Iran Makes Inroads Into Automotive Parts Industry

With an investment of 1.2 trillion rials ($28.5 million), Iran’s first die-casting mold factory has started operations in the northwestern city of Tabriz. The project aims to cater to the needs of Iran’s growing auto industry and curb the country’s overreliance on foreign suppliers.
The production facility has been set up by the Iran Tractor Forging Company (ITFCO) and the financial support of Iran Khodro in a 1,800-square-meter industrial shed.
ITFCO’s board chairman Majid Buveili says, “The factory will obviate the need for imports of molds for engine parts such as cylinder heads and cylinder blocks,” reported Entekhab news website.
The production facility was inaugurated on April 24, during a ceremony attended by Industries Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari, CEO of Iran Khodro Hashem Yekezareh and the online attendance of President Hassan Rouhani via a video conference. The factory is gradually going into full swing.
According to Buveili, the cost for the establishment of the factory has amounted to $28.5 million. The unit has generated 80 direct and 200 indirect employment opportunities.
The general concept of the plant first germinated in 2015. ITFCO has collaborated with unnamed German and Italian firms to open the production facility equipped with 27 machines for high-pressure and gravity die-casting. 
Buveili says, “The whole process took 14 months from inception and import of the machines to inauguration.’