November 27-30, Yizumi and its Iranian sales agent participated in Iran METAFO 2013, which drew the attention of die casting manufacturers in Iran.

Before introducing the exhibition, we have to get an understanding of Iran’s current situation.

Iran, a country in the Middle East, is known for its rich oil resources and political tension with U.S. and European countries. Despite great market potential, economic sanctions bring Iran difficulties in fund transfer, fluctuant exchange rate and slowdown in economic development. 

Sanctions result in unstable exchange rate, shortage of international currency and a drag on Iran’s economy and die casting industry. Because of low oil price and lack of introduction of new technology and car models due to sanctions, there are very few demands for new eco cars in Iran; and more than half of vehicles running on the road are old. Iran’s automotive industry becomes stagnant, having a negative influence on the die casting industry as it has over 50% products supplied to automobile factories.

In addition, sanctions from western countries cause the soaring cost of Iran’s import. Many Iranian importers are impelled to cooperate with local manufacturers instead of doing import business, which promotes the development of Iran’s commodity manufacturing, especially radiators and kitchenware manufacturing that has great demands for die cast parts. New demands for die casting equipment cover the shortage of orders from auto parts industry to some extent; and second-hand die casting equipment is in a greater need. 

Annual Iran METAFO together with the auto part exhibition was held under such market conditions. The event attracted a large number of exhibitors and audience.

As the exchange rate surges, many customers cannot afford expensive European and Japanese machines and few of which were shown in the exhibition. Despite the lower price, local customers do not have a strong desire to buy Chinese machines either, as their quality varies greatly. Very few Chinese die casting machines, especially the cold-chamber ones, manage to go to the Iranian market. Though the most expensive among Chinese counterparts, Yizumi’s die casting machines have top performance and quality and are widely recognized by the Iranian market. Therefore, Yizumi became the only Chinese exhibitor in IRAN METAFO 2013.

At the trade show, Yizumi displayed a standard 90 ton hot chamber die casting machine with a burner, which drew the attention of numerous audience. During the 4-day event, Yizumi received a large number of name cards from customers.

There are certainly difficulties on the path of developing the Iranian market. On one hand, customers who want to cut costs will prefer used European equipment locally. On the other hand, customers who buy foreign new equipment have to make remittance at great costs due to the shortage of foreign exchange resulting from continuous sanctions on Iran. With a high performance-price ratio and successful promotion at METAFO 2013, Yizumi’s die casting machines are believed to stand their ground and become more popular in Iran.