C E R T I F I E D

AUTOMATIONHAAS

INDIA

The largest machine tool builder in North America grew from a simple idea. In 1983, Gene Haas

developed the first programmable rotary indexer to position parts for machining in his own shop. From

that first product through the more than125,000 Haas CNC machines installed today, our philosophy has

remained consistent:

Build the best products possible for the broadest market, and offer them at competitive prices. We have

built on this concept for more than two decades. Our 1-million-square-foot design and manufacturing

facility is evidence of the Haas commitment to our customers’ success.

Haas Automation builds an extensive line of CNC (computer numerical control) machine tools, including

vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables. Every American-made

Haas machine is the direct result of a strong product vision, an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for

design innovation.

To control costs and component availability, while providing our customers with the best value in the

industry, we manufacture all critical components in-house. By taking full advantage of today’s

sophisticated state-of the art manufacturing

technologies, we deliver machines that

consistently exceed our customers’ expectations

for productivity, reliability and affordability.

The Haas manufacturing facility currently

exceeds 1 million square feet, with a production

capacity of more than 1,200 machines per month.

To meet the growing worldwide demand for Haas

products, production levels will continue to grow,

with a goal of building 1,300 machines per month

by the end of 2008.

We’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of our customers in India much success in your current and future business ventures. Haas Automation, Inc., has

always been driven by the needs of our customers, and this has formed the foundation of our business model. By focusing our resources on providing quality

products and unmatched service and support, we offer our customers a level of value they cannot find anywhere else.

In today’s highly competitive marketplace, companies must find ways to differentiate themselves if they are to maintain an economic advantage, and offering

superior customer service can provide a distinct edge. What works today, though, may not work tomorrow. The industry and the world are continually changing,

and it is evident that we must draw fresh perspectives from the knowledge and information around us if we are to adapt to that change. The next important step is

to share that knowledge: It is the only way to bring together the successful achievers of today with the innovative ground breakers of tomorrow.

We are pleased to present this CNC Technology Trends booklet highlighting how some leading engineering companies in India are using Haas CNC technology

in state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities to produce high quality products designed for a worldwide marketplace.

For more information about Haas Automation, please contact us at: haascnc@HaasCNC.com.

A Few Words...

Robert MurrayGeneral Manager, Haas Automation, Inc.

AUTOMATIONHAAS

Office MillsOM-1A 8" x 8" x 12" (xyz)

203 x 203 x 305 mm

OM-2A 12" x 10" x 12" (xyz)

305 x 254 x 305 mm

Toolroom MillsTM-1 30" x 12" x 16" (xyz)

762 x 305 x 406 mm

TM-1P 30" x 12" x 16" (xyz)

w/Toolchanger 762 x 305 x 406 mm

TM-2 40" x 16" x 16" (xyz)

1016 x 406 x 406 mm

TM-2P 40" x 16" x 16" (xyz)

w/Toolchanger 1016 x 406 x 406 mm

TM-3 40" x 20" x 16" (xyz)

1016 x 508 x 406 mm

TM-3P 40" x 20" x 16" (xyz)

w/Toolchanger 1016 x 508 x 406 mm

Mini VMCsMini Mill 16" x 12" x 10" (xyz)

406 x 305 x 254 mm

Mini Mill 2 20" x 16" x 14" (xyz)

508 x 406 x 356 mm

Super Mini Mill 16" x 12" x 10" (xyz)

406 x 305 x 254 mm

Super Mini Mill 2 20" x 16" x 14" (xyz)

508 x 406 x 356 mm

40-Taper Standard VMCsVF-1 20" x 16" x 20" (xyz)

508 x 406 x 508 mm

VF-1YT 20" x 20" x 20" (xyz)

508 x 508 x 508 mm

VF-2 30" x 16" x 20" (xyz)

762 x 406 x 508 mm

VF-2YT 30" x 20" x 20" (xyz)

762 x 508 x 508 mm

VF-3 40" x 20" x 25" (xyz)

1016 x 508 x 635 mm

VF-3YT 40" x 26" x 25" (xyz)

1016 x 660 x 635 mm

VF-4 50" x 20" x 25" (xyz)

1270 x 508 x 635 mm

VF-5 50" x 26" x 25" (xyz)

1270 x 660 x 635 mm

VF-5XT 60" x 26" x 25" (xyz)

1524 x 660 x 635 mm

VF-6 64" x 32" x 30" (xyz)

1626 x 813 x 762 mm

VF-7 84" x 32" x 30" (xyz)

2134 x 813 x 762 mm

VF-8 64" x 40" x 30" (xyz)

1626 x 1016 x 762 mm

VF-9 84" x 40" x 30" (xyz)

2134 x 1016 x 762 mm

VF-10 120" x 32" x 30" (xyz)

3048 x 813 x 762 mm

VF-11 120" x 40" x 30" (xyz)

3048 x 1016 x 762 mm

VF-12 150" x 32" x 30" (xyz)

3810 x 813 x 762 mm

50-Taper Standard VMCsVF-3YT/50 40" x 26" x 25" (xyz)

1016 x 660 x 635 mm

VF-5/50 50" x 26" x 25" (xyz)

1270 x 660 x 635 mm

VF-5/50XT 60" x 26" x 25" (xyz)

1524 x 660 x 635 mm

VF-6/50 64" x 32" x 30" (xyz)

1626 x 813 x 762 mm

VF-7/50 84" x 32" x 30" (xyz)

2134 x 813 x 762 mm

VF-8/50 64" x 40" x 30" (xyz)

1626 x 1016 x 762 mm

VF-9/50 84" x 40" x 30" (xyz)

2134 x 1016 x 762 mm

VF-10/50 120" x 32" x 30" (xyz)

3048 x 813 x 762 mm

VF-11/50 120" x 40" x 30" (xyz)

3048 x 1016 x 762 mm

VF-12/50 150" x 32" x 30" (xyz)

3810 x 813 x 762 mm

Large-Capacity VMCsVS-1 84" x 50" x 50" (xyz)

2134 x 1270 x 1270 mm

VS-3 150" x 50" x 50" (xyz)

3810 x 1270 x 1270 mm

5-Axis VMCsVF-2TR 30" x 16" x 20" (xyz)

762 x 406 x 508 mm

VF-5TR 38" x 26" x 25" (xyz)

965 x 660 x 635 mm

VF-5/50TR 38" x 26" x 25" (xyz)

965 x 660 x 635 mm

VF-6TR 64" x 32" x 30" (xyz)

1626 x 813 x 762 mm

VF-6/50TR 64" x 32" x 30" (xyz)

1626 x 813 x 762 mm

VR-8 64" x 40" x 30" (xyz)

1626 x 1016 x 762 mm

VR-11 120" x 40" x 30" (xyz)

3048 x 1016 x 762 mm

VMCs with APC(Automatic Pallet Changer)

VF-3APC 40" x 20" x 25" (xyz)

1016 x 508 x 635 mm

VF-3SSAPC 40" x20" x 25" (xyz)

1016 x 508 x 635 mm

VF-4APC 50" x 20" x 25" (xyz)

1270 x 508 x 635 mm

VF-4SSAPC 50" x 20" x 25" (xyz)

1270 x 508 x 635 mm

Super-Speed VMCsVF-2SS 30" x 16" x 20" (xyz)

762 x 406 x 508 mm

VF-2SSYT 30" x 20" x 20" (xyz)

762 x 508x 508 mm

VF-3SS 40" x 20" x 25" (xyz)

1016 x 508 x 635 mm

VF-3SSYT 40" x 26" x 25" (xyz)

1016 x 660 x 635 mm

VF-4SS 50" x 20" x 25" (xyz)

1270 x 508 x 635 mm

VF-5SS 50" x 26" x 25" (xyz)

1270 x 660 x 635 mm

VF-6SS 64" x 32" x 30" (xyz)

1626 x 813 x 762 mm

Mold MachinesVM-2 30" x 20" x 20" (xyz)

762 x 508 x 508 mm

VM-3 40" x 26" x 25" (xyz)

1016 x 660 x 635 mm

VM-6 64" x 32" x 30" (xyz)

1626 x 813 x 762 mm

Mill Drill CenterMDC-500 20" x 14" x 20" (xyz)

508 x 356 x 508 mm

Drill/Tap CenterDT-1 20" x 16" x 15.5" (xyz)

508 x 406 x 394 mm

GantrySR-100 100" x 52" x 8" (xyz)

2540 x 1321 x 203 mm

GR-510 121" x 61" x 11" (xyz)

3073 x 1549 x 279 mm

GR-712 145" x 85" x 11" (xyz)

3683 x 2159 x 279 mm

Machines shown with optional equipment. Specifications subject to change without notice. Machines not shown to scale.

VERTICAL MACHINING CENTERS

VERTICAL MACHINING CENTERS

Machines shown with optional equipment. Specifications subject to change without notice. Machines not shown to scale.

Office Lathe

OL-1 12" x 8" (xz)

305 x 203 mm

6" Chuck Machines

ST-10 11.25" x 14" (max cap)

286 x 356 mm

ST-10Y 9" x 14" (max cap)

229 x 356 mm

8" Chuck Machines

ST-20 15" x 21" (max cap)

381 x 533 mm

ST-20SS 10" x 21" (max cap)

254 x 533 mm

ST-20Y 12" x 21" (max cap)

Y axis 305 x 533 mm

ST-20SSY 10" x 21" (max cap)

Y axis 254 x 533 mm

10" Chuck Machines

ST-30 21" x 26" (max cap)

533 x 660 mm

ST-30SS 16" x 26" (max cap)

406 x 660 mm

ST-30Y 18" x 23" (max cap)

Y axis 457 x 584 mm

ST-30SSY 16" x 23" (max cap)

Y axis 406 x 584 mm

15" Chuck Machines

ST-40 25.5" x 44" (max cap)

648 x 1118 mm

ST-40L 25.5" x 80" (max cap)

648 x 2032 mm

Toolroom Lathes

TL-1 16" x 29" (max cap)

406 x 737 mm

TL-2 16" x 48" (max cap)

406 x 1219 mm

TL-3 20" x 60" (max cap)

508 x 1524 mm

TL-3B 30" x 60" (max cap)

Big Bore 762 x 1524 mm

TL-3W 30" x 60" (max cap)

Wide Swing 762 x 1524 mm

TL-4 35" x 71.5" (max cap)

889 x 1816 mm

TL-4L 35" x 133" (max cap)

889 x 3378 mm

Dual-Spindle Machines

DS-30 18" x 26" (max cap)

457 x 660 mm

DS-30SS 16" x 26" (max cap)

406 x 660 mm

DS-30Y 18" x 23" (max cap)

Y axis 457 x 584 mm

DS-30SSY 16" x 23" (max cap)

Y axis 406 x 584 mm

High-Productivity TurningServo Bar 300

(Available on all lathes except Toolroom Lathes)

Compact HMCES-5 40" x 18" x 22" (xyz)

1016 x 457 x 559 mm

Several configurations available.

Pallet-Changing HMCsEC-300 20" x 18" x 14" (xyz)

508 x 457 x 356 mm

EC-400 20" x 20" x 20" (xyz)

508 x 508 x 508 mm

EC-400PP 20" x 20" x 20" (xyz)

w/ Pallet Pool 508 x 508 x 508 mm

EC-500 32" x 20" x 28" (xyz)

813 x 508 x 711 mm

Large-Capacity HMCsEC-1600 64" x 50" x 32" (xyz)

1626 x 1270 x 813 mm

EC-1600YZT 64" x 50" x 40" (xyz)

1626 x 1270 x 1016 mm

Extra-Large-Capacity HMCsHS-3 150" x 50" x 60" (xyz)

3810 x 1270 x 1524 mm

HS-3R 150" x 50" x 60" (xyz)

3810 x 1270 x 1524 mm

HS-4 150" x 66" x 60" (xyz)

3810 x 1676 x 1524 mm

HS-4R 150" x 66" x 60" (xyz)

3810 x 1676 x 1524 mm

HS-6 84" x 50" x 60" (xyz)

2134 x 1270 x 1524 mm

HS-6R 84" x 50" x 60" (xyz)

2134 x 1270 x 1524 mm

HS-7 84" x 66" x 60" (xyz)

2134 x 1676 x 1524 mm

HS-7R 84" x 66" x 60" (xyz)

2134 x 1676 x 1524 mm

Indexing TableHIT210

HRT320FB

High SpeedHRT160SSHRT210HS

HRT210SHS

HRT SPHRT160SPHRT210SPHRT310SP

HRT AHRTA5HRTA6

TRTTRT160TRT210

Servo ControlSingle Axis

Dual Axis

HA5CHA5CS

HA5CHA5C2HA5C3HA5C4HA2TS

T5CT5C

T5C2T5C3T5C4

HRTHRT110HRT160HRT210

HRT210MHRT310HRT450HRT600

HRT DualHRT160-2HRT210-2

TrunnionTR110TR160

TR160YTR210TR310

Trunnion Dual TR160-2

TURNING MACHINING CENTERS

HORIZONTAL MACHINING CENTERS

ROTARYSOLUTIONS

The order from CERN (the European

Organisation for Nuclear Research) was worth

over $1 million. Once the final parts were

delivered, the Indian subsidiary found itself with

the resources it needed for better and newer CNC machines.

“We were already in contact with the local Haas

distributor, who told us about a local company

using a Haas machine – a VF-3,” notes

Mr. Carvalho. “We went along and had a look at it.

We asked the owner his opinion of the machine,

and he was very enthusiastic. Personally, I was

impressed with the spindle power and the control.

I compared it to other machines, I talked to other

people, and the Haas seemed like a very a good

price for a machine with its features.”

In 2004, the company bought a VF-2SS: the first of

what would eventually turn out to be many Haas

CNC machine tools. But, Mr. Carvalho

remembers, it was hardly used for the first year.

“Most of the work we were doing around then was

5-axis. We didn't really have the work for the 4-axis

Haas,” he says, “but we took the opportunity to

learn how to get the most out of the machine, so

we used the time well.” *

Before long, Turbocam Pvt. was using the Haas

machine to rough-cut the turbines, and then

finished them on their 5-axis machines. “We used

the Haas to rough in two setups,” says

Mr. Carvalho, “and as a result, our roughing times

decreased substantially. We saw that the Haas

machine was fast and reliable; it passed that test,

but we really needed to start using it to finish

machine the blades.”

By coincidence, some of the orders the company

received at that time were for less complex

turbines that could be machined using just four

axes. From this point onwards, the Haas was a

fully-fledged production machine. “In 2005 we cut

some test parts for Cummings,” says

Mr. Carvalho. “A little later, they gave us the green

light, saying: 'We are planning to go into

production in a year, and want you to produce

10,000 parts per month.' We needed to tool up, get

some more machines quickly.

Turbocam India- In the early 1990s,

U.S. precision engineering firm Turbocam Inc.

was being urged by a customer in India to take

advantage of new, more relaxed FDI legislation,

and open a factory in the country. The reasoning

was that the Indian company would have access

to the high-quality parts it needed, but would no

longer have to pay with foreign currency. In

exchange, Turbocam could gain a foothold in one

of the world's fastest growing economies. It was a

long-term investment with a degree of risk, but the

customer assured Turbocam he would keep the

new factory busy.

Subsidiaries are usually set-up in the image of the

parent company. Turbocam Inc. is a successful

and highly respected organisation, serving some

of the biggest and best-known names in the

aerospace, automotive, industrial, and marine

sectors with bladed production parts for turbo

machinery. When it established Turbocam Pvt.,

the factory was equipped with a make of

CNC machine tools the group's senior managers

knew and trusted.

“Back in the early days, we were very much

guided by the head-office in the U.S.,” says

Savio Carvalho, Director at Goa-based Turbocam

Pvt. “This included our choice of capital

equipment. However, I think a turning point came

in 2001, when we got a large order through

Turbocam Europe for 5-axis insulator segments

for the Large Hadron Collider, in Switzerland. We

eventually made about 60,000 parts, after which I think we 'grew-up' in the eyes of our American

principal. They saw that we could do a lot here.”

But, I'll be honest, I really can't say that everyone

voted to go with the Haas machines at that time.”

By early 2006, the company still hadn't decided

what machine tool to buy. Turbocam Pvt. was

convinced it should invest in the Haas machines,

but the head office in the U.S. had different ideas.

To build his case, Mr. Carvalho travelled to

Hannover to visit the Haas Automation Europe

booth at EMO, the biennial European

manufacturing show. From there, he flew on to the

U.S. headquarters in New Hampshire, where he

met with his colleagues and presented his

argument in favour of Haas machines. They

resisted.

“I told Terrence Miranda, Managing Director of

Haas India, that he had to convince the American's

to buy the Haas machines,” Mr. Carvalho says.

“So, he arranged with Haas Inc. to fly our technical

director, Keith Bainbrook, and our main machinist,

Elliot Wilkins, to the factory in Oxnard, California.”

Whatever their reservations, the visit changed

their minds. The company management

returned to New Hamshire with a very different

point-of-view.“They were really impressed with how the factory

was set-up. They saw how Haas builds its

machines; they saw how many Haas machines

the company uses on its own production line; they

were impressed with the spares and inventory

system, and the general philosophy at the

company. We resubmitted our proposal to the

head office, and they decided to give us the go-

ahead. We placed an order for eight Haas

machines – two lathes and six mills. Incredibly, our

American office promptly followed suit and also

bought eight Haas machines!”

A few years later and Turbocam owned sixteen

Haas mills and four lathes, all busy making up to

14,000 of the Cummings turbine parts every

month. “Originally, we turned this part from bar,”

Mr. Carvalho explains. ”But it wasn't very cost

effective, and created a lot of waste. Now, we ask

the customer to manufacture the forgings and

send us the components once they are rough

turned, so we can do the final turning. We check

every single component – the guys on the lathe do

this – before we move it up to the milling process.

Finally, every one finished component in eleven is

checked 100% in our air-conditioned CMM room.”

Quality control is vitally important. Turbocam's

customers are automotive companies like

Chrysler, Volvo, and other well-known names.

“They want to be sure that every part can go

straight to the production line,” says Mr. Carvalho,

“so our machining processes need to be robust

and stay within the CPKs, the control parameters.”

At the time of this writing, the company is expecting another delivery from Haas India. By April 2011, it will have 23 Haas mills: 22 VF-2SS and 1 VF-3SS. Plus, of course, the four Haas lathes. In a typical week, the machines are switched on at 6.30 am Monday morning and switched off at 10.30 pm Saturday. Sundays are set aside for preventive maintenance, and a well-earned break for the company's xx employees.

The southern state of Goa is surrounded by treasure: Inland, there are the hills of deep red earth, rich in minerals and ore deposits. Opposite,

on the westward side, the warm Arabian Sea laps

at beaches of white sand, where north-Europeans

come to escape the frigid winters of home.

Between them, the twin blessings of tourism and

mining have made Goa the wealthiest state on the

Asian subcontinent, with a per-capita GDP at least

twice the national average. For Turbocam, it's an

idyllic home, but the state's success also brings

challenges.

“There are many growth industries here,” says

Mr. Carvalho, “so it's not that easy to get the

people you need.” Those Goan workers who are

skilled often can't earn enough locally to keep up

with rising living costs, so they look overseas for

opportunities. It's well known that much of the

labour that built Dubai's skyline came from South

Asia. But the streets in the United Arab Emirates

are not always lined with gold. The work is

notoriously hard, and appalling safety and living

conditions have caught the attention of

organisations like Human Rights Watch. If they

had better options, perhaps some of these

workers could stay home and still provide for their

families.

“Turbocam is dedicated to investing in the people

and communities here. Of course, we want

employees to be loyal to us,” says Mr. Carvalho,

“but the firm was founded on Christian principles

and the company's mission statement reflects its

values.” In an open letter on its website, founder

Marian Noronha reflects on Turbocam's mission to

“give(s) generously to help those in need, locally,

nationally, and internationally.” The company's

philanthropic attitude is fundamental to the

way it does business, but it is also, fortuitously,

self-serving.

Conditions in India are changing fast. As salaries

and living conditions increase, inflation and costs

do so, too. Success, therefore, depends not only

on having access to the latest technology, but also

to a large extent on the education, skill level, and

well being of employees and their communities.

With its strong sense of corporate responsibility,

Turbocam is proving that FDI doesn't only make

good business sense, but can also help a

developing economy overcome more than just a

shortage of foreign currency.

Sidebar: The Logic of FDI - As recently as just 20 years ago, it was extremely difficult for an Indian technology company to source precision

manufactured parts from a non-national company. Buying from a U.S. supplier, for example, meant paying in dollars, and since the Indian government

had very small reserves of the currency, a bureaucratic and time-consuming approval process would often hinder or even scupper the transaction.

Indian OEMs were frustrated, not least by the dearth of indigenous companies who could supply the high-quality parts they needed. This in turn

prevented them from designing and creating products they could sell overseas, which meant, of course, they couldn't accrue reserves of valuable

foreign currency. It's a problem common in developing nations, and one that held back India's economy for many years.

One way for a country to break this kind of circular economic deadlock is for its government to encourage Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). By allowing

foreign firms to open a fully owned, local factory, national manufacturers no longer need to buy parts from abroad, which circumvents the need for

foreign currency. If the investing company also brings long-term vision, there are many other advantages, too – for the investor, the employees, and the

host community.

Turbocam India

There aren't many conglomerates left in the world that are as successful in so many disparate market sectors as Mumbai-based Godrej. From humble beginnings in the late 19th century, this well-regarded company, with its ubiquitous tricolour logo, is probably one of the best-known brands on the Indian sub-continent, making everything from engineering products to vegetarian soap to refrigerators.

moulds and dies used to manufacture countless

die cast aluminium parts for its myriad products.

Godrej owns 18 Haas CNC machine tools, five of

which are used in the tooling department, an

operation overseen by Mr. S. M. Nayak,

General Manager of Engineering Services.

“Three of the Haas vertical machining centres are

being used to make electrodes for our sinker EDM

machines,” he says. “The other two, VF-3s, are

used to make conventional moulds and

dies in steel.”

Godrej employs most of its 10,000 employees at

its expansive headquarters in Mumbai. The

campus is home for much of the company's

multifarious manufacturing activity and looks

more like an immaculately maintained suburb of

the country's second most populous city than the

base of a prolific manufacturer. Along its wide

streets are its factory blocks, each dedicated to a

different product or engineering service. Some of

them are unremarkable looking concrete buildings

of three or four stories. One or two are cavernous,

100-foot-high hangars with gaping doors that look

big enough to swallow an airship.

In one particularly neat enclave is the company's

glass-fronted showroom, where visitors can see

an example of each of the many domestic and

small-scale industrial products made nearby. In

addition to DVD players, washing machines,

microwave ovens, and kitchen tables, there are

walk-in safes, vending machines, office chairs –

even hospital beds. Products that aren't suitable

for display or won't fit in the showroom – animal

feed, edible oils, satellites, India's largest radio

telescope, and components for the country's

space program, are represented graphically or

using detailed scale models. It's a breathtaking

array, by any standard.

Our distinguished host for the day is

Mr. D K Sharma, Vice President Tooling Division

Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd. “Godrej is well-known

in many different industries,” he says. “It is vitally

important that we choose our technology partners

very carefully. We have several Haas CNC

machine tools, which I'm glad to say are versatile,

reliable and capable machines.”

A short walk from the showroom is the company's

busy tooling machine shop, where it makes the

Electrodes for EDM (electrical discharge

machining) sinker machines create an imprint or

cavity in a machined workpiece. Electrode holders

clamp the precision-machined, tungsten carbide

electrodes in place to ensure a high degree of

accuracy and repeatability. The process is

typically used when the surface finish of a

component and the dimensions of intricate

features are critical, which means the electrodes

themselves have to be very finely machined.

“Given the complexity of the electrodes and the

accuracy we need to achieve, we originally

thought we would have to buy high-end,

expensive European or Japanese machines,”

says Mr. Nayak, “until we discovered Haas. We

couldn't believe how capable they are; we have no

problems regularly achieving tolerances of 10

microns.”

Several of the company's other Haas machines

are employed in its lock-making division, where

they operate 24 hours a day in a production

configuration for a line of products that Godrej has

been making in one form or another for all of its

114 years. The division uses four Haas VF-2s,

two VF-2SS Super Speeds, and two SL-10 lathes.

Between them, they make pin cylinder locks in

brass and stainless steel. Tolerances are typically

20 to 50 microns and batches are 200 to 1000

units per shift, depending on the component being

machined. The VF-2 machines are fitted with two

rotary tables on each table, with different types of

fixtures to accommodate the wide-variety of part

shapes and sizes.

“We chose the Haas because we are always

looking for the top machines: good quality CNC

machine tools that are cost-effective, reliable, and

easy to operate,” says Mr. Nayak.

In the company's Precision Engineering Systems

(PES) division, Haas VF-3 machining centres are

used to make critical components, such as the

stator ring, hub, carrier arm, and disc rotor for wind

turbines, one of Godrej's latest and fastest-

growing manufacturing activities.

“Haas machines are reliable, user-friendly, and

flexible,” says S.M. Nayak. “We're already

achieving 65 to 70% cutting time, and we are

always looking for ways to make our operations

more efficient. We're also adding more capacity,”

he adds. “Later this year we will order two more

Haas VF-8 machines for our tooling division, and

one for the MHE division.”

The founding family and the senior managers

at Godrej know that the company's future depends

on helping India's disadvantaged. The challenge

is to do the right over the expedient, but without

sacrificing opportunity. Being privately owned

means Godrej can make its own judgement call.

Godrej's investment, relentless innovation and

wide-reaching philanthropy mean that it will play a

very important role in the socio-economic and

industrial development of India for at least another

100 years.

“Our company provides its employees and their

families with extensive social support,” says Mr.

D.K Sharma. “On our Mumbai campus there is a

purpose-built school, and a memorial hospital with

110 beds and a fully equipped intensive care unit.

There's also housing and accommodation for all

levels up to senior management, and even a hill-

top country club.

“The future of our country depends on the

intellectual capacity and the learning capability of

the young India,” concludes Mr. Sharma. “Twenty-

five percent of our company's shares are owned

by the Pirojsha Godrej Foundation Trust, which

provides communities around the country with

schooling, medical treatment, education, and

disaster relief.”

Godrej

Another successful, home grown Appasamy product is a YAG laser. After a cataract is removed and replaced with an interocular lens, it sometimes happens that the capsular bag becomes thicker and 'frosted' behind the lens, causing light to scatter before it reaches the retina. To alleviate the problem, a laser is used to perforate the opaque area of the capsule, allowing light to penetrate more readily. For 20-years, German optical company, Carl Zeiss, made the only YAG laser available in India, until Appassamy designed and built a lower-cost version.

“The YAG laser is another Appasamy success story,” says Mr. R.V Ravichandran. “Carl Zeiss only ever sold around 1600 YAG lasers. In the eight years since we launched our product, we have sold 1000 examples.”

Appasamy counts more than 10,000 Indian doctors as its customers, all of who are looking for lower-cost and simpler alternatives to imported products, such as ultrasound machines that used to cost $200-300,000, but that Appasamy now supplies for just $10,000.

The company's less-invasive system for replacing interocular lenses eliminates the need for surgical stitches, since the hole made to insert the lens is smaller than 5mm. The replacement lens is furled and injected into the eye, where it unfolds, like a ship in a bottle. By eliminating the need for stitches, the procedure is quicker and easier and there's less chance that the eye will deform and lose its shape. As well as making the lenses, Appasamy also makes the single-use syringes, whose moulds are machined on a Haas VF-2 Super Speed.

Appasamy Associates Group

For the past few decades, the Indian government's National Programme for the Control of Blindness has been working to reach those afflicted with cataracts, all over the country. Mr. R.V Ravichandran is General Manager for Operations at Haas customer,

Appasamy Associates Group. “Thanks to the government programme,” he tells me, “once someone with cataracts is in the system - even someone in a very remote location, they may only have to wait a week or two for an operation to restore their sight. In the UK, by comparison, I gather it can take up to several weeks.”

Cataracts, he explains, are common in India for many reasons. “Ultraviolet radiation is a principal cause,” he says. “People spend a lot of their lives outside in very bright sunshine, so by the time they are elderly, many need surgery.” Poor diet is also a cause, affecting all age groups, not just seniors. Diet for a great number of people in India varies little from the national staples of Roti bread and rice. Seafood is a principal source of Iodine, but in inland areas where fish is scarce, Iodine deficiency is common and as a result, even the very young can develop the milky, opaque clouds that reduce to nothing their view of the world.

Appasamy makes 80% of the interocular lenses used in India to treat patients with cataracts. A replacement, interocular lens is a flexible, plastic insert with positioning and holding struts called haptics. The patient's own lens is removed – usually after it is cryogenically frozen, and the new one is implanted inside the capsular bag of the eye. Often, especially where the patient is elderly, the resulting vision is better than the natural lens before it became diseased. Appasamy produces 300,000 lenses a month, as well as the disposable syringes used to inject them into the eye and an enormous range of other instruments and equipment used in eye clinics and hospitals.

The company also has an office and lens

manufacturing facility in New York City - Ellis

Opthalmics, near JFK airport, the output from

which is almost all imported back into India.

“Indian doctors want US made, imported lenses,”

says Mr. Ravichandran, “even though they cost

more.”

Other than lenses, almost all of the company's

milestone products and innovations over the

years have been those that met a local need at a

cost far lower than imported equipment. Formed

33-years ago, the company is still chaired by its

founder, P. S. N Appasamy. In the 1970s he

worked in the USA for a contact lens manufacturer

and soon began his own company making a low-

cost product to freeze the nucleus of an eye, ready

for removal. At that time, a European company

made the only similar machine capable of doing

the same job. The European machine was too

expensive for doctors in India. Mr. Appasamy

simplified the design and was able to sell a more

suitable product for a far lower price. The new

machine became very popular in India and made

cataract removal a much more viable procedure,

particularly for peripatetic doctors taking their

services to patients in rural and remote areas.

Appasamy employ's over 2500 people: 1380 at

the Puducherry factory, with most of the others

based at plants in Calcutta, Chennai and Dehli.

The company's current annual sales are more

than US$2billion, and many of its mainstay

products are made on a line of twenty Haas CNC

machine tools as its Puducherry factory.

A single Haas Mini-Mill, eleven VF-1 vertical

machining centres and eight SL-10 turning

centres, make, between them, the parts for1800

different surgical instruments and pieces of

equipment in the Appasamy catalogue; products

such as microscopes and slit-lamps used in clinics

and operating theatres, and tonometes, for testing

the pressure of an eyeball.

“The tonometer is one of our best-selling products

and is our own design,” says Mr. P. Prakash,

Deputy Manager CNC. “All of its 45 different parts

are made on the Haas MiniMill. We make 150

finished units a month.”

The Appasamy Slit Lamp alone has 60 components, some turned, some milled, made from aluminium, stainless steel and brass. The company completes 350 assemblies a month, and aims to increase production to 500 a month. The optical assembly for the operating microscope is made on the Haas VF-1s. There are two models of the finished product: one with continuous magnification, the other with step-magnification, the drum of which is machined in aluminium to 5 microns on the Haas VF-1s. The Appasamy Keratometer, for measuring the curvature of the cornea, used to be made by a Japanese supplier and imported into India, but is now also made by Appasamy. EdgeCAM software.

With so many parts and products, it's not surprising the company spends a great deal of time and effort designing quick-change fixtures and fittings. Batches are often as small as 2-5 components, and some of the machines are set-aside for development work, proving programmes - generated by its EdgeCAM software, and reducing cycle times. On the day of my visit, a long line of new Haas machines, still wrapped after their journey across the North Pacific, were waiting in an unused part of the factory to be unpacked and installed.

“We have sixteen new Haas machines here this week,” says Mr. Ravichandran, “ten VF-1s, and six ST-10s. Eighty percent of our employees on the production line are female and they like the Haas machines because they are easy to operate and maintain. The Taiwanese machines we had before were big, complex and intimidating.”

Many Appasamy products contain fine, small pa r t s made on the Haas mach ines . Mr. Ravichandran claims the women machine operators have good manual dexterity, but the main reason why they populate the lines during daylight hours is so they can be at home with their

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. In India, cataracts are the most common cause of preventable blindness, and one company in particular makes the equipment the country's ophthalmologists need and rely on to treat the afflicted.

children during the evening, night and early morning.

“The women work the day shifts and the men work the single night shift,” he says. “Many of the women join our company directly after school or college and work here for three to four years, until they marry. Some return and continue, many stop work to have children.”

With a seemingly inexhaustible demand for clinical equipment and instruments, and with such an enormous, customer base of indigenous ophthalmologists, it's no surprise that Appasamy has enjoyed uninterrupted growth for the past two decades. Business is brisk, in no small part due to the company's relentless development of innovative, lower-cost products. Doctors in India are free to undertake their own private practice, so it is essential that equipment is affordable, which is also why Appasamy runs a scheme to help doctors buy the equipment they need to undertake cataract surgery.

But the company also exports its products, and regularly attends trade shows in the USA and Europe. By doing so, it qualifies for lower taxes on imported machine tools, under a government run incentive.

“Because we export a large part of our production, import duties on the Haas machines are less,” says Mr. Ravichandran. “Our company has also been recognised and awarded for exports, by the Indian government. We received The Engineering Export Promotion Council of India award for the best performance under the category small scale industries.”

A lot has been written in recent years about the surge of technology that's swept across India, but authors are usually referring to the Internet and broadband networks, which have permitted locals to access business opportunities that originate thousands of miles away. Call centres in India have transformed the customer-interface of every cost-cutting insurance company and ticketing agency in the UK and the US. As a result, Indian college leavers can hold a white-collar position with a western company without leaving their native cities.

What's less documented is how engineering companies in India like Appasamy are taking advantage of the best-available manufacturing technology, and in so doing are not only addressing the country's pressing social and health issues – such as helping the blind to see again, but are also quietly establishing innovative Indian products in growing, Western markets. What's good for eye patients in rural India, it seems, is also good for eye patients in the rest of the world.

Passing through the imposing gates of

Pune-based Bharat Forge Ltd. (BFL), the roads

become smooth and well tended. Immaculate

lawn edges and trim hedges border the long

driveway leading to the car park, where small cars

and scooters form orderly lines.

As a company, BFL has grown from its origins as a

humble hammer manufacturer 40 years ago, into

one of the largest, most accomplished and

technically advanced forging operations in the

world. It is the flagship company of the $1.25

billion (US) Kalyani Group, and describes itself as

a “full-service supplier” of engine and chassis

components. BFL is also India's largest exporter

o f au tomot i ve componen ts , and has

manufacturing facilities spread across six

locations: two in India, three in Germany and one

in North America.

Over the years, BFL has invested to create state-

of-the-art facilities and world-class capabilities,

such as fully automated forging and machining

lines comparable to the best in the industry. The

company's customer base includes virtually every

global automotive OEM and Tier I supplier,

including: Daimler Chrysler, Toyota, BMW, GM,

Volkswagen, Audi, Renault, Ford, Volvo,

Caterpillar, Perkins, Iveco, Arvin Meritor and

Cummins. Annual turnover of the 4,000-

employee, publicly traded company is in excess of

$600 million.

The turning point for BFL came in the late 1980s,

when management at the company (then only

selling to the market in India) decided to replace

the ageing plant it originally bought second-hand

from a U.S. supplier, with modern technology that

would be the envy of forging shops the world over.

The investment included new presses, new

automat ion and the adopt ion of new

manufacturing techniques, such as 5S and

Kaizen. It was a bold strategy designed to make

BFL a world leader in forging production.

Mr. B.P. Kalyani – a relative of the company's

chairman – was given the task of implementing the

new practices. To tackle the challenge effectively,

BFL created a Forge Modernisation Division, and

today Mr. Kalyani is its Senior Vice President.

“Our biggest challenge was to absorb the

technology,” he says. “It was all very new to us, but

somehow we had to learn how to get the most from

it – fast.”

Word soon spread about the company's

investment, and new customers sought the

company out. One such company was U.S.-based

axle assembly manufacturer Arvin Meritor, which

duly placed an order for 1,000 forged axle beams

per month.

“We were able to offer them a product 20 percent

cheaper than their previous supplier,” says

Mr. Kalyani. “All of a sudden, the hard work and

investment began to pay off.”

Over the subsequent decade, the influx of orders

accelerated, but despite the success, a problem

began to surface: The die machining shop was

struggling to keep pace with the forging lines.

“We knew we had to start looking at high-speed

CNC machining centres,” explains Mr. Kalyani.

“At first, we only looked at various Japanese,

German and Swiss models – the ones we had

heard of. But the quotes were very expensive. We

thought that must be the going rate, but then we

came across Haas.”

Mr. Kalyani admits he had not heard of Haas

previously, but says the machine specification-to-

price ratio was a real surprise. Only company

policy, which demands that benchmarking tests

take place between prospective supplier

products, prevented him from placing an order

immediately.

“We needed to prove that the Haas machines

could produce a die within the cycle times and

quality requirements we expected,” he says. “At

that time, we wanted to machine a connecting rod

die from H13 tool steel (50HRc), so we passed the

challenge to Haas. The result was really

impressive. In fact, it was no different to a set of

benchmarking tests we had done on a Japanese

machine that cost several times the price.”

That was in 2001. Today, BFL owns 23 Haas

machine tools: 16 VF-4 CNC vertical machining

centres (the five most recent delivered in

September 2005); two VF-7 machining centres;

two VF-2 models; one EC-1600 horizontal

machining centre; one Toolroom Mill and one Mini

Lathe.

All of the Haas machining centres are fitted with

10,000- or 15,000-rpm spindles, as well as

through-spindle coolant and high-speed

machining options. In fact, BFL claims to have

specified all of the available options on every

machine it has purchased. The machines even

have air conditioning units fitted to the control

cabinets to counter exceptionally high in-shop

temperatures.

“We work the Haas machines very hard – 24 hours

a day, seven days a week,” says Mr. Kalyani.

“Temperatures in the factory often can exceed

40°C (104°F). We can't afford to take any

chances, so we use cooling systems. Some of our

Japanese and German machines are also cooled,

but none cope as well as the Haas machines.”

Working around the clock, the Haas machines,

run by five operators, produce a total of

approximately 550 dies per month for forgings

weighing up to 350 kg. Typical end products

include crankshafts, connecting rods, front-axle

beams, rocker arms, steering knuckles,

transmission parts and hubs. In fact, BFL claims to

be the largest manufacturer of crankshafts in

India, and the second largest worldwide, with

annual production well in excess of 100,000 units.

“We are immensely pleased with the performance

of our Haas machines,” says Associate Vice

President Mr. S. Rangan. “Before they were

installed, the cycle time for a typical crankshaft die

was 40 to 50 hours, now it is 14 to 15 hours.

Similarly, a die for a connecting rod was machined

in 40 hours, whereas now it takes just four. Add to

this the fact that there is no bench or polishing

work, no tool marks or cracks, and it is easy to see

why we are so pleased. The days of separate

roughing and finishing are also behind us. All of

our dies are now machined complete in a single

setup on a single machine.”

Mr. Rangan states that two further forging lines are

planned for next year, which will subsequently

require yet more die-machining capacity. The

company is also considering the acquisition of two

more plants, one in Europe and one in China. He

says that this ambition is targeted toward

improving “speed to market.” A decade ago, the

time taken from receipt of drawing to delivery of a

hard-forged sample was around two months.

Today, it is a couple of weeks. BFL's two-year

target is to reduce it to just three days!

In the company's training division, a Haas

Toolroom Mill and Mini Lathe are used daily by

roughly 30 BFL trainees undertaking one-and-a-

half year apprenticeship programs.

“We've never been afraid to invest,” says Mr.

Kalyani. “From the very beginning, the chairman

invested the majority of profits back into the

organisation. It's become a culture at BFL. Every

company has the ability to define its own culture,

and this is ours.”

Business and industry journalist Matt Bailey took the short flight from Mumbai to Pune recently to visit one of India's– and the world's – most successful forge manufacturers.Bharat Forge Limited

There are many points of view concerning the

perceived threat to Western manufacturers posed

by their Eastern counterparts. Perhaps the most

commonly aired of which focuses on the apparent

cost advantages they appear to enjoy.

Mr. Bipin V. Chemburka, co-founder and director

of Capiq Engineering, Vadodara, India, is direct

and to the point when offering his counter-

argument:

“It's not enough for Indian companies to compete

on cost alone,” he states, emphatically. “Those

that do so are living in a fool's paradise.

“If, for example, a U.S. company is doing the same

job as us, on the same machines, using the same

number of people, we can't compete. Any

economic advantage we have is wiped out by

shipping costs and India's relatively high interest

rates.”

In fact, claims Chemburka, the only way we

Indian manufacturing companies can compete

effectively with the rest of the world is to

do a better job.

Broker Mr. Chemburka and a business partner

established Capiq in 1991, and have built the

company on a cultural bedrock of innovation and

hard work. Originally a machine setter and

operator for Crompton Greaves, a manufacturer

of fans, transformers and motors for domestic

products, Chemburka established Capiq as a

broker, negotiating manufacturing contracts for

others. Shortly after, he discovered a sizeable

market for the production and supply of precision

components and assemblies, and quickly began

manufacturing operations to meet the demand.

Since those early days, Capiq has pursued its

stock in trade relentlessly, and with an

indefatigable passion for quality. In the process,

the company built a strong order book

for bespoke, high-value components and

assemblies. Thanks in large part to its overseas

business, the company is now an ISO9001:2000

accredited, $2 million turnover organisation

employing more than 90 people, many of whom

are English-speaking skilled engineers,

technicians and machinists.

The Haas VF-2SS high-speed vertical machining

centre has made quite an impression at the

company. Capiq uses the machine to produce

aluminium medical-assembly components,

reducing cycle times by approximately 70 percent

over previous methods, and improving surface

finish in the process.

“Haas machines are very good value for money,

as they are very capable,” Mr. Chemburka says.

“By taking care with tooling, fixtures and coolant,

we can consistently achieve tolerances as tight as

±2 microns. It just takes a little TLC (tender loving

care).”

Capiq's Haas SL-10 is currently employed

producing complex flow valves that control the

movement of robotic arms, manufacturing some

15,000 per month for one of the company's

U.S. customers.

U.S. Machine ToolsLike many of the manufacturing companies I met

during my visit to India, Capiq's machine shop

works 24 hours a day, six-and-a-half days a week.

The components it makes range from relatively

small metallic parts weighing a few grams, to

assemblies weighing up to 25 kilograms.

One way the company has prospered is through

maximising the productivity of its available

machining capacity. It's not rocket science, but it's

surprising, says Chemburka, how few companies

actually make the most of their existing machine

tools.

“We like to mount as many fixtures on a machine

as possible,” he says. “It's not unusual for us to cut

several different parts on the machine at the same

time.”

To meet growing demand, Capiq has recently

invested in several high-quality CNC machine

tools, including a Haas SL-10 CNC turning centre

with high-pressure coolant system and bar feeder;

a Haas VF-2 CNC vertical machining centre;

a VF-2SS CNC high-speed VMC; another SL-10

(with Haas servo bar feeder); an SL-30

big-bore CNC turning centre and a Haas TM-1

CNC Toolroom Mill.

The Haas SL-30 turning centre produces leaded-

steel valve casings, machining a blank weighing

9.2 kg down to a 2.1 kg, finished component.

At present, this is machined in three setups on the

SL-30, plus a further setup on another machine.

However, the company is currently considering

installing a Haas SL-30 with C-axis and live

tooling. This would reduce the number of

setups to two.

At time of writing, the company was working on a

PCB mounting head consisting of a base plate and

a piston moving along two parallel pins. The

device is used to mount components on PCB

boards at very high speeds. The tolerances are

extremely tight, as any inaccuracy would cause

excessive damage when moving at speeds

approaching 30 strokes a second. Early

development parts have been machined on the

Haas TM-1 Toolroom Mill.

“If the customer, a U.S. company, is happy with the

part, the order will be for approximately 18,000 a

year.” says Mr. Chemburka. “Typically, U.S. and

Chinese competitors are not interested in high

volumes accompanied by such strict quality

criteria. This is a great niche for us.”

And a lucrative niche it's proving to be. The

company is growing at the rate of 35 percent per

year, thanks in large part to the vision and

determination of its founder, but also,

undoubtedly, to investing in the very best CNC

machine tool technology.

“We're all competing on a global playing field,”

concludes Mr. Chemburka. “The technology, and

therefore the opportunities, are available to

everyone, everywhere.”

Capiq Engineering is one of a growing number of similar, privately owned companies in India proving that when it comes to global business, almost no one is excluded, providing you invest in the latest technology and best practices.Capiq Engineering

Perunderai, Coimbatore: A dusty country road

leads to the company's main gate, but visitors to

Diesel Machinery Works (DMW) shouldn't be

fooled by first impressions. Inside the company's

whitewashed factory, high-tech manufacturing

operations are running around the clock,

producing components for automotive,

compressor, valve, pump and agricultural

customers. Much of the company's production is

exported, a fact that owner and founder

Mr. Shanmugam is particularly proud of.

““Although there are many opportunities in India,

Industry here is very competitive,” he explains.

“We realised that to succeed in the long term,

DMW would need to export. The Indian economy

is open to the whole world and we wanted to target

business from overseas customers.”

Mr. N Shanmugam, his brother and three

additional employees started DMW as a jobbing

shop just 14 years ago. Since then, the company

has enjoyed significant growth and these-days

employs a total of 150 people working three shifts,

six days a week. It is still located on the 20-acre

farm where Mr Shanmugam was raised, a place

where his family lives in a newly built house

adjacent to the 20,000sq.ft factory.

Working SmarterIn the company's workshop, stacks of completed

parts sit adjacent to the Haas machines. At the

time of my visit the company's Haas SL-30 CNC

turning centre was employed turning a batch of

wheel hubs for UK commercial vehicle

manufacturer, Leyland. DMW produces around

225 cast iron wheel hubs every day on its Haas

turning centre and each is inspected by the

operator. The ISO9001:2000 accredited company

certainly doesn't skimp or cut corners when it

comes to doing the job well.

“Quality control is the most crucial part of our

work,” says Mr Shanmugam,. “Each process is

closely monitored using flow charts and statistical

methods. We also deploy 5S and TPM

procedures.”

Across the factory, two Haas VF-3 CNC machining

centres are producing valve housings for a

Canadian company and compressor housings for

a US customer. Mr Shanmugam explains that the

valve housings would normally require the use of a

horizontal machining centre. However, using the

Haas HRT310 rotary table as a fourth axis allows

DMW to use the vertical VF-3 instead, which

represented a far smaller investment.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the decision to

invest in Haas CNC machine tools was a turning

point in the company's history,” he says. “It has

allowed DMW to secure contracts from major

customers that would not have considered using

our manual machine capability.”

The Next GenerationSuch has been DMW's success with CNC

technology the company is using its newfound

knowledge to teach students at a recently built

training facility known at the DMW CNC Centre. As

an ex-lecturer at the nearby Kongu Polytechnic

College (his wife still works there, also as a

lecturer), Mr Shanmugam is particularly proud of

his latest venture. Of the 150 staff employed by the

company, 25 are trainees.

“The Haas machines are ideal for training

purposes,” says Mr Shanmugam. “They are easy

to understand and very user friendly, even for

students with no previous hands-on experience.”

Despite being less than a year old, the DMW CNC

Centre is already making a name for itself. Up to

30 students a month pass through its doors.

Most are diploma graduates from the local

colleges looking to add practical experience to

theory. They spend half their time in front of a Haas

control simulator learning CNC programming, and

the remaining time training on-the-job using the

“In India, we are very proud of our engineering

capability. At DMW, we always look for

opportunities to grow and expand what we can

offer. Currently we provide sub-assembly

production, CADCAM services, including solid

modelling and FEA, reverse engineering, 3D/2D

drawing conversion, CNC code generation and

raw material sourcing. To continue our success

means investing in the best people and the best

technology available.”

Haas machines on the factory f loor.

The company's course in CNC Programming and

Operations has a curriculum defined in

consultation with industry, and includes

programming, operations, machine setting,

tooling and maintenance.

“We did consider other machines,” says

Mr. Shanmugam, “but the functionality, quality and

price of the Haas machines put them at the top of

our list.”

The CNC Centre has two full time CNC trainers

who also teach students the principals of CAD and

CAM. After course completion many of the

students migrate to Europe where demand for

CNC operatives with both qualifications and

experience is high. Most remain in India, with a

few taking up posts with local companies.

Mr. Shanmugam describes himself as a

'technocrat entrepreneur', a title, he explains,

which may not sound as complimentary to

Westerners as it does to Indians.

A Coimbatore precision engineering company has discovered that investing in people and world-class technology opens doors to worldwide markets. Diesel Machinery Works

Flexible FriendsMr. N. S. Shenoy has come a long way since

launching his precision manufacturing business

just 14 years ago. A financier by profession,

Shenoy spotted a market opening for an Indian

manufacturer of high-performance flexible disc

couplings for high-power and high-speed

applications. The opportunity was sufficiently

promising that he left his previous employment –

and profession – to set up a joint venture with

UK company Euroflex Transmissions Ltd.

At first, Mr. Shenoy had no staff, no factory, and

outsourced almost all of his manufacturing

operations. Today, the company is a $4 million

enterprise with a promising future, and a

reputation for innovation.

Today, the company produces in excess of 3,000

compressor blades per month for steam and gas

land-based turbines, as well as aero engines. The

machining centres are arranged in pairs, with each

pair operated by a single person. The company

runs a 16-hour, two-shift system over six and a half

days per week. To meet future growth projections,

Mr. Shenoy anticipates the purchase of another

four Haas machining centres every year for the

next five years!

“There are many reasons why we select Haas

machines,” he says. “They are compact, user

friendly and competitively priced. Also, Haas

is one of the few machine tool companies to

develop its own control, which is married to the

machine perfectly. To me, this is the biggest

success of Haas.”

The company uses its Haas VF-2s to finish-

machine components in a wide variety of materials

to tolerance limits of around 20 microns, as well as

perform roughing operat ions on parts

manufactured from cast iron, brass and

aluminium. All components are inspected 100

percent at every stage to allow complete

traceability throughout the manufacturing

process, as you'd expect from an ISO 9001-

certified company.

Shenoy claims that to repay his “debt” of gratitude

to the UK parent company, he chose to merge the

proceeds from the new venture with his Euroflex

business.

“Although turbine-blade manufacturing has

nothing to do with Euroflex in the UK, I have

chosen not to separate the business's activities,”

says Mr. Shenoy. “Euroflex UK therefore owns

49 percent of my new activities.”

Despite the phenomenal success of Euroflex

Transmissions India, Mr. Shenoy is already

Early SuccessLike all business start-ups, the company's early

years were filled with uncertainty. But in 1994, an

Indian customer opted to try the services of Mr.

Shenoy rather than buy direct from the UK. Two

years later, Euroflex Transmissions India was

doing well enough to build its own one-stop shop

for coupling production.

Today, Euroflex India supplies flexible disc

couplings to a number of well-known OEMs

around the world, including GE, Peter

Brotherhood and Siemens – the latter specifying

Mr. Shenoy's company as one of its two preferred

vendors for this type of product.

It's a success story that reflects the endeavour and

entrepreneurship of a hard-working business

professional with an eye for opportunity, and a

strong commitment to relationships, trust and

mutual benefit.

“I placed my entire life savings into this venture,”

Mr. Shenoy says, “but I couldn't have done it

without the support of Euroflex Transmissions Ltd

in the UK. Their 49% stake in my business enabled

me to finance the technology I needed to get

started. Not many companies would have been as

willing to do this, and it showed great faith in me.

It's something for which I will be eternally grateful.”

New IdeasCouplings were just the beginning. In the past few

years, the company has expanded its product

range into rotor and stator blades for turbines.

When Mr. Shenoy went looking for new

opportunities, he typically put his customers'

objectives first.

In 1998, Euroflex Transmissions India

approached a prospective customer and asked

for a sample turbine blade and the associated

CAD model for it. The aim was to reproduce the

blade at a lower price than the customer was

already paying – in the same or shorter lead-time,

with no loss of product quality. Shenoy's

philosophy of building a relationship based on

trust was the key to eventually winning the

business. It's an approach, he says, that helped

put the customer at ease.

“We had no technology assistance or advice from

the customer,” Mr. Shenoy says. “There were no

costs involved, nothing in writing, nothing legal,

nothing binding. All we asked for was an

agreement that if we succeeded, they would

consider buying the product from us. I appreciate

that the move from flexible couplings to turbine

blades may seem unlikely, but we're not afraid to

make mistakes. As they say, only those who don't

try never make mistakes.”

New Technology

To make those early prototypes, the company

invested in its first US-built Haas CNC machine

tool: a VF-0E vertical machining centre with fourth

axis and on-machine probing. After two years of

designing and making improved versions of the

customer's turbine blade – machined on the VF-

0E – Euroflex India was awarded its first

production contract for them in 2000. That event

led to an order for five Haas VF-2 CNC vertical

machining centres. In 2005, this already

impressive armoury was boosted further by the

acquisition of an additional four VF-2 machines –

a model that Mr Shenoy says is the perfect size to

manufacture turbine blades.

looking towards further product lines to help

continue his company's growth. These remain

close to his chest at this stage, but he intimates

that the next one may be another turbine-related

product, possibly alternators.

The company has four selection criteria for new

products: They must be technology – not price –

driven; have high margins and low volumes; have

a difficult entry barrier; and have a reasonable

resale value in the event of failure.

“These are the reasons we are not in the high-

volume automotive or telecommunications

industries,” says Mr. Shenoy. “It has to be a niche

product. Otherwise, we don't want to get involved.”

Hyderabad-based Euroflex Transmissions (India) Pvt. Ltd. proves that, in the manufacturing sector, having the right friends can be just as important as having the right ideas and the best technology.Euroflex Transmissions Ltd.

With the price of a barrel of oil at an all time high,

and in order to meet burgeoning global demand,

the world's big oil companies are embarking on

major new programmes of exploration.

New wells are being bored, new pipelines laid,

new rigs constructed, and new extraction and

refinery equipment is being designed and

manufactured. Compared to other industry

sectors, the projects and their capital expenditure

are frequently vast, and can mean lucrative

contracts for product and component

manufacturers with the necessary technical

capability and experience.

The origins of Parveen Oilfield can be traced

back to the year 1960, when the family business

was founded to manufacture metallic conduits for

electric cables. In 1983, the company diversified

to meet increasing demand from the Indian oil

industry. In the two decades since, it has grown to

be a leader in the design, development and

manufacture of oilfield equipment. Its name is

synonymous with quality and high-precision

machining, and as a one-stop shop for its global

customer base. Works Director Mr. N.H. Jeswani

has been with the company from the early days.

“Not long after our first few contracts with

companies in the oil and gas sector, we started

designing and manufacturing products

ourselves,” he says. “We began by producing

basic wire-line service tools and pipe fittings for

the oil industry in India, before gradually

increasing our product portfolio for the export

market.”

Today, Parveen Oilfield has its headquarters –

with 110 employees – near Mumbai, another

smaller facility in the older part of Mumbai, plus a

further two in Delhi, where a third is shortly to be

constructed. Across all facilities Parveen employs

around 500 people, who help the company meet

demanding delivery schedules for its range of

around 300 different products.

The Technology LeapAround three years ago the company decided the

time had come to replace some of its older Indian-

manufactured machine tools with CNC

technology. Mr. Jeswani had seen Haas machines

at an exhibition in Mumbai, where the Indian Haas

Factory Outlet (based in Pune) had a stand.

“Cost and quality were the primary reasons why

we opted to purchase a Haas SL-30 big-bore CNC

turning centre,” he says. “Of course, so many

oilfield products and components are tubular that

it made sense to start with a turning machine.”

Such was the success of the Haas SL-30 that

Parveen recently added to its Haas armoury,

purchasing a further four machines in 2005:

another SL-30; an EC-1600 horizontal machining

centre; a VF-5 50-taper vertical machining centre

fitted with a Haas HRT-450 rotary table; and an

SL-40 turning centre with an SMW indexing

chuck designed specifically to allow machining

of all the faces of steel valves in a single setup

(see picture).

The Parveen portfolio includes the design and

manufacture of a wide range of equipment – for

cementing, coil-tubing pressure control, gas lifts,

rotary drilling, sub-surface flow control, sucker

rods, well heads, Christmas trees, “fishing” and

logging tools, and valves. In fact, the company

does almost anything and everything needed

above and below the surface during all phases of

oil and gas exploration.

Parveen Oilfield Parveen Oilfield is investing in U.S. machine tool technology to stay ahead of the competition in the booming oil engineering industry. U.K.-based business and industry journalist Matt Bailey braved the monsoon season to investigate.

“The Haas machines have proved very reliable,”

explains Jeswani. “The company works around

the clock, so reliability is a key factor. We have

also experienced improved productivity and

higher output rates since the machines were

installed.”

Parveen operates 24 hours a day, seven days a

week. Where in western companies this would

represent a three-shift system, astonishingly,

Parveen operates just two shifts, with employees

working 72 hours a week across six, 12-hour

shifts, with just one day off a week on a rotation

basis. With labour already working at maximum

capacity at Parveen, investment in CNC machine

tool technology made perfect sense.

“Our biggest challenge is keeping up with

demand. Once a customer has placed an order,

it's invariably required yesterday,” quips

Mr. Jeswani. “We make everything to order rather

than for stock, so now that we have reliable

machines, meeting tight delivery schedules is far

easier.”

With business swift, Parveen's Rabale site is at

near capacity. An expansion representing an

increase in floor space of 50 percent is currently

being commissioned. It will house the latest CNC

machining equipment, including a total of 13 new

Haas machine tools, which are presently on order.

The company's order book is so healthy that Mr.

Jeswani is confident he can keep the new

machines and extra staff just as busy.

Low labour costs have certainly helped Parveen,

as has the relative abundance of young, highly

skilled engineering graduates passing through

India's university system. But its also the

company's willingness to invest in technology and

quality processes that enables it to win and retain

customers in the long term.

Parveen has embraced CNC technology and is

reaping the rewards. The company has also

achieved ISO9001:2000 quality accreditation

status, and holds 13 API (American Petroleum

Institute) licences to manufacture oil industry

products, which it claims is the largest amount

held by any company in India. Add all this to its 25

years of experience in the oil sector, and it's easy

to see why Parveen's services are so popular.

Around 70 percent of the company's production is

exported, sold via Parveen's extensive network of

agents. As an oilfield supplier, it should come as

no surprise to learn that the company's chief

export regions are the U.S., Canada and the

Middle East.

“Our customers are interested in quality, delivery

and trust,” says Jeswani. “We have an ISO audit

every six months, and an API audit every two

years. Price is less of an issue, given the high cost

of oil, a factor that is driving the entire sector,

making it very buoyant and providing most

suppliers with a profitable period,” he concludes.

Cost AdvantageLike many Indian companies competing

overseas, PBW has the cost of labour on its side,

and although the country is not as cheap as China,

it can offer quality, skilled labour, reliability and on-

schedule deliveries to match western engineering

firms – at much lower prices.

It's an advantage that Mr. Patel does not foresee

changing significantly in the coming years, despite

the pressures of wage inflation.

“Our country will always have a cost advantage,”

he says. “I don't think it will ever become like

Europe or the U.S., at least not in my working

lifetime. Of course, the gap will close, but I think

India will have at least another 20 years of very

favourable labour rates. Along with the best

manufacturing technology available, we at PBW

intend to make the most of them.”

“The local Haas representative had popped-in

once or twice before, so when we were ready, I

gave him a call. Haas had recently launched the

machine, and from the specification and price, it

looked very tempting – so much so that we placed

an order for two without even seeing one. There

weren't any in our part of the country that we could

view, so we had to make a leap of faith.”

Whilst tolerances are tight at 4 microns, batch

sizes depend on the size of the bearing. Most runs

are fairly short, so ease of changeover was one of

the key factors in selecting Haas. The machines

also produce one-off prototype bearings that have

been reverse engineered from customer samples,

so the simple programming offered by the Haas

CNC system is a significant advantage.

“Four PBW operators are trained to program the

Haas control,” says Mr. Patel. “I've never seen the

Haas machines idle. I've seen all the other

machines stopped, but never the Haas machines.

They work 24 hours a day across two 12-hour

shifts, six days a week. They never miss a beat.”

Mr. Pa te l remembers tha t when the

machines arrived, they fulfilled everything the

catalogue promised.

“Quality and accuracy was far better than our

existing machines,” he says. “Moreover, the local

Haas distributor proved it could give good

technical support, and respond immediately if and

when assistance was required.”

Since then, PBW has added four more Haas

machines to its workshop armoury: a Super Mini

Mill, a 5-axis VF-2 CNC vertical machining centre,

a TM-1 CNC Toolroom Mill and an SL-20 CNC

turning centre. The machines are part of a major

investment programme that has seen the

company spend the equivalent of almost $1.5

million over the past two and a half years.

Patel Brass WorksPatel Brass Works (PBW), founded in Rajkot in

1948 by the late Mr. Shri Patel, is a global leader in

engine bearing manufacture. The company

specialises in bi-metal and tri-metal bearings,

bushes and thrust washers for engines,

compressors, earthmovers, locomotives and a

wide range of other reciprocating and rotating

machinery. PBW is ISO 9001:2000 accredited,

has more than 300 employees and exports to 20

countries.

By 1965, the company had gained significant

experience in casting and finishing non-ferrous

components, and had begun to develop critical

components like bi-metal bearings to meet the

demand driven by the local manufacture of

slow-speed diesel engines.

Today, its customers are a mix of blue chip OEMs

and aftermarket spare parts stockists and it

currently enjoys a 75 percent share of the

market for supplying Indian Railways with

bearings and bushes.

In my father's day, no one would have expected to

find a world-class manufacturing company in

Rajkot,” says managing partner Mr. Mahesh Patel,

who is responsible for production and quality. “Our

town has always been most famous as the place

where Mahatma Gandhi spent his school years.

“However, the area now has a cluster

of progressive industrial organisations, a

development that we like to think has been

encouraged by the success of our company.”

Over the years, PBW has implemented a

programme of investment that has progressively

brought manufacture of its bearings in-house.

Following the purchase of raw material, PBW

makes its own alloys, undertakes its own casting,

machines its own parts and conducts its own

inspection and test routines. In such a busy

environment, the machining function is key, which

is why four years ago PBW undertook a project to

re-assess its in-house machine shop capability.

Leap of FaithBefore investing in his first Haas CNC machine

tool, Mahesh Patel says that the company had

three CNC machining centres, all supplied by

Indian machine tool companies. “We weren't

overly happy with their performance, and so when

we required additional capacity, we decided to

look at models manufactured by overseas

machine tool firms.”

PBW considered various German and Japanese

models of similar specification, but found these to

be much more expensive. “The cost-effectiveness

of the Haas machines is underlined by the fact that

they were selected over local competition,” says

Mr Patel, “despite the imposition of a 5 percent

import duty by the Indian Government.”

The company now operates six Haas CNC

machines. Indeed, its first two machines – both

Haas Mini Mills – were purchased on the basis of

the catalogue description alone.

Matt Bailey visited a Rajkot-based precision engineering company to see how a combination of calculated risk and the application of the latest U.S. CNC machine tool technology has helped make the company a local and regional leader in manufacturing best practices.Patel Brass Works

Five AxesA key component machined on the VF-3s is an oil

seal housing: a complex part requiring

considerable milling, drilling and threading

operations to take place at different compound

angles, as well as machining on multiple faces.

Using the Haas machines, the part can be

completed in just two setups – considerably fewer

than the company required previously for the

same part.

Typically, says Mr. Chandran, the 5-axis systems

allow EPIL to machine virtually all components in a

single setup. Although 60 percent of the parts

passing through the Haas machines are produced

in small batches, the company is managing to

save time by storing a few straightforward

programs that are common to a range of

components. The operator can simply call up a

program and use it as the basis for the part

required.

Operators are far more than “button pushers” at

EPIL, where the philosophy is to employ graduate

engineers with a minimum of one year's work

experience to run the company's 5-axis CNC

machines. EPIL finds it is then able to place

considerable responsibility with the operator,

asking him to undertake programming, tool

setting, inspection and maintenance tasks. It's

one of a number of strategies that has helped EPIL

(still a family-owned company) grow by 26 percent

in 2004, and approximately 30 percent in 2005.

Mr. Chandran claims that EPIL owes much if its

success to its obsession with quality control, and

investment in the latest technology and best

practices. The EPIL QA department is pivotal

to the company's operations, as testified by

its ISO9000:2000 and ISO14000 quality

accreditations, and Kaizen and 5S deployment.

“We are very good at retaining our customers,”

adds Mr. Chandran. “Our professionalism, quality

and competitiveness ensure they never have

a reason to look elsewhere. Our manufacturing

capability is at the heart of this concept, and at the

heart of our manufacturing capability are the Haas

machines. We are extremely pleased with how

they have performed: They are built well, easy to

use and require very little maintenance.

We couldn't ask for more.”

Five years later, in 2003, EPIL acquired a second

Haas VF-3, which is now situated facing the older

machine in the same manufacturing cell. Both VF-

3 machines employ 5-axes: The latest machine is

fitted with a Haas trunnion rotary table. Looking at

the older machine, no one would be able to guess

it had been working 24 hours a day, six days a

week for the past seven years, such is its

immaculate condition.

“We believe a little maintenance goes a long way,”

says Mr. Chandran. “We insist that the operator we

employ to run the two Haas machines takes good

care of them.”

Today the company uses the machines to produce

components for what it describes as “engineered”

seals. These represent almost all of the

company's RS700 million turnover, and consist

mainly of customer-specified mechanical seals for

large pumps used at chemical factories,

refineries, paint factories and railway companies.

Key customers include TATA Chemicals, Novartis,

Colgate Palmolive and Asian Paints. EPIL also

supplies engineered seals to all of the major OEM

pump manufacturers with a base in India,

including KSB, Sulzer, Kirloskar Ibara, KBL, BHEL

and Ingersoll Rand. Although the company has a

strong export business, around 90 percent of its

trade is with Indian customers.

“We had seen Haas machines in operation at

Sealol, and they appeared to be very reliable,”

says Mr. Chandran. “So when we next saw Haas

machines at the Imtex machine tool exhibition in

India in 1998, we decided to carry out further

studies. We were particularly interested in

replacing a CNC vertical machining centre of

larger capacity that we had at the time. However,

when we compared features, capability and price

with machining centres from other manufacturers,

we concluded that the Haas VF-3 was the

one to buy.”

Compared to the bustle of neighbouring Pune, the

site of the Poonawalla Group headquarters is an

oasis of orderly calm. Its perfectly maintained

buildings, modern factory and spacious office

interiors have the feel of a multi-national

organisation, reflecting the company's success

across a wide range of diverse activities.

Perhaps best known as a UNICEF-approved

manufacturer of vaccines and serums for

everything from snakebites to MMR (measles,

mumps & rubella), the Poonawalla Group also has

a strong engineering arm comprising three

separate companies that represent around 20

percent of its total turnover. One of these, Eagle

Poonawalla Industry Ltd (EPIL), specialises in the

manufacture of mechanical seals. With a 40

percent share of the Indian market, the company

is the country's leading mechanical seal producer.

“We have achieved market-leader status through

a combination of first-class engineering, design

and manufacturing,” says Mr. P. Chandran,

director (works) of EPIL. “Our production facilities

are among the best this industry has to offer. In

fact, we have all the credentials one would

associate with a world-class manufacturing

setup.”

EPIL's busy workshop contains around 70 manual

machine tools and a handful of more recently

acquired CNC machines, including two Haas VF-3

CNC vertical machining centres.

East meets WestPoonawalla's first encounter with Haas

technology was at a company called Sealol –

based in Rhode Island, U.S. – with which it had a

business collaboration until 1998, when Sealol

was purchased by UK firm, John Crane. The move

ended the union for Poonawalla and for Eagle, a

Japanese company that had also collaborated

with Sealol. However, the common technology

and expertise shared by Poonawalla and Eagle

meant the formation of EPIL later the same year

was a natural progression.

Journalist Matt Bailey recently visited India's leading manufacturer of mechanical seals to see how the company is using U.S.-built Haas CNC machining centres to supply the country's leading pump manufacturer.Poonawalla Group

The Autolec Division of Sundram Fasteners

Limited (SFL) is South Asia's largest

manufacturer and exporter of water pumps. With

more than four decades of manufacturing

expertise, it is widely recognised as the market

leader in India.

SFL – part of the TVS Group – has an annual

turnover of $160 million. Its parent claims to be

India's largest manufacturer of automotive

components, bar none. With a turnover in excess

of $2.3 billion, it's a difficult claim to dispute.

TVS comprises 25 companies and 27,000

employees producing a wide range of assemblies

and components for various vehicle parts. These

include axles, hydraulic brakes, clutch actuation

systems, fuel injection equipment, engine and

transmission components, turbochargers and

wheels, to name but a few.

At the Autolec Division of SFL, however, the focus

is very much on water pumps, an item that the

company has manufactured since 1965, when

Mr. K. Vasudevan, a local technocrat and

entrepreneur, formed the company. Since then,

Autolec has grown to add a wide range of related

products to its portfolio, including oil pumps,

electrical fuel pumps, mechanical fuel pumps,

feed pumps, damper pulleys, auto belt

tensioners, belt idlers, rocker arm assemblies,

cam followers, rocker arm levers, rocker shafts

and valve tappets.

These various items are produced across six

different plants near Chennai, one of the main

ones being the factory near Gummidipoondi,

located approximately 40 kilometres outside the

city. Here, the company machines and assembles

around 45,000 water pumps, 6000 oil pumps and

6000 fan support assemblies every month.

US Machine Tool TechnologyPlaying key roles in achieving these production

volumes is a pair of Haas SL-30 CNC turning

centres – each with a capacity of 432 mm by 864

mm (17" x 34"), and both of which were purchased

from the local Haas distributor in March 2003. The

Haas machines are located in an immaculately

presented factory, and are run by similarly well

turned-out employees wearing matching

grey company shirts. One of these is

Mr. R. Radhakrishnan, Autolec's Senior General

Manager (Operations), who outlines the critical

role played by the Haas machines.

“The Haas CNC turning centres are used

to machine the mounting face, bearing bore

and seal bore on each water pump,” he explains.

“These are critical machined areas. The

concentricity between the bearing bore and the

seal bore has to be particularly precise for

alignment purposes. There is no margin for error.”

All parts are self-certified by the operators using a

random sampling procedure. Both machines –

each deployed in a cellular manufacturing

configuration – undertake similar operations,

producing up to 250 water pumps every day.

The plant operates a two-shift (16-hour) system,

six days a week.

“The Haas machines have been tremendously

reliable,” confirms Mr Radhakrishnan. “We've

experienced no problems whatsoever. The

training provided was very good, and our

operators had no trouble learning to use the

control.”

The items produced by the Autolec Division of SFL

are used in passenger cars, heavy and light

commercial vehicles, off-road vehicles, tractors,

combine harvesters, forklifts, earthmovers,

marine engines, power generation engines and

two-wheeled vehicles. The company's many

international OEM customers inlcude Cummins,

Case New Holland, John Deere, Ford, Proton,

Caterpillar, Dura Automotive, Perkins and Iveco.

Approximately 50 percent of Autolec's output is for

export. SFL as a whole topped an impressive $45

million in export sales for the year 2004-05.

Autolec is also the preferred supplier to a number

of OEMs with bases in India, including Fiat,

Hyundai, Mazda and Suzuki, along with a number

of indigenous companies, such as Ashok Leyland,

Eicher, Escorts, Greaves, Hindustan Motors and

Tata Motors. Yet, despite these impressive client

lists, the company is always looking for new

growth opportunities.

“We are planning to double our turnover in the next

three years,” states Mr. Radhakrishnan. “As a

result, we have already placed an order for several

additional Haas SL-30 turning centres.”

This ambitious growth target has been set on the

back of a rapidly expanding order book. To make

sure that the entire manufacturing operation is

prepared for such rapid expansion, the Autolec

management team places a great deal of

emphasis on company-wide quality. The

manufacturing facilities at the Autolec Division of

SFL are TS16949:2002/ISO 9001:2000 certified,

while TPM procedures are followed in all its

plants. Evidence of this can be seen at

Gummidipoondi, where the walls are strewn with

quality control posters and production schedules.

R&D PartnershipsAutolec's customers also value its R&D

infrastructure and capabilities. The company not

only excels in new product development, but also

in product redesign and validation activities. This

is made possible by adopting the latest

engineering concepts and techniques, such

as CATIA design software for simulation and solid

modeling. Product development programmes are

initiated from customer drawings or samples

(through reverse engineering) or from concepts

(“black box” design).

Autolec also collaborates with premier

universities, institutes and technology leaders for

advanced research and analysis. The company

has entered into many ventures with global

leading OEMs to enhance its product offering and

customer service, including Pierburg, NSK and

Bosch.

“As a result of these tie-ups, we have been able to

establish our own in-house bearing manufacturing

division, our own seal manufacturing division and

a casting foundry,” explains Mr. Radhakrishnan. “It

means we can cast, machine, assemble, test and

dispatch entire product assemblies to our

customers – a factor that has undoubtedly

become our core strength and major advantage

over our competitors.”

Sundaram Fastners Ltd.

The Haas machines have been tremendously reliable,” confirms Mr Radhakrishnan. “We've experienced no problems whatsoever. The training provided was very good, and our operators had no trouble learning to use the control.”

Since it was established just 16 years ago,

Hyderabad-based Vasantha Tool Crafts Pvt.

Ltd. has grown to become a well-known supplier

of mould tools to some of the world's leading blue-

chip manufacturing companies. Its uninterrupted

rise to prominence owes much to shrewd

investment in the latest technology, as well as the

entrepreneurial energy of company founder,

Mr. A. D. Reddy.

“From the day I graduated, I dreamt of starting my

own company,” Reddy explains. “After I completed

my degree in mechanical engineering, I took a

two-year post-graduate course in tool design and

manufacture, encompassing everything from

press tools and injection moulds through to die

casting, cutting tools and jigs and fixtures. Two

years later – in 1989 – I took the plunge and

started VTC.”

Like many new companies, the first years were

about survival, a period when Reddy admits he

took every job that came his way: low-quantity

clamps, basic jigs and even small press tools for

sheet metal work. But as word spread, the

company began to win basic mould work, helping

secure it financially for the following five years,

before it reached what, in hindsight, Reddy

acknowledges as its turning point.

“In 1996, we made a big decision to invest in a

large Swiss CNC milling machine. It was our very

first investment in CNC, and I can honestly say

that all of our significant growth stems back to that

decision.”

The new technology was put to very good use, and

word soon spread about the up-and-coming

mould shop not afraid to invest in its own future.

Some of the country's leading OEM's began to

take note, and orders followed.

Along with existing custom work, the new

business helped boost the company's turnover.

Much of its growth has been from repeat business,

which says a lot for Reddy's work ethic.

“Almost all of our customers have returned for

repeat orders,” he says, a fact that he attributes to

the company's obsession with product quality,

performance, service and overall value.

“Our strength lies in being a single-source turnkey

provider, offering everything from mould design –

we have eight CAD/CAM stations – manufacture,

assembly, testing and acceptance.”

Full Capacity

In 2001, just five years after the acquisition of the

Swiss CNC mill, VTC started to experience the

inevitable consequences of its success.

“We were working at full capacity,” says Reddy.

“The Swiss machine was running constantly. We

soon realised that for small components such as

inserts, electrodes and plates, using such a large

machine was far from ideal, so I began looking for

another CNC machine, something which would be

more suitable for the small, quick jobs.”

Blue ChipThe ISO 9001 accredited company's combination

of the latest technology and experience in

(unusually) both high-cavity and hot-runner

moulds has allowed it to carve its niche as a

supplier to a growing roster of high profile, blue

chip clients. These include the Indian factories of

L'Oreal and Unilever, as well as Colgate Palmolive

India Ltd, Whirlpool India, Schneider Electric

India, Siemens India, Johnson & Johnson and

Faber Castel. VTC also has a growing list of

export countries, including Germany, the U.S.,

Egypt, Iran, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Senegal.

The company's success is mirrored by the

prosperity of surrounding Hyderabad, a city that

has its business origins in the pearl trade. Today,

like many Indian cities, Hyderabad is home to

a growing community of technology companies

with their sights set on global customers

and overseas markets. To compete means

to have the confidence to invest. Something

VTC has in spades.

“A lot of our success is because we invested our

profits in reliable precision machine tools.

Haas machines give me the value for money

and accuracy that I need to win and retain

prestigious orders.

“Our future is very bright,” Reddy concludes,

“but we still want to grow the business further.

For the past two years, we've been exhibiting

at Euromold in Germany. We realise we can

no longer rely on word of mouth alone to

stimulate growth.”

Which is when he came across the Mini Mill CNC

vertical machining centre from relative newcomer

to the Indian market, U.S. machine tool builder

Haas Automation.

“The Haas machine was very competitively

priced, so even though the brand was not very

familiar to us, we felt justified in taking a risk. Our

Mini Mill was only the second Haas machine to be

sold in Hyderabad, and the first of its kind.”

Since the company built the first example in 2000,

the Mini Mill has become one of Haas

Automation's best selling CNC products. It has

created a whole new market segment for machine

tools and – like all revolutionary products – has

inspired a number of copycat machines from rival

manufacturers, keen to cash-in on the company's

success.

Four years after he bought the machine, Reddy is

still very happy with his decision. “Considering the

low cost, the Haas machine represents

phenomenal value for money. It's very capable,

and can handle everything we throw at it.”

Such was the good impression created by the

Haas Mini Mill that two years later in 2003, the

company bought a Haas VF-2 CNC vertical

machining centre. According to Reddy, this new

machine is frequently loaded with a base plate

containing 20 to 30 mould inserts, and left to run

unattended for 10 to 12 hours at a time.

“The same year, we also acquired a Haas

Toolroom Mill and a high-speed Haas Super Mini

Mill for our newly built facility, a kilometre from our

main plant.”

Vasantha Tool Crafts Pvt. Ltd. A lot of our success is because we invested our profits in reliable precision machine tools. Haas machines give me the value for money and accuracy that I need to win and retain prestigious orders.

CIM Tools Operations Director, says:

“We've had our Haas CNC machine tools for four

years and we are very happy with them. We

bought Haas because we were looking for strong,

robust and reliable CNC machine tools.

“We mostly make parts from aluminium alloy, but

we also cut steel. In terms of accuracy and

reliability, our operators rate the Haas machines

as better than our more expensive, Japanese

machines.

“We have a fifth Haas machine arriving soon: a

VF-2SS. If we were not 100% happy with Haas

machines and the service and support from

MANAV MARKETING, we would not have

invested in this latest one.”

Bangalore-based CIM Tools makes parts for some of the world's best-know aerospace

companies using its Haas CNC machine tools, purchased from and supported by local

Haas Factory Outlet (HFO) MANAV MARKETING PVT. LTD.

Haas Factory Outlets

KolhapurShop No. 2,3,4,6/2 Village Mauje Ujalaiwadi,Tal Karveer, Kolhapur. Tel : 0231-2677 979

CIM Tools