Shanmugha Precision Forging A Fine Balance between Theory and

Shanmugha Precision Forging
A Fine Balance between Theory and Practice
Shanmugha Precision Forging (SPF) , located in
Thanjavur, has been a loyal customer of Ace and
AMS for more than 14 years.
Having rapidly grown over the years into a large
organization with excellent infrastructure, SPF
supplies fully machined non-ferrous and some
ferrous
forgings
to well-known
customers,
including ABB, Areva, Emerson group, e.G. Lucy,
Crompton, G.E. Schneider and the Ministry of
Defence.
What is specially interesting about SPF is that it is
part of SASTRA (Shanmugha Arts, Science,
Technology,
Research Academy), a Deemed
University established in 2004 to give engineering
students hands-on exposure to industry. More than
10,000 students study in SASTRA in undergraduate, post-graduate and also Doctoral courses
in engineering. SASTRA imparts training and
knowledge in 15 disciplines to more than 10,000
students, the staff strength being more than 1,000.
A satellite
campus
has been
started
in
Kumbakonam for studies in Arts and Science. A law
college is the latest addition to the SASTRA group
of institutions.
AMS
It all started with the establishment of the
Shanmugha College of Engineering in 1984, which
has now transformed into SASTRA. The College
management ventured into the industrial field, so as
SPF has embarked on an expansion programme to
set up 2 plants, one for meeting domestic needs and
the other exclusively for export. Together these will
have 150,000 sq.feet of floor space.
View of the shopfloor with Ace and AMS
114
Machines
MCV400
Vertical Machining Center in operation
to give the students a blend of academic and
industrial approach. Shanmugha Precision Forgings
(SPF) was established in 1986. Having started as a
forging shop, SPF moved onto machining and is
now producing sub-assembly of components for
various customers.
The synergy between SASTRA and SPF is a very
good example of what can be achieved with a good
and sustained vision. Fourth-year engineering
students from SASTRA do project work such as
fixture development, and get exposure to C C
technology.
SPF had initially approached and had detailed
discussions with more than ten manufacturers of
CNC machines before finally zeroing in on Ace
Designers for the purchase of their first CNC lathe
in 1994. SPF has so far installed 12 C C machines
from Ace Micromatic.
The Managing Director & Vice-Chairman of SPF,
Mr. R Sethuraman, who is also the visionary
••••
....
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Components Machined on Ace and AMS Machines
Founder of SASTRA, says: 'We are the unofficial
ambassadors of the Ace Micromatic Group."
With a turnover of around Rs. 50 crores in 2009, SPF
is poised to leap into the future with ever more
am bitious plans. Ace Microma tic will playa role in this.
Elbe Group of Companies:
A key Supplier to Rai/ways
The Elbe Group of Companies, which began in a
small way in 1977, has grown to become an
important supplier of equipment and spares to
Indian Railways and steel industries. With 350
employees working in 16 units located at Howrah,
the Group companies are major customers of the
Ace Micromatic Group.
Having established a large set-up of conventional
lathes, boring machines, etc., the Elbe Group
Companies switched over to C C machines in the
year 2005. The C C machines acquired from Ace
Micromatic in the years 2007 -2009 included
ACE VTL (VTL40), CNC Lathes (LT25, Super
]obber,]obber XL). Satisfied with the performance
of these machines, the Group Companies plan to
invest in more of such machines in order to double
their capacity and increase exports.
Mr. Asish Kumar Ghosh, Chairman of the Elbe
Group and son of the Founder, started a new unit
at the age of 20 Years. Named as Kay Pee
Equipments Pvt. Ltd., this unit manufactures
various types of heavy mechanical
spares,
equipment assemblies and precision products for
Indian Zonal Railways, public sector companies
and international markets. The products include
horns, cocks, valves, brake cylinders, reservoirs etc.
Subsequently, he started one more unit called A]
Tech Equipments Pvt. Ltd.
The Elbe Group of Companies plans to raise their
share of exports from the current 10% of total
production to 25% by the year 2012. A key input for
raising production capacity and quality levels is the
acquisition of machines from Ace Micromatic
Group.
Speaking
about
this,
Mr. N.
Balasubramanian, Managing Director, says: ''ACE
machines are ''Value for Money". He is happy with
machine performance, reliability and up-time.
Mr. Balasubramanian feels that Ace Micromatic
renders superior service backup. He finds the
service engineers "easily accessible, friendly,
knowledgeable and efficient".
However, he wishes that the range of machines
offered by Ace Micromatic should be enlarged to
cater to the needs of industries manufacturing large
components too.