19SEPTEMBER 2026IAT is not presenting itself as a forecaster of commodity markets; it is helping customers separate the commercial decision to accept an order from an uncontrolled bet on where aluminium prices may subsequently moveexclusive dies and sections for OEMs and application-specific requirements, allowing engagement to begin at development rather than after a standard profile has been selected. "Our philosophy is to ask, `How can we solve this requirement?' rather than simply, `What can we sell?' A customer may need a single piece for a trial, while another may require hundreds of tonnes for an industrial project. Both requirements receive the same seriousness from us", states Neeraj.Managing the Price VariableThat alignment becomes harder when the underlying commodity itself is volatile. Aluminium prices respond to global supply and demand, LME movements, currency fluctuations, energy costs, inventories and geopolitical developments. For a manufacturer quoting a fixed-price project today and purchasing metal weeks later, the movement between those dates can materially alter the margin.IAT is addressing that exposure by adding LME- and MCX-linked pricing models and hedging structures to its procurement capabilities. Appropriate MCX hedging can help customers manage metal-price exposure and, where the commercial structure permits, create greater certainty over aluminium cost during an order cycle.The distinction is important. IAT is not presenting itself as a forecaster of commodity markets; it is helping customers separate the commercial decision to accept an order from an uncontrolled bet on where aluminium prices may subsequently move.Technology is making that capability more systematic. Data is being used to analyse buying patterns, sharpen inventory decisions, manage enquiries and automate follow-ups, allowing knowledge accumulated over five decades to become less dependent on individual memory and more readily scalable across the organisation."Our job is not to predict every movement in aluminium prices; it is to help customers manage the consequences of those movements. We combine market intelligence, price modelling, MCX/LME-linked pricing and hedging, sourcing relationships and inventory planning so customers can focus on their manufacturing and business", adds Neeraj. Building the Third GenerationIAT's next chapter is being shaped by a generational transition as much as geographic expansion. Neeraj remains focused on carrying forward relationships and experience built over decades, while the third generation is introducing a different set of capabilities.Utkarsh Agarwal, with an MSc in Strategic Management & Planning from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and previous experience at EY in Dublin, is bringing greater structure, technology and strategic management into the organisation. Ekansh Agarwal, whose background is in Supply Chain Management from TU Darmstadt, is based in Germany and contributes to the group's emerging international direction. IAT's website similarly identifies the third generation as central to its adoption of new technologies and systems.That international ambition is taking shape through group company HandelsBridge, conceived to connect Indian manufacturers with European markets while helping European businesses source from India. The logic extends beyond creating another trading channel: helping an Indian manufacturer win overseas business can increase its production, and consequently deepen the aluminium ecosystem IAT already serves."We want to retain the trust and relationships built over 55 years while creating a more technology-driven, professionally managed and globally connected organisation. We don't want to simply sell more aluminium. We want to participate in the growth journeys of the businesses we serve", concludes Neeraj. For IAT, completing 55 years is not simply a marker of longevity; it provides the foundation from which the company is recasting aluminium distribution as a more connected, intelligent and commercially useful part of manufacturing.
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