Wire and Cable India: VMI Group had announced plans to increase its aluminium winding-wire production capacity to 25,000 TPA. How far have you progressed, and what has the latest expansion enabled?
Abhinav Goyal: The expansion has progressed successfully. Before this phase of investment, our annual production was approximately 14,000-15,000 tonnes. Following the commissioning of our new manufacturing unit in December 2025, our current annualised production has increased to approximately 25,000 tonnes. Our installed capacity is now approximately 36,000 tonnes per annum, depending on the product mix, conductor dimensions, insulation construction and operating schedule.
The importance of this investment goes beyond the headline capacity. Aluminium winding conductors are a high-mix product category – changes in conductor geometry, temper, insulation build, coil configuration or customer specifications alter the process window and production planning. The expanded facility gives us the flexibility to handle both large-volume programmes and specialised orders while maintaining dimensional accuracy, electrical consistency and reliable delivery.
It has also strengthened our ability to serve several markets simultaneously, including distribution and power transformers, fans, inverters, appliances and the organised trade channel. This scale, supported by application-specific manufacturing capability, has placed VM Insulation among India’s largest aluminium winding-conductor manufacturers. For us, the expansion represents a transition from volume-led manufacturing to application-led scale.
WCI: How has VMI Group evolved from its traditional copper business into a major aluminium winding-wire manufacturer, and what does the present portfolio include?
AG: VMI Group was traditionally a manufacturer of copper rods, conductors, busbars and other related copper products. These operations have been running successfully for many years and continue to form an important part of the Group’s manufacturing base. The experience developed through non-ferrous metallurgy, wire drawing, annealing, profiling, process control and nationwide distribution created the technical and commercial foundation for our next phase of growth.
The aluminium winding-wire division was added in 2017 under the VM Insulation brand. It was a strategic addition to our established copper business, not a replacement for it. Since then, we have built a broad aluminium winding-conductor portfolio comprising super enamelled round winding wires, enamelled rectangular strips, bare round and rectangular conductors, aluminium DPC wires and strips, thermally upgraded paper-covered and Nomex-covered conductors, fibre-glass-covered conductors, aluminium busbars, and thin bare aluminium winding strips or foil. We also develop customised conductor dimensions, insulation constructions and winding formats to meet specific customer applications.
The wider Group combines complementary manufacturing businesses. Vidya Metal Mfg. Co. Pvt. Ltd. provides the Group’s long-established copper manufacturing base, while VM Insulation is focused on aluminium winding wires and related value-added conductors. Alliance Copper Concepts Pvt. Ltd. adds specialised conductor-processing and enamelling capabilities. VMI Plastic Pvt. Ltd., operating under the SUNLITE brand, manufactures a wide range of engineered plastic and polycarbonate products, including solid, corrugated, multiwall and multicell sheets and panels, roofing and ventilation products, polycarbonate tubes, bottles and jars, suitcase-frame components, and safety products such as shields and batons.
Although these businesses serve different markets, they share a common operating philosophy: disciplined materials processing, in-house technical capability, consistent quality and strong channel relationships. This combination gives the Group both industrial depth and market reach.
WCI: How are emerging sectors creating new growth opportunities for VM Insulation, and how are you aligning the portfolio with their requirements?
AG: The opportunity for aluminium is expanding, but each sector must be approached through application engineering rather than simple metal substitution. A transformer, a fan motor, an inverter magnetic component and an appliance motor have different electrical, thermal, mechanical and winding requirements. Our task is to engineer the appropriate conductor geometry, temper, insulation system, winding behaviour and termination method for each platform.
Transformers and grid infrastructure Distribution and power transformers remain one of our core markets. We are a market-leading supplier of aluminium enamelled wires, rectangular strips and DPC conductors to the transformer industry, serving manufacturers across India according to their design and utility requirements. In this segment, dimensional tolerances, edge profile, conductor resistance, paper coverage and insulation build must remain consistent because they directly influence winding-window utilisation, losses and coil reliability.
The outlook for the transformer industry is positive. India is continuing to invest in distribution-system modernisation, renewable-energy integration, industrial capacity, urban infrastructure and replacement of ageing electrical assets. These developments support sustained demand for distribution and power transformers, while the focus on lower losses and greater reliability increases the importance of technically consistent winding conductors.
Fans and copper-to-aluminium conversion We have recently entered the fan industry and have worked with manufacturers to convert selected motor platforms from copper to aluminium winding conductors. A successful conversion is not a one-to-one replacement. It requires optimisation of conductor cross-section, number of turns, winding resistance, slot-fill factor, I2R losses, temperature rise, enamel performance, high-speed windability and termination reliability. Our technical team supports customers through sampling, winding trials, electro-thermal evaluation and production validation.
The fan market is moving towards higher energy efficiency, better motor design, BLDC technology and tighter cost-performance targets. This creates an important opportunity for aluminium, provided the conductor and motor are engineered as a complete system. Our objective is to build a meaningful and long-term position in this division by working closely with OEMs rather than presenting aluminium merely as a lower-cost alternative.
Inverters, appliances and other electrical equipment We have added thin bare aluminium winding strips, also referred to commercially as aluminium winding foil, for selected inverter and power-magnetic applications. For these products, width and thickness tolerance, soft temper, surface cleanliness, edge quality, burr control and coil build are critical. The addressable applications include inverter transformers, UPS systems, stab
Source: wirecable
