copper Metallurgy too, the huge 5th century Copper Statue of the Buddha, over two meters in height and one tone in weight, (now in the Safe Custody of Birmingham Museum) is a remarkable product of macro technology.

An equally remarkable micro technology, namely the production of High quality Steel now known as Wootz Steel (an Iron Carbon alloy with 1.3 to 1.6 percent Carbon is also in use). This production was particularly prevalent in South India and emerged as an accomplished Metallurgical technique by about the 6th century, after which India steel was sought after for the production of what was termed the Damascus Sword in West Asia, around the 10th century AD. Metallurgists in the Universities of Stanford and Lowa State (USA0 have investigate Wood Steel with a view to reproducing the ancient India process. The former have even patented a process for the production of Utah- highCarbon Steel (1.3 to 1.6 % carbon that could be used for certain automobile and aero plane components.

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS: Availability of iron ore and coal Low labour wage rate Abundance of quality manpower Mature production base WEAKNESSES: Unscientific mining Coking coal import dependence Low R&D investment Inadequate infrastructure

OPPORTUNITIES: Unexplored rural market Growing domestic demand Exports Consolidation

THREATS: China becoming net exporter Protectionism in the west Dumping by competitors Global economic slowdown

RECENT TRENDS
Its been a Luke warm year for manufacturing. Sort of, lets dip the big toe and see how cold the water still is, kind of thing. Its difficult to look at how well the industry is actually doing without looking at the past few years to compare. So based on some research, Im going to point out a few key points of where the industry was, and where its headed for 2011. Rumors of a double dip recession are still being circulated, which would be another blow to the industry, but most economists are keeping the glass half full in this regard against it.Raw materialsPrices have clearly fluctuated with the crash of the market in 2008, and are slowly starting to creep back to pre-recession prices.

MURADABAD REWARI METAL WORK

Rewari metalwork refers to the metallurgy practiced by the native peoples of the city of Rewari, India. The items produced were commonly made of brass, and often possessed cultural and utilitarian value. The practice is known to have been in place as early as the 16th Century. History and origin The Rewari metal craft industry is about 450 years old, with origins around the Mughal period. This place was known to have a nursery of soldiers since vedic times, which still exists till date. Hemu, of Rewari who has been proved to be a great warrion in history, belonged to this place. Hemu fought and won 22 wars, without losing any against Afghan rebels and the Mughals to prevent them from capturing Delhi can be described as the 'Father of Brass Industry in Rewari'. Babur had invaded India in 1526 and used Brass Cannons in the First Battle of Panipat, for the first time in this part of the world. This was the time when Hemu, who was dealing in Food items till then, set up brass foundries to manufacture cannons in Rewari, to make supplies to the then Indian ruler 'Sher Shah Suri with whom he had close contacts. Hemu took technological help from Portuguese in manufacturing Brass Cannons and production of 'Saltpetre' also called 'Gunpowder'. This was with the help of these supplies of Brass Cannons and Saltpetre, that Sher Shah Suri could defeat Babur's son 'Humanyun' in 1539, and force him to retreat to Kabul. Brass cannons had become all important war tool by that time. Slowly as per demand Brass utensils, specially for water carrying and storage were developed in this area and were supplied throughout the country from Rewari. The whole region lying at the border of Rajasthan and Haryana had scarcity of potable sweet water. There is no river and the underground water available in the region was brackish and Rewari was the only region nearby which had sweet drinkable water due to the presence of four huge lakes or bawadis there. Rain water was the only source of drinkable water. It was collected in the lakes and wells were dug around the lakes to get clean water. People from the nearby places used to come to take water. Clay pitchers were replaced by metal containers as copper ore was available in nearby Khetri in Rajasthan. Rewari became regional centre of sheet metalwork and craftsmen skilled in this work flourished in Rewari. The basic purpose that led to the initiation of the craft was storage

of water hence big and small utensils bartans were made like kund or tamdi, metal pitchers or tokani, parati, patili and bhagonas. Customs associated with the craft Some local customs developed with the Brass craft in which, during a marriage a boy used to gift the girls family a kund (sicsic) and the girls family used to give 11, 21, or 51 brass utensils as dowry. Till date every marriage that takes place in 50 km from the city these ceremonies are performed and the brass utensils are supplied from the Rewari Mandi only. As the demand was not much in early times, the brass raw-material needed for the craft was supplied by the local scrap melting factories. But gradually as the demand for utensils and industrial sheets increased, large industries were set up in the region which supplied sheet brass to the craftsmen. Today there are big setups in the region providing the raw material among which Aggarwal Metal Works Pvt Ltd., Gupta Metal Works Pvt. Ltd., Bharat Metal Works, Everst Metals are the most important ones. Nature of the products The entire products range made in Rewari is utility based rather than being aesthetically gratifying. Since the origin of the craft is need based hence the products also are purely utilitarian with very little emphasis on aesthetics. Going back to the history where the need of storage and transportation erupted the products made caters to the function of storing, cooking, and transporting. Initially the products made were restricted to keeping water but since time cooking pots and plates have also started to being made. Product range The product range of the Rewari metalcraft is as follows: 1. Tokni: Tokni is a metal pitcher most significant to the craft. It is supposedly one the first thing that started the metal craft. 2. Patili or Dekchi: Its another container which resembles a Tokni but the height is less the half of a Tokni. Its quite broad compare to the height of the utensil. Its mainly used for cooking vegetables, preparation on tea etc. 3. Parati or Parat: parat or parati as its called in the local term is a huge plate with raised peripheral walls. Its basic function 4. Kund or Nand : This is a huge cylindrical tank used to store water. The kund is often kept in a pit dug in the ground to keep the water more cool.

Raw materials

Suhaga or borax Acid tejab Khatai / tamarind Sand paper 24 no. Brass wire Metal sheet Coal

The basic raw materials used in the practicing of the craft are brass and copper sheets. Other than this to join the shaped pieces of various utensils soldering materials suhaga (it is a mixture of borax and water used to join metal pieces), brass, copper and zinc are used. Industries mainly Copper & brass Rolling mills are continuously producing Best Quality Coils Strips Sheets plates & circles by the Hot Rolling & cold Rolling Methods. There are many manufacturers associated with the COPPER & BRASS. Another process that involves washing of the utensil requires sulphuric acid, followed by washing in tamarind. Other than this coke or coal is required to heat up the utensils during shaping to make it soft. Sourcing and recycling Some shopkeepers in the area act as a channel between the craftsmen and the brass factories and supply them with brass and copper sheets. The thickness of the sheet is approx 36-40 gauge. Also during working with the sheet, circular patterns are cut on the rectangular sheet. The waste edges are collected, melted in a furnace bhatti, converted in the form of bricks and sold back to the factory at the same rate of purchase. The furnace used in this case is an open furnace and uses coal as the ignition material. There are about 10 furnaces in the region kayastwada where all the local craftsmen bring their waste metal and process it into bricks. Process The steps followed on the round cut brass sheet are almost the same for making tokni, patili and parati. The only difference lies in the dies used and the welding of the pieces. The basic steps can be summed up as under:

1. Hammering on the die: Different dies made of iron are used for giving the brass sheets, the basic shape of the product. Two dies are used for making the three basic pieces of tokni and dekchi; and one for making the only piece for parati. Heavy wood hammers are used in the initial stage and later on detailed finish is given by smaller metal hammers. Craftsmen wear hand and toe leather caps for protection. 2. Joining the joints: Borax powder, commonly known as suhaaga mixed in lukewarm water, for making a thick paste. The pieces to be joined are then plased edge to edge touching each other and this paste is applied on the joints. Its then kept in the sun and allowed to dry. 3. Brazing / Welding: Gas welding is then done on the joint, above the dried paste, using brass welding wires. 4. Acid wash: The prepared product is now washed with Gandhak ki tezab so as to remove all the dust and other dirt particles from the surface of the metal. 5. Washing in water: The acid washed utensil is now washed thoroughly with water to remove the acid which can corrode the metal on prolonged exposure. 6. Neutralization: after water washing acid is not completely removed. So to neutralize the surface of the metal it is dipped into Kishta or Khatai i.e. tamarind solution.acid present on the meta surface darken the color of brass due to corrosion. 7. Polishing: Polishing the metal surface is done mainly by hand. The metal surface is smoothened by rubbing it with 24 number, coarse Regmar and sand-Balu ki ret. The surface now gets the golden yellow colour of brass. 8. Decoration by Hammering: Final finish is done by using a metal hammer. Metal surface is stroked from one side and the impressions come even on the other side too. This is done mainly for serving two purposes. First is to strengthen the metal surface by increasing the density and second is for decoration, so as to make the product more visually appealing. Craft and Craftsmen All the craftsmen who are working on brass belong to the Thatera or Khasera community and if they employ work under them they are also take from the same community. Their roots originally lie in Kishangarh, Rajasthan. The work is generally inherited from father to son and does not require any training. The process of manufacturing is not complicated and there in no division of labor involved. The whole 9

process of making a utensil excluding its finishing and hammering is completed by one craftsman. Even for the other process like washing, sanding and hammering the family members are enough to help the craftsman complete the product. In Rewari the metal craft is concentrated in the thateragaon or kayastwada. They are generally not welloff financially. Workspace and setup The setup of the craft requires no special work setup. The craftsmen in the region sit in front of their houses and also one or two rooms in the house are kept for working purposes. In front of many houses dies are permanently fixed in the ground. Peak and Off season The peak seasons for the selling of the utensils are near Diwali, Navratra and Teej festivals. June to mid October is supposed to be the time of the year when the business is very slow. It is this time when the selling of the utensils is rather a retarded affair and the craftsmen who are a little well off than the others generally keep make the utensils and stocking them so as to release the bulk in the selling season. Strengths

Storing water in brass utensils is good for health. It combines copper and zinc together. Copper is very good for health the properties of which are in brass also. The craft has its root in the glorious history of Rewari which gives its identity to it. The resale value of brass is high as compared to the other metals. If it is bought at Rs 250/- per kg then the resale value is more or less near to it which is not in the case of say steel.

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History of Brass in india

Coin of Samudragupta (c. 350375) with Garuda pillar. British Museum.

The iron pillar of Delhi (375413).

Bronze Chola Statue of Nataraja at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

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Dagger and its scabbard, India, 17th18th century. Blade: Damascus steelinlaid with gold; hilt: jade; scabbard: steel with engraved, chased and gilded decoration.

Akbarnamawritten in August 12, 1602depicts the defeat of Baz Bahadur of Malwa by the Mughal troops in 1561. The Mughals extensively improved metal weapons and armor used by the armies of India.

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Hyder Ali (c. 1722-1782)the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore until 1782developed military rockets using metal cylinders to contain the combustion powder.

Photograph of Sir Biren Mookerjeelighting coke oven battery at Burnpur. Following dwindling iron and steel supplies from the United Kingdom as an aftermath of the First World War, G.H. Fairhurst (1918) helped initiate what would later become IISCO. History of metallurgy in the Indian subcontinent began during the 2nd millennium BCE and continued well into the British Raj.[1] Metalsand related concepts were mentioned in various early Vedic age texts. The Rigveda already uses the Sanskrit term Ayas (metal). The Indiancultural and commercial contacts with the Near East and the Greco-Roman world enabled an exchange of metallurgic sciences.[2] With the advent of the Mughals, India's Mughal Empire (established: April 21, 1526ended: September 21, 1857) further improved the established tradition of metallurgy and metal working in India.[3]

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The imperial policies of the British Raj led to stagnation of metallurgy in India as the British regulated mining and metallurgyused in India previously by its rulers to build armies and resist England during various wars.[4] Overview Recent excavations in Middle Ganga Valley done by archaeologist Rakesh Tewari show iron working in India may have begun as early as 1800 BCE.[5] Archaeological sites in India, such as Malhar, Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila and Lahuradewa in the state of Uttar Pradesh show iron implements in the period between 1800 BCE - 1200 BCE. Sahi (1979: 366) concluded that by the early 13th century BCE, iron smelting was definitely practiced on a bigger scale in India, suggesting that the date the technology's inception may well be placed as early as the 16th century BCE.[6] The Black and Red Ware culture was another early Iron Age archaeological culture of the northern Indian subcontinent. It is dated to roughly the 12th 9th centuries BCE, and associated with the post-Rigvedic Vedic civilization. It reached from the upper Gangetic plain in Uttar Pradesh to the eastern Vindhya range and West Bengal. Perhaps as early as 300 BCE, although certainly by 200 CE, high quality steel was being produced in southern India by what Europeans would later call the crucible technique. In this system, high-purity wrought iron, charcoal, and glass were mixed in crucibles and heated until the iron melted and absorbed the carbon. The resulting high-carbon steel, called fl in Arabic and wootz by later Europeans, was exported throughout much of Asia and Europe. Will Durant wrote in The Story of Civilization I: Our Oriental Heritage: "Something has been said about the chemical excellence of cast iron in ancient India, and about the high industrial development of the Gupta times, when India was looked to, even by Imperial Rome, as the most skilled of the nations in such chemical industries asdyeing, tanning, soap-making, glass and cement... By the sixth century the Hindus were far ahead of Europe in industrial chemistry; they were masters of calcinations, distillation, sublimation, steaming, fixation, the production of light without heat, the mixing ofanesthetic and soporific powders, and the preparation of metallic salts, compounds and alloys. The tempering of steel was brought in ancient India to a perfection unknown in Europe till our own times; King Porus is said to have selected, as a specially valuable gift from Alexander, not gold or silver, but thirty pounds of steel. The Moslems took much of this Hindu chemical science and industry to the Near 14

East and Europe; the secret of manufacturing "Damascus" blades, for example, was taken by the Arabs from the Persians, and by the Persians from India." [edit]Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and other texts The Sanskrit term Ayas means metal and can refer to bronze, copper or iron. Rigveda The Rig Veda refers to ayas, and also states that the Dasyus had Ayas (RV 2.20.8). In RV 4.2.17, "the gods [are] smelting likecopper/metal ore the human generations". The references to Ayas in the Rig Veda probably refer to bronze or copper rather than to iron.[7] However, D. K. Chakrabarti (1992) argued: "It should be clear that any controversy regarding the meaning of ayas in the Rgveda or the problem of the Rgvedic familiarity or unfamilarity with iron is pointless. There is no positive evidence either way. It can mean both copper-bronze and iron and, strictly on the basis of the contexts, there is no reason to choose between the two." Arthasastra The Arthasastra lays down the role of the Director of Metals, the Director of Forest Produce and the Director of Mining.[8] It is the duty of the Director of Metals to establish factories for different metals. The Director of Mines is responsible for the inspection of mines. The Arthasastra also refers to counterfeit coins.[8] Other texts There are many references to Ayas in the early Indian texts.[9] The Atharva Veda and the Satapatha Brahmana refer to krsna ayas ("black metal"), which could be iron (but possibly also iron ore and iron items not made of smelted iron). There is also some controversy if the term syamayas ("black metal) refers to iron or not. In later texts the term refers to iron. In earlier texts, it could possibly also refer to darkerthan-copper bronze, an alloy of copper and tin.[10][11] Copper can also become black by heating it.[12] Oxidation with the use of sulphides can produce the same effect.[12][13] The Yajurveda seems to know iron.[8] In the Taittiriya Samhita are references to ayas and at least one reference to smiths.[8] The Satapatha Brahmana 6.1.3.5 refers to the smelting of metallic ore.[14] In the Manu Smriti (6.71), the following analogy is found: "For as the impurities of metallic ores, melted in the blast (of a furnace), are consumed, even so the taints of the organs are destroyed through the suppression of the breath." Metal was also used in agriculture, and the Buddhist text Suttanipata has the following analogy: "for as 15

a ploughshare that has got hot during the day when thrown into the water splashes, hisses and smokes in volumes..."[8] In the Charaka Samhita an analogy occurs that probably refers to the lost wax technique.[14] The Silpasastras (the Manasara, theManasollasa (AbhilashitarthaChintamani) and the Uttarabhaga of Silparatna) describe the lost wax technique in detail.[14] The Silappadikaram says that copper-smiths were in Puhar and in Madura.[14] According to the History of the Han Dynasty by Ban Gu,Kashmir and "Tien-chu" were rich in metals.[14] An influential Indian metallurgist and alchemist was Nagarjuna (born 931). He wrote the treatise Rasaratnakara that deals with preparations of rasa (mercury) compounds. It gives a survey of the status of metallurgy and alchemy in the land. Extraction of metals such as silver, gold, tin and copper from their ores and their purification were also mentioned in the treatise. The Rasa Ratnasamuccaya describes the extraction and use of copper.[15] Archaeology Chakrabarti (1976) has identified six early iron-using centres in India: Baluchistan, the Northwest, the Indo-Gangetic divide and the upperGangetic valley, eastern India, Malwa and Berar in central India and the megalithic south India.[8] The central Indian region seems to be the earliest iron-using centre.[16] According to Tewari, iron using and iron "was prevalent in the Central Ganga Plain and the Eastern Vindhyas from the early second millennium BC."[17] The earliest evidence for smelted iron in India dates to 1300 to 1000 BCE.[18] These early findings also occur in places like the Deccan and the earliest evidence for smelted iron occurs in Central India, not in north-western India.[19] Moreover, the dates for iron in India are not later than in those of Central Asia, and according to some scholars (e.g. Koshelenko 1986) the dates for smelted iron may actually be earlier in India than in Central Asia and Iran.[20] The Iron Age did however not necessary imply a major social transformation, and Gregory Possehlwrote that "the Iron Age is more of a continuation of the past then a break with it".[21] Archaeological data suggests that India was a "an independent and early centre of iron technology."[22] According to Shaffer, the "nature and context of the iron objects involved [of the BRW culture] are very different from early iron objects found in Southwest 16

Asia."[23] In Central Asia, the development of iron technology was not necessarily connected with Indo-Iranian migrations either.[24] J.M. Kenoyer (1995) also remarks that there is a "long break in tin acquisition" necessary for the production of "tin bronzes" in the Indus Valley region, suggesting a lack of contact with Baluchistan and northern Afghanistan, or the lack of migrants from the north-west who could have procured tin. Indus Valley Civilization The copper-bronze metallurgy in the Harappan civilization was widespread and had a high variety and quality.[25] The early use of iron may have developed from the practice of copper-smelting.[26] While there is to date no proven evidence for smelted iron in the Indus Valley Civilization, iron ore and iron items have been unearthed in eight Indus Valley sites, some of them dating to before 2600 BCE.[27] There remains the possibility that some of these items were made of smelted iron, and the term "krsna ayas" might possibly also refer to these iron items, even if they are not made of smelted iron. Lothali copper is unusually pure, lacking the arsenic typically used by coppersmiths across the rest of the Indus valley. Workers mixed tin with copper for the manufacture of celts, arrowheads, fishhooks, chisels, bangles, rings, drills and spearheads, although weapon manufacturing was minor. They also employed advanced metallurgy in following the cire perdue technique of casting, and used more than one-piece moulds for casting birds and animals.[28] They also invented new tools such as curved saws and twisted drills unknown to other civilizations at the time.[29] Metals Brass Brass was used in Lothal and Atranjikhera in the 3rd and 2nd millennium BCE.[30] Brass and probably zinc was also found at Taxila in 4th to 3rd century BCE contexts.[31] Copper Copper technology may date back to the 2nd millennium BCE in the Himalaya region.[15] Copper and its alloys were also used to create copper-bronze images such as Buddhas or Hindu/Mahayana Buddhist deities.[14] Hiuen Tsang also noted that there were copperbronze Buddha images in Magadha.[14] In Varanasi, each stage of the image manufacturing process is handled by a specialist.[32]

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Other metal objects made by Indian artisans include lamps.[33] Copper was also a component in the razors for the tonsure ceremony.[14] One of the most important sources of history in the Indian subcontinent are the royal records of grants engraved on copper-plate grants (tamra-shasan or tamra-patra). Because copper does not rust or decay, they can survive indefinitely. Collections of archaeological texts from the copper-plates and rock-inscriptions have been compiled and published by the Archaeological Survey of India during the past century. The earliest known copperplate known as the Sohgaura copper-plate is a Maurya record that mentions famine relief efforts. It is one of the very few pre-Ashoka Brahmi inscriptions in India. Gold and silver The deepest gold mines of the Ancient world were found in the Maski region in Karnataka.[34] There were ancient silver mines in northwest India.[35] Iron See also: Iron pillar of Delhi

The iron pillar of Delhi In the 5th century BCE, the Greek historian Herodotus observed that "Indian and the Persian army used arrows tipped with iron."[36]Ancient Romans used armour and cutlery made of Indian iron. Pliny the Elder also mentioned Indian iron.[36] Muhammad al-Idrisi wrote the Hindus excelled in the manufacture of iron, 18

and that it would be impossible to find anything to surpass the edge from Hindwani steel.[37] Quintus Curtius wrote about an Indian present of steel to Alexander.[38] Ferrum indicum appeared in the list of articles subject to duty under Marcus Aurelius and Commodus.[8] Indian Wootz steel was held in high regard in Europe, and Indian iron was often considered to be the best.[39] Wootz and steel Main articles: Wootz steel and Damascus steel The first form of crucible steel was wootz, developed in India some time around 300 BCE. In its production the iron was mixed withglass and then slowly heated and then cooled. As the mixture cooled the glass would bond to impurities in the steel and then float to the surface, leaving the steel considerably more pure. Carbon could enter the iron by diffusing in through the porous walls of the crucibles. Carbon dioxide would not react with the iron, but the small amounts of carbon monoxide could, adding carbon to the mix with some level of control. Wootz was widely exported throughout the Middle East, where it was combined with a local production technique around 1000 CE to produce Damascus steel, famed throughout the world.[40] Wootz derives from the Kannada term for steel ukku.[41] Indian wootz steel was the first high quality steel that was produced. Henry Yule quoted the 12th century Arab Edrizi who wrote: "The Hindus excel in the manufacture of iron, and in the preparations of those ingredients along with which it is fused to obtain that kind of soft iron which is usually styled Indian steel (Hindiah). They also have workshops wherein are forged the most famous sabres in the world. ...It is not possible to find anything to surpass the edge that you get from Indian steel (al-hadid alHindi).[36] As early as the 17th century, Europeans knew of India's ability to make crucible steel from reports brought back by travelers who had observed the process at several places in southern India. Several attempts were made to import the process, but failed because the exact technique remained a mystery. Studies of wootz were made in an attempt to understand its secrets, including a major effort by the famous scientist, Michael Faraday, son of a blacksmith. Working with a local cutlery manufacturer he wrongly concluded that it was the addition of aluminium oxide and silica from the glass that gave wootz its unique properties. Earliest evidence of steel making comes to us from Samanalawewa area in Sri Lanka where thousands of sites were found.[42] These early furnaces were powered by 19

Monsoon winds and has been dated to 300 BCE using radiocarbon dating techniques. The crucible steel making industry in Sri Lanka was already in decline around 1900 CE, but the historian and philosopher Ananda Coomaraswamy could still find two old Sri Lankians who could demonstrate the crucible steel making process to him.[36] After the Indian rebellion of 1857, many Indian wootz steel swords were destroyed by order of the British authorities.[36] Metal working suffered a decline during the British Empire, but steel production was revived in India by Jamsetji Tata.

Process of Brass
Not to be confused with Cementation (metallurgy) or Carburizing.

Cementation furnace The cementation process is an obsolete technique for

making steel by carburization of iron. Unlike modern steelmaking, it increased the amount of carbon in the iron. It was apparently developed before the 17th century. Derwentcote Steel Furnace, built in 1720, is the earliest surviving example of a cementation furnace. Another example in the UK is the Cementation furnace in Doncaster Street, Sheffield.

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Origins The process was described in a treatise published in Prague in 1574. It was again invented by Johann Nussbaum of Magdeburg, who began operations at Nuremberg (with partners) in 1601. The process was patented in England by William Ellyot and Mathias Meysey in 1614.[1] At that date, the "invention" could consist merely of the introduction of a new industry or product, or even a mere monopoly. They evidently soon transferred the patent to Sir Basil Brooke, but he was forced to surrender it in 1619. A clause in the patent prohibiting the import of steel was found to be undesirable because he could not supply as much good steel as was needed.[2] Brooke's furnaces were probably in his manor of Madeley at Coalbrookdale (which certainly existed before the English Civil War) where two cementation furnaces have been excavated.[3] He probably used bar iron from the Forest of Dean, where he was a partner in farming the King's ironworks there at two periods. By 1631, it was recognised that Swedish iron was the best raw material and then or later particularly certain marks (brands) such as double bullet (so called from the mark OO) from sterby and hoop L from Leufsta (now Lvsta), whose mark consisted of an L in a circle, both belonging to Louis De Geer and his descendants. These were among the first ironworks in Sweden to use the Walloon process of fining iron, producing what was known in England as oregrounds iron. It was so called from the Swedish port of regrund, north of Stockholm, in whose hinterland most of the ironworks lay. The ore used came ultimately from the Dannemora mine.[2][4] Process

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The Doncaster Street cementation furnace in Sheffield, England The process begins with wrought iron and charcoal. It uses one or more long stone pots inside a furnace. Typically, in Sheffield, each was 14 feet by 4 feet and 3.5 feet deep. Iron bars and charcoal are packed in alternating layers, with a top layer of charcoal and then refractory matter to make the pot or "coffin" airtight. Some manufacturers used a mix of powdered charcoal, soot and mineral salts, called cement powder. In larger works up to 16 tons of iron was treated in each cycle. Depending on the thickness of the iron bars, the pots were then heated from below for a week or more. Bars were regularly examined and when the correct condition was reached the heat was withdrawn and the pots were left until coolusually around fourteen days. The iron had "gained" a little over 1% in mass from the carbon in the charcoal, and had become heterogeneous bars of blister steel. The bars were then shortened, bound, heated and hammered, pressed or rolled to become shear steel. Alternatively they could be broken up and melted in a crucible using a crucible furnace with a flux to become crucible steel or cast steel, a process devised by Benjamin Huntsman in the 1740s. Cementation process for brass In the early modern period, brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, was usually produced by a cementation process in which metallic copperwas heated with calamine, a zinc ore. For details of this see c

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OBJECTIVES OF THE COMPANY

To maximize capacity utilization of existing products. To maintain and improve the existing cordial relationship between employees and management by mutual interaction at various at various levels and to further improve the efficiency of executives, supervisors and workers to meet future challenges.

To increase the sales. To ensure strict quality control on all products competing in the market. To minimize costs. To increase the profit in order to reduce the accumulated losses.

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ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

GOVERNEMNT

CHAIRMAN

MANAGING DIRECTOR

FINANCE MANAGER

PRODUCTION MANGER

PERSONNEL MANAGER

PURCHASE MANAGER

MARKETING MANGER

STAFF

STAFF

STAFF

STAFF

STAFF

WORKERS

WORKERS

WORKERS

WORKERS

WORKERS

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ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

The administrative affairs of the company are managed by Board of Directors comprising of seven members headed by the Chairman. One of the board members are elected shareholders and others are nominated by government. Managing directors are responsible for taking decisions regarding framing of policy and its implementation etc. the Board Meeting is held in every 3 months. For the administrative purpose, the company is divided into five departments namely production, purchase, sales and marketing, finance and personnel department.

FUNCTIONAL DEPARTMENTS

1. HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

Human resource is the most valuable resource in any organization because it can function only thorough people. The success depends upon the ability of its human resource. Human resource management has been presented as a radical alternative to personnel management consisting of exciting of modern ideas, which would replace the out of data and ineffective thoughts of personnel management. Personnel manager is related with the management of workers or employees of the organization. Personal management is also known as personnel administration. The human resource department is responsible for the organizational structure in the way which will ensure better working environment and quality. They deal with the personnel administration (keeping records, 25

wage agreement etc) in their usual course of operation. Human resource department keeps an overall record and workers. It works in such a manner to create an atmosphere in which free exchange of ideas and information between management and workers is possible.

NUMBER OF EMPOLYEES

There are totally 142 employees in this unit. The employees are divided in to factory and office employees. There are 124 factory employees and 18 staffs belong to office and administration department. skilled and unskilled workers. The factory employees include skilled, semi-

TRAINING

Training is a process of learning a sequence of programmed behaviour. Training of employees is essential because work force is invaluable asset to an organization. It is necessary to provide training for both existing and new employees which increase the skill of the employees. The training facility provided by the company is apprentice training and health and safety training.

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INCENTIVES

The company provides both monetary and non monetary benefits to employees. It includes bonus, dearness allowance, provident fund, gratuity, labour welfare, canteen facility, traveling allowance, medical benefits, uniform contribution to labour; HRA, festival allowance, pension etc are provided to employees.The wages are paid on the basis of piece rate and time rate system. They are given incentives for extra production in weekly basis.

INDUSTRIAL SAFETY

Safety means freedom from the occurrence of risks of injury or loss. Industrial safety of employees safety refers to the protection of workers from the danger of industrial accidents. Industrial safety is one of the important responsibilities of the management in the modern industrial set up. The importance of industrial safety was realized because number of employees is injured while doing job which is caused to partial or total disablement. In Metal Industries Limited, a safety committee is existed. It is the responsibility of the committee to safeguard of each and every employee while doing their job; the employees are strictly advised to take safety measures, such as goggles for protecting eyes, gloves for protecting hand, apron for the whole body, nose mask for inhaling suffocating gases.

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Industrial relation is very essential for rapid industrialization of every nation. The means the relationship between employer and employee in industrial organizations. Good industrial relationship helps to avoid disputes between employers and employees and helps to create co-operation, partnership and mutual understanding. Industrial

relation describes the relationship between management and individual employee. It embraces the relationship between management and trade unions. It includes the relation between employees and the government. The factory maintains a harmonious relation between superiors and subordinates. There exists co-operation among the workers.

2. PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT

This is the main functional department of the organization. Production is the process by which raw materials are converted into finished products. Here the finished products are agricultural implements, estate tools and hand tools. All the decisions regarding the production are taken by Work Manager with necessary consultation with Managing Directors. Production department is sub divided into three sections that is, forging and maintenance. Production department means the creation of utilities and covers all the activities of procurement, equipment and machinery etc. Utilities are goods and service which have want satisfying power.

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Production management involving planning, organizing, directing and controlling the production function or production system- a subsystem if its environment.

According to A.W FIElD production management is the process of planning and regulating of the operation of the part of an enterprise which is responsible for actual transformation of materials into finished products.

The company METIND has an installed capacity of production of 218 metric tones per annum of forged agricultural implements ant tools on a single shift basis.

The main raw material of the company are rejected rail, billet

Both these are available at cheaper are art the ancient time. But now, cost of raw material is increased. Other raw materials are steam cool and petroleum coke used as fuel. The raw materials are mainly available form North India.

The company had established three manufacturing section:

Forging division Foundry and Engineering Division A cutlery division

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The first two divisions located adjacently is sprawling acre landscape and third division was located in three acres of compounded at Lakkidi.

The various products are manufactures in the company are Double faced sledge hammer Different varieties of mammaties Pick axes Crowbars Axes Bill hooks, mainly used in agricultural operation, quarry works and industries.

The sizes of above products are differing according to geographical area. That means of slight changes in usages of quantity of raw material for producing varieties of products in different geographical area.

PRODUCTION PROCESS

The production products start with cutting of rejected rail. First of all it cuts in to three parts then it will cut in to the basis of proposed products weight. After that will be firing and going different stages of production process.

RAIL CUTTING

POWER FORGING

FLATTENING

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HAND FORGING

GRINING

TEMPERING

POLISHING

HANDLE FITTING

PAINTING

FINISHED GOODS STORE.

In production department, there is a long process for converting the rails and billets into end product. The production process adds value to the raw materials and makes it as end products ready for consumption. The heavy materials installed in this department are costly and imported from Beche Company in Germany. In this unit, only raw materials having ferrous content are needed. The steel requited may be carbon steel or alloy steel. Here only carbon steel is used for manufacturing products. There is low carbon steel is used for manufacturing products. There is low carbon steel, medium carbon steel, high carbon steel. In this unit, high carbon steel is used as raw materials for making good products. The reason is that the product is high carbon steel. This is important for the use of end products for long duration. The whole process of production is generally called FORGING.

Agricultural implements are produced in this section. The main raw materials used in this section are rejected rails, billets etc. This section uses machineries such as power hammers, grinding machines, shaping machines etc. During the review of the production has decreased to 226.3 MT as against the production of 245 MT during the previous year.

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3. PURCHASE

Purchase department has a vital role in the company. All the purchasing activity of the company is headed by this department. This department is controlled by the Purchase Officer. It has two sections- purchase and store. The purchase officer is assistant by a store keeper who is in charge of store. The store keeper receives, inspects and checks all the materials purchased by the company. The duty of purchase manager in a company is to purchase the raw materials from suppliers in a proper way at reasonable price. Purchasing process starts with purchase manager and send quotation to the supplier of raw materials and select least one by purchase manager and then he sends purchase order. The purchase of raw materials is on the basis of production requirements.

Purchase order includes the following: Address of the party Units of raw materials Quantity of the raw materials Rate of the raw materials Excise duty Sales tax Mode of dispatch Freight Delivery schedule Payment terms 32

An efficient purchasing ensures the procurement of materials of the right quality, in the right quantity, at the right time, from the right source at a right place.

Payment terms will be two months, one month or two weeks. The raw materials of the company are rejected rail and billet. Steam coal and petroleum coke used as fuel.

There are two types of purchasing- Centralized and Decentralized. The purchase is entrusted with the important function of purchasing of materials for the entire organization. Centralized purchasing refers to the purchase of materials by a purchase manager. Under centralized purchasing, all purchases are made by the purchase A

department to avoid duplication, overlapping and non-uniform procurements.

company has to follow the centralized purchasing of raw materials for ensuring proper materials control as well as efficient store keeping. Under this system, the purchasing department purchases the required materials for all the departments and branches of the company.

When the purchasing function is entrusted for a single person, it is said to be centralized purchasing. It means all purchasing are made by the purchasing officer. Generally large and medium size organizations accept centralized purchasing.

Decentralized purchasing refers to the purchasing materials by all departments and branches independently to fulfill their needs. Such a purchasing occurs when

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departments and branches purchase separately and individually. Under decentralized purchasing, there is no one purchasing manager who has the right to purchase materials for all departments and divisions. The defects of centralized purchasing can be overcome by decentralized purchasing system. Decentralized purchasing helps to purchase the materials immediately in case of an urgent situation

The raw materials used by this company are Rails and Billet. They also purchase steam coal, coke, firewood, charcoal and paint.

4. MARKETING

The primary function of a business enterprise is to create and maintain a satisfied customer. No longer is profit operational goal or the sole criterion of effective marketing performance. Marketing management usually represent all managerial efforts and

function to operate the marketing concepts not only in letter but also in spirit. The survival and growth of every business depends up on profitability and growth are duly assured.

The company has a marketing department. The company has no scope for advertising of these products because they produced only agricultural products.

According to Ducker, marketing is the not merely a function of a business enterprise units or view of the entire business as the economic organ to provide goods and services.

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The marketing of METIND COMPANY is done through some agents. The company recruits agents of agencies. They are working on commission basis. The agents are made a contract with the company. The agents have their own respected area: it may be district or zone wise. The represented district agents collect information from consumers regarding the requirements of the products. The customers include private owned

shoppers and government institutions like Panchayat, Municipality, and Corporation etc. After collecting the information, the agents communicate with the company and the company will send the products to the customers according to their demand. If the products reached to the consumers hand, the agents collect money from consumers and give money to the company and they collect their commission. The company sells their products through cash as well as credit basis. Normally the credit period allowed to consumers is sixty days.

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5. FINANCE AND ACCOUNTS

All the accounting transactions are maintained under this department.

Books and

recording of cash and credit transactions are maintained under this department. Finance manager is the head of the department. Finance manager gives necessary instructions and suggestions for the smooth and proper functioning of the department. The company follows the double entry accounting. The accounts of the company are prepared on account basis under the historical cost conventions. Finance requires proper planning and control to achieve the objectives of the business. This gives birth to financial

management as separate discipline. Financial management simply means management of finance. Financial management may be defined as planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the financial activity in a business enterprise. Financial management is concerned with management of finance and smooth running and successful achievement of the enterprise. The company has a sound finance department under financial manager. The main function of the financial department is to control the day to day receipts and payments of the company. The main source of the company is to generate the finance through selling of its product. Through this, the company captures its working capital and paying its liabilities.

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REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Many researchers have studied working capital from different views and in different environments. The following ones are useful for our research:

(Eljelly, 2008) elucidated that efficiency liquidity management involves planning and controlling current assets and current liabilities in such a manner that eliminates the risk of inability to meet due short-term obligations and avoids excessive investment in these assets. The relation between profitability and liquidity was examined, as measures by current ratio and cash gap (cash converstion cycle) on a sample of joint stock companies in India using correlation and regression analysis. The study found that the cash conversion cycle was more importance as a measure of liquidity than the current ratio that affects profitability. The size variable was found to have significant effect on profitability at the industry level. The results were stable and had important implications for liquidity management in various Indian companies. First, it was clear that there was a negative relationship between profitability and liquidity indicators such as current ratio and cash gap in the India samle examined. Second, the study also revealed that there was great variation among industries with respect to the significant measures of liqudity.

(Deloof, 2008) discussed that most firms had a large amount of cash invested in working capital. It can therefore be expected that the way in which working capital is managed will have a significant impact on profitability of those firms. Using correlation and regression tests he found a significant negative relationship between gross operating 37

income and the number of days accounts receivable, inventories and accounts payable etc in Indian companies. On the basis of these results he suggested that managers could create value for their shaeholders by reducing the number of days accounts receivable and inventories to a reasonable minimum. The negative relationship between accounts payable and profitability is consistent with the view that less profitable firms wait longer to pay their bills.

(Ghosh and Maji, 2009) in this paper made an attempt to examine the efficiency of working capital management of the Indian cement companies during 1992-1993 to 2001-2002. For measuring the efficiency of working capital management, performance, utilization, and overall efficiency indices were calculated instead of using some common working capital management ratios. Setting industry norms as target-efficiency levels of the individuals firm during the period of study. Findings of the study indicates that Indian Cement Industry as a whole did not perform remarkably well during this period.

(Shin and Soenen, 1998) highlighted that efficient Working Capital Management (WCM) was very important for creating value for the shareholders. The way working capital was managed had a significant impact on both profitability and liquidity. The relationship between the length of Net Trading Cycle,. Corporate profitability and risk adjusted stock return was examined using correlation and regression analysis, by industry and capital intensity. They found a strong negative relationship between lengths of the

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firms net trading Cycle and its profitability. In addition, shorter net trade cycles were associated with higher risk adjusted stock returns.

(Smith and Begemann,2009) emphasized that those who promoted working capital theory shared that profitability and liquidity comprised the salient goals of working capital management. The problem arose because the maximisation of the firms return could seriously threaten its liquidity, and the pursuit of liquidity had a tendency to dilute returns. This article evaluated the association between traditional and alternative working capital measures and retur on investment (ROI), specifically in industrial firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The problem under investigation was to establish whether the more recently developed alternative working capital concepts showed improved association with return on investment to that of traditional working capital ratios or not. Results indicated that there were no significant differences amongst the years with respect to the independent variables. The results of their stepwise

regression corroborated that total current liabilities divided by fund flow accounted for most of the variability in Return on Investment (ROI). The stastistical test results showed that a traditional working capital leverage ratio, current liabilities divided by funds flow, displayed the greatest associations with return on investment. Well known liquidity concepts such as the current and qucik ratio registered insignificant associations whilst only one of the newer working capital concepts, the comprehensive liquidity index, indicated significant associations with return on investment.

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(Santhosh Deoran Watpade,2009) emphasised that working capital management is concerned with the problems in attempting to manage the current assets, the current and the inter relationship that exist between them. The goal of working capital

management is to manage the firms current assets and current liabilities in such a way that the satisfactory level of working capital is mentioned. Study of working capital management is managed effectively, monitor efficiently, planned properly and reviewed periodically at regular intervals to remove bottlenecks if any, company cannot earn profits and increase its turnover and to study the liquidity postion through various working capital related ratios. The study of working capital ,managemtn in Jain

Irrigation System Ltd has revealed that the current ratio was as per the standard industrial practice but the liquidity position of the company showed an increasing trend. Overall company has good liquidity position and sufficient funds to repayment more current assets balance. Company is increasing sales volume per year which supported the

company for sustained second position in the world and number one position in India.

(Carole Howorth & Paul Westhead,2003) they mainly focused on the working capital management in small firms in India. Working capital management routines of a large random of small companies in the India are examined. Considerable variability in the take up of 11 working capital management routines was detected. Principal

components analysis and cluster analysis confirm the identification of four distinct types of companies with regard to patterns of working cpaital management. The first three types of companies focused upon cash management, stock or debtors routines respectively, whilist the fourth types were less likely to take up any working capital

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management routines. Influences on amount and focus of working capital management are discussed. Multinomial logistic regression analysis suggests that he selected

independent variables succesfully discriminated between the four types of companies. The results suggest that the small companies focus only on areas of working capital management where they expect to improve marginal returns. The difficultie of

establishing casuality are highlighted and implications for academics, policy makers and practioners are reported.

(Gbenga Akinwande, 2010), the efficient management of working capital is very vital for a business survival. This is premised on the fact having too much working capital signifies inefficiency, whereas to little cash at hand signifies that the survival of business is shaky. The working capital management in the small and medium scale businesses, using VGC Telecom company as a case study, so as to establish factors influencing working capital performance; examine how cash management, inventory management and trade credit management affects working capital management; company effectiveness in converting working capital to ready money; how working capital management development and to offer recommendations on possible ways of improving working capital management. The collaborate postulation of Weston et al that a

companys investment working capital is a substantial percentage of its total investment. In case of VCG telecoms, it is high as 65 percent. An efficient and ineffective

management of this investment will result in slow pace of development and ultimately to the business failure. The performance of the company in the different sphers of working capital management is good.

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(Baig Viquir Ali, 2009) empahasized that if a firm has inadequate working cpaital-the money necessary to keep your business running-the firm is doomed to fail. Many firms, that are profitable on paper, are enforced to close their doors due to their helplessness to meet short term debts when they come due. However, by implementing sound working capital management strategies, your enterprize can flourish; in other words, assets are working for the firm. The objective of working capital management is to make certain that the firm is able to carry on its operations and that it has enough cash flow to satisfy both maturing short term debt and upcoming operational expenses. In order to improve the working capital management practices, it is essential for the finance to adopt a proper appraoch of working capital decisions making to drive their respective firms towards success in order to generate the value for the shareholders. In addition to proper approach, there may be some other factors that may prove to be important ehile dealing with working capital decision making decision making and certainity these factors may include ownership, govt regulation, managerial empowerment and cultural factors. Therefore, the , main purpose of this paper is to report comparative findings of a survey of working capital management practices of selected agribusiness firms from diary co-operatives, private and MNC diary firms as a part of research thesis completed in July 2008. A sample of three state diary co-operatives, three private diary and three MNC diary firms was taken for the study.

( Maxime Abel, 2001) conducted the study in impact of working capital

management on cash holdings. This study examine the impat of working capital 42

management on cash holdings of small and mudium-sized manufacturing enterprizes. The aim of these work is to theoritically derive significant factors related to working capital management which have an influence on the cash level of SMEs and test in a large sample of manufacuring SMEs. The theoritical framework for this consists of a treatise of motives for holding cash, working capital management and cash level. From these theoritical findings, two hypotheses are deducted: H1: Cash holdings are negatively related to the presence of cash substitutes. H2: Cash holdings are positively related to working capital management efficiency. The quantitative investigation consists of the statistical analysis- namely comparison of means and correlation analysis-of key figures which are calculated from the financial statements of a large sample of firms. The data set contains 13,287 Swedish manafacturing SMEs of the legal form Aktieboloag. Both hypotheses are confirmed by the results. Empirical evidences is presented which substantiates the supposition that the presence of cash substitutes-namely inventory and accounts receivable-entails lower cash holdings. Furthermore, it is confirmed that working capital management efficiencymeasured by the cash conversion cycle-is positively related to cash level.

(MICHAELJ. PEEL, 2000) Very little research has been conducted on the capital budgeting and working capital practices of small firms. The purpose is to present the results of a preliminary study on the working capital and financial management practices of small firms located in the north of England. In general, the results of the survey indicated that a relatively high proportion of small firms in the sample claimed to use

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quantitative capital budgeting and working capital techniques and to review various aspects of their companies working capital. In addition the firms which claimed to use the more sophisticated discounted cash flow capital budgeting techniues, or which had been active in terms of reducing stock levels or the debtors credit period, on average tended to more active in respect of working capital management practices. It is hopped that the issued raised will stimulate further theoritical and empirical contributions on this neglected and important area of small business research.

(Michel j.Peel, Nicholas wilson, 2000): They emphasized that the working capital and financial management practices of a sample of small firms located in the north of England. In general, the results of the survey indicated that a relatively high proportion of small firms in the sample claimed to use quantitative capital budgeting and working capital techniques and to review various aspects of their companies working capital. In addition, the firms which claimed to use the more sophisticated cash flow capital budgeting techniques, or which had acive in terms of reducing stock levels of the debtors credit period, on average tended to be more active in respect of working capital management practicces. It is hoped that the issues raised will stimulate further theoritical and empirical contributions on this neglected and important area of small business research.

(C.R Sathyamoorthy and L.B Wally-Dima, 2002) indicated that the working capital management of retail domestic companies that are listed on the Botswana Stock exchange. Working capital management is very important because a company that

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neglects its working capital mangement will soon run out of cash way even have to close down. Data was collected from companies that are listed on the Botswana Stock

Exchange. The research for choosing the listed companies is because the financial statements for these companies are readily available and often more reliable that those of unlisted companies.

(Mohd Ridzuan Darun, 2000) indicates the practice of working capital management (WCM) in the Malaysian context, particualrly in Malaysian listed companies. Even though a number of studies about WCM were undertaken in many countries around the world, especiallyin Western countries, the understanding about how to manage working capital is not explicit. To date there has been no study examining the Malaysian context. Prior research in this area has focused on two approaches 1) Surveys seeking to examine the relatioship between WCM and corporate performance and 2) the development of optimization models to improve WCM performance. In te event of changes in industry context, it is argued that the failure of WCM research to reflect the characteristics and challlenges of contemporary organizational settings had led to a loss of relevance and gives to the need for a conceptual framework explaining current WCM practices. This study is intended to first develop an understanding of determinants of the various WCM practices currently used in organization.

(James,1998), indicate that the financial status of Abbot Laborataries based on an analysis of their liquidity, slovency and profitability and asset management ratios. These financial ratios shows that Abbot has solid financial policies, despiter a significant

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increase in short term borrowings in 1994; however, this is most likely a short term effect of the companys strategic reorganization to target its core business sectors and of the purchases and acquisitions that have not yet had the time to show their profitability.

(Brigham and Houston 2000) Larger amount of cash, securities, accounts receivables, marketable securities, inventories and fixed assets will be needed to support increased sales required levels will be based on expected sales levels ane expected order lead times. Additional holdings may be needed to enable the firm to deal with departures from the expected values. Further firms will also attempt to increase their accounts payable balances as a means of financing increased levels of operating assets to support subsequent growth, while at the same time attempting to maintain adequate performance indicators.

(peterson and Rajan, 1997): This study provides further evidence that good working capital management is positively associated with better operating performance. Higher levels of accounts receivables are associated with higher operating performance, in all three growth rate categories. This study also finds that maintaining control over levels of cash, securities, inventory, fixed assets, and accounts payable is associated with higher operating performance. The firms which are experiencing very high growth will hold higher level of cash, securities, inventory and fixed assets and accounts payable to support the high growth. This, in turn, increases financial and operating risk for these firms. Perhaps IPO firms should stay more focused on their operating performance, while maintaining more moderate growth levels.

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FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

The study shows that working capital management in Metal Inddustries Ltd is satisfactory.

The company is maintaining adequate liquidity level to meet its liability.

The company has maintained an average of 1.23 :1 in the case of current ratio which is not satisfactory because the standard current ratio is 2:1.

The Quick Ratio of the company is considered satisfactory because the company is maintained an average of 1.38:1 and the standard quick ratio is 1:1.

Cash ratio of the company is increasing, that means the availability of cash increasing for meeting the current liablities.

The companys debtors turnover ratio has a decreasing trend which shows inefficiency of the company to collect the cash from the debtors quickly.

The creditors turnoverr ratio shows a mixed trend and this indicates that the firm is not following neither a stringent nor liberal policy and higher APP increases the cash position of the firm.

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By analysing the working capital turnover ratio it is found that the company utilizes less amount of working capital for generating sales.

Inventrory turnover ratio is in slightly increasing, that means raw materials are converted into sales slowly and the inventories are over stocked.

The fixed asset turnover ratio is decreasing, which shows the efficiency in utilization of capital and it would lead to lesser profitability.

By looking the current assets to total assets ratio we can see that the proportion of current asset in total asset is very high.

The cash to current asset ratio shows that the company holds more amount of cash.

Lower current asset turnover ratio indicates the company is utilizing less current assets to generate sales.

Working capital gap ratio is decreasing, in 2010 the ratio is 0.72 that means the proposition of working capital in current asset is decreasing.

Gross profit ratio of the company is decreasing, this indicates the inefficiency of the management.

The net profit ratio is decreasing trend, some times it goes to loss stage, which means that it reduces the profitability of the firm.

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SUGGESTIONS

As the current ratio of the company is not satisfactory, the company should improve its short term liquidity position either by increasing current assets or reducing current liabilities.

Net profit of the company can be increased by decreasing the manufacturing cost with the help of an effective cost management system.

The company should think of modernization and diversification programmes, otherwise it would not be able to withstand in the competition.

When compared to sales the company is maintaining huge investment in fixed asset. So the company should either sell the unnecessary fixed asset or increasing the plant capacity.

Debtors collection period had to be reduced, at least 60 days otherwise the chance of them turning bad would be high. By adopting proper credit policy from time to time for avoding this situation in the company.

The firm should identify the various investment avenues suitable to it. A well planned collection programme should be adopted so as to reduce the amount of receivables.

The management of inventory should ensure that no inventories are lying in stock for long time.

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CONCLUSION

Finance is the king-pin of any business enterprise. Every part of an enterprise production, distribution, management, etc requires finance. Working capital

management is the management of the current asset. The study of the working capital will helps to identify the liquidity and overall efficiency of the firm. From this study we can conclude that the working capital management of Metal Industries Ltd is not satisfactory. The company should give some attention to manage the fixed asset, cash and net profit and also control overstocking. When the company manages its

inventory, cash and receivables efficiently we can say that working capital management is efficient.

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BIBLOGRAPHY

PRASANNA CHANDRA, fundamentals of Financial Management, New Delhi, Tata McGraw- Hill Publishing Company Ltd., 1998. KHAN & JAIN, Financial Management (Third Edition), New Delhi, Tata McGraw- Hill Publishing Company Ltd., 1999. V.K BHALLA, Working Capital Management (11th revised & enlarged Edition), New Delhi, Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd., 2010. C.R KOTHARI, Research Methodology and Techniques Second Revised Edition), New Delhi, New Age International Publishers, 2004 Annual reports- METIND, Shoranur.

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WEBLIOGRAPHY

WWW.FINANCE. INDIAMART.COM WWW. METIND.COM WWW.ANSWERS.COM WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG http://www.essays.se/about/working capital+management+thesis/

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