Highlights from a plant visit to Dormer Pramet’s newly acquired Ankleshwar, Gujarat facility. The visit, which DMI’s VP-Strategy Dinesh Mishra had made recently, turned out to be an immersive and illuminating experience, thanks to the guidance and support of Mr. K. Chandra Sekhar, Vice President, Production – Dormer Pramet India and his team.
] In October 2022, Dormer Pramet’s President Eduardo Martin visited the company’s Ankleshwar Production Unit, Gujarat, as part of the Dormer Pramet Management Group meeting (DPMG). It was the first gathering of the entire DPMG in Ankleshwar following the acquisition of Miranda Tools in December 2020.
Among the visit’s main purposes were interactions with customers and colleagues and seeing in person the latest developments at the facility.
DMI’s VP Strategy Dinesh Mishra met Mr. Martin at the occasion and interviewed him on a range of topics about the company and the industry. Mr. Mishra also got the opportunity to meet Mr. K. Chandra Sekhar, Vice President, Production – Dormer Pramet India. Both did a detailed tour of the Ankleshwar plant where Mr. Sekhar explained to Dinesh the complete manufacturing process and administration of different departments that together run the production unit. Presenting, the main highlights of the visit. But first, a quick look at the company’s business operations.
Dormer Pramet is a leading global supplier of metal-cutting tools and services. This includes a huge variety of rotary and indexable tooling for drilling, milling, threading, hole-making, and turning. The company has facilities in Brazil, the USA, the Czech Republic, and India, employing more than 2,000 people worldwide.
The company serves customers in the automotive, energy, and general engineering sectors, among others.
In Dec 2020, Dormer Pramet acquired Miranda Tools, an India-based manufacturer of high-quality, high-speed cutting tools. Its products are manufactured to various international standards (ISO, JIS & DIN, etc…) and special tolerances are required by customers. They cater to a wide range of industries, such as the automotive, general engineering, defense, aerospace, railways, and oil & gas markets. The acquisition of Miranda Tools allowed Dormer Pramet to expand its presence in the regional markets and strengthen its offerings.
The Ankleshwar unit manufactures more than 18.5 million pieces annually, including both standard and specials. These include important portfolio products such as HSS (High-Speed Steel) drills and taps, tool bits, end mills, reamers, annular cutters (HSS & TCT), carbide rotary burrs, and solid carbide drills.
Dormer Pramet has put significant investment into the Ankleshwar facility, demonstrating the company’s confidence in the unit.
A good part of the investment has gone into increasing taps production capacity. Dormer Pramet installed a series of new high-tech machines including thread, flute, and chamfer grinding machines. According to Mr. Sekhar, robotics was recently introduced at the plant, which further improved the plant’s efficiency. Lean manufacturing, automation, and productivity levels are the key areas in which the company is concentrating. Improvements in machinery technology and training of employees have not only helped increase the productivity of the Ankleshwar unit but also provided a significant boost in the quality of tools produced, helping to bring it in line with global standards. Recent tests have shown big improvements in the tools’ consistency and performance. This will further improve the brand’s equity and presence in major industries including automotive and general engineering.
A part of the investment has also gone into augmenting the automation of the plant with the installation of autoloaders, and automated mechanisms for operating multiple machines.
Dormer Pramet, as part of its corporate strategy, believes in investing all it takes into improving the skills and expertise of its people. The same philosophy has now been extended to support the growth of the Ankleshwar production unit’s employees who have been doing an excellent job to meet the growing market demand, said Mr. Sekhar. The company has been investing in its people’s career growth and will continue doing that in the future.
As importantly, the company vision prioritizes the safety of its employees and works ceaselessly toward the creation of a safe working atmosphere for its employees.
At the same time, increasing plant productivity with optimum utilization of space at the plant are areas that the company is focusing on. The objective is to double the capacity and productivity of the plant, which will help the company expand operations in India and provide tooling solutions to industries like General Engineering, Die & Mold, and Automotive customers – sectors growing at a fast pace in recent years.
Mr. Sekhar added that sustainability is a top priority area for the company. Measures like waste-water treatment – which helps them maintain a beautiful garden at the plant premises, the proper disposal of chemicals as per the industry and local norms, and waste-metal recycling are among the many initiatives that the company implements to meet its sustainability goals.
In December 2022, the Ankleshwar plant successfully completed an audit against ISO standards 14001:2015, 45001:2018, and 9001:2015.
DMI’s Factory Visit: Glimpses
Caption: Dormer Pramet and Miranda Tools: Historical Milestones
