POSITIONING INDIA’S MACHINE TOOL SECTOR ON THE GLOBAL MAP

IMTEX FORMING 2026, along with its concurrent shows Tooltech, Digital Manufacturing, and Weldexpo, concluded on a highly optimistic note, reinforcing its position as Asia’s leading exhibition for metal forming and manufacturing technologies. Organized by Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association, the five-day event was a vibrant showcase of the growing momentum of India’s manufacturing sector.

Held from January 21–25, 2026, at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), IMTEX FORMING 2026 witnessed a significant expansion over its previous edition. Spanning 48,000 sq mt, the show brought together 714 exhibitors from 24 countries, including country pavilions from Germany, Italy, Japan, and Taiwan.

Parallel events: i2 Academia Pavilion featuring 32 colleges and around 70 participants from 24 cities; Manufacturing Technology Quiz Contest featuring around 50 participants from 11 colleges; and Jagruti-IMTMA Youth Programme, to encourage students to pursue a career in machine tool and manufacturing technology, also generated a good response. Around 1,200 delegates from 272 organizations visited the exhibition as trade delegations.

Moldex India and Fastenex, organized by Messe Stuttgart, and the Symposium on Welding for a Greener Tomorrow, organized by the Indian Institute of Welding, were co-located with IMTEX FORMING 2026.

Setting the Right Tone

The event was inaugurated by Dr S Rajkumar, President – Engine Component Division, Rane (Madras) Ltd, and Tarun Mehta, Co-founder & CEO, Ather Energy in the presence of Jamshyd N Godrej, Chairman – Exhibitions, IMTMA; Mohini Kelkar, President, IMTMA; and Vikram Salunke, Vice President, IMTMA, and Jibak Dasgupta, Director General & CEO, IMTMA & BIEC.

Delivering the welcome address, Godrej pointed to the growing recognition of the Machine Tool industry by the Government of India through various schemes and the role of IMTEX in strengthening trade and industrial growth.

Commenting on India’s global position, he added, “Our Machine Tool sector will need to import specific machine tools, but we also need to count on our machines being exported to other regions in Europe, USA and so on. As far as technological competence is concerned, we are now at par with other global machine tool manufacturers.”

Reinforcing this outlook, Dasgupta said, “The Indian Machine Tool Manufacturing industry is growing at a rapid pace. Although all nations understand the need for manufacturing, hardly 20 countries maintain a separate Machine Tool sector. India sits in the top 10 in this list.”

He added, “IMTEX creates a platform to harness our Machine Tool industry’s capability and present the best and latest technology from abroad.”

Speaking on the relevance of IMTEX for end users, Dr Rajkumar said, “We have been visiting IMTEX continuously and consider it a stage to validate our technologies and source machines,” he said.

Mehta emphasized the importance of advanced manufacturing, material innovation, and sustained R&D in strengthening India’s manufacturing capabilities.

Kelkar highlighted the growth of the metal forming segment, noting its increasing share in the Indian machine tool market and its strong potential for future expansion. “The world is looking for Indian machine tools, and these machines have become an integral part of supply chains around the world. While it is true that we are importing several machine tools, we are also exporting machinery to other countries,” she noted.

International Seminar on Forming Technology 2026

Held alongside IMTEX FORMING 2026, the 9^th edition of the International Seminar on Forming Technology (ISFT) 2026 brought together around 210 delegates from across the manufacturing ecosystem, including production heads, plant managers, tooling specialists, and R&D professionals.

Powering India’s Hi-Tech Manufacturing

IMTMA and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) jointly organized the ‘IMTMA-SIDM CXO Round Table on Hi-Tech Manufacturing for Defence & Aerospace’, during IMTEX FORMING 2026, bringing together senior leaders from the Defence industry, DPSUs, Tier-1 integrators, and machine tool manufacturers to discuss and align on key manufacturing requirements, capability expectations, and the future roadmap for collaboration. This initiative aimed to enable co-development, pilot projects, and long-term supplier partnerships as well as support India’s goals of self-reliance, cost competitiveness, and export readiness.

Awards & Accolades

IMTEX FORMING 2026 also celebrated excellence across the machine tool and manufacturing ecosystem, with IMTMA conferring a series of prestigious awards.

The IMTMA–Cooper Award for Outstanding Supply Chain Unit, instituted in memory of Sir D. B. Cooper, was presented to Rajamane Industries Pvt Ltd.

The IMTMA–Premier Outstanding Entrepreneur Award, instituted in memory of Vinod Doshi, was conferred on TK Karuppannaswamy, Founder & Chairman of Barani Hydraulics India Pvt Ltd.

The IMTMA Best Design Award 2026 recognized excellence in indigenous product development. Electro Pneumatics and Hydraulics (India) Pvt Ltd was awarded for its rotary draw tube bender and ISGEC Heavy Engineering Ltd for its 3000T mechanical transfer press.

In the area of global outreach, the IMTMA Export Performance Award, instituted in memory of Shailesh R. Sheth, was awarded to Ace Designers Ltd (Metal Cutting), Barani Hydraulics India Pvt Ltd (Metal Forming), and Electronica Mechatronic Systems (India) Pvt Ltd (Accessories), underscoring their strong contribution to India’s export growth.

Manufacturing Technology Quiz: The Manufacturing Technology Quiz Contest saw participation from 50 students representing 11 colleges, testing their knowledge across manufacturing processes, forging, industry terminology, and technical concepts. NMAM Institute of Technology, Udupi, emerged as the overall winner, followed by SSN College of Engineering, Chennai.

i2 Academia Awards:  The i2 Academia Awards recognized innovation-led research presented by participating institutions. IIT Tirupati won the top jury-decided i2 Academia Award, followed by KLS Gogte Institute of Technology, Belagavi, while SSN College of Engineering, Chennai, secured third place and also won the audience-voted Popular Choice Award.

Strong Footfall, Quality Engagement Signal Positive Industry Momentum

Industry participants at IMTEX FORMING 2026 described the edition as highly encouraging, citing strong visitor turnout, meaningful engagement, and a clear shift toward advanced manufacturing technologies. Davide Della Bella, General Manager, UCIMU – SISTEMI PER PRODURRE, called the show ‘a great opportunity’ for Italian machine tool builders to deepen their presence in India, adding.

Harmeet Chawla, CEO & R&D Head, Singhal Power Presses Pvt Ltd, said the experience was overwhelmingly positive. “We received a strong footfall and meaningful engagement with a high-quality visitor profile,” he noted.

Nishikant Ahire, Chairman & Managing Director, Ahire Machine Tools Pvt Ltd, noted that the exhibition enables companies to meet a wide cross-section of customers under one roof, with consistently strong engagement across days.

A notable takeaway this year was the increase in both volume and seriousness of enquiries. Sunil Khosla, Managing Director, Hindustan Hydraulics Pvt Ltd, observed a 30–40 percent rise in footfall compared to the previous edition, alongside more focused customer discussions. Echoing this, Davide Andreoli, Senior Technical Sales Manager, Faccin Group, described the response as exceptionally strong, with continuous customer interactions throughout the show.

Participants also highlighted a clear technology shift, with automation, AI, and robotics taking center stage. Sameer Kelkar, CEO, Grind Master Machines Pvt Ltd, pointed to the growing presence of AI- and machine learning-based solutions, alongside increased automation in material handling and production processes, while also noting the need for further development of core technologies in India.

Marking its debut, Kawasaki Robotics India Pvt Ltd underscored the expanding adoption of industrial robotics beyond automotive applications into broader manufacturing sectors.

Overall, participants viewed IMTEX FORMING 2026 as a barometer of India’s manufacturing momentum—reinforcing the exhibition’s role as a platform for complete manufacturing ecosystems rather than standalone technologies.

Poonam Pednekar Chief Copy Editor Magic Wand Media Inc poonam.pednekar@magicwandmedia.in