Driven by local demand, primarily in the burgeoning aerospace sector, specialist precision gear manufacturer Microprecision has officially opened its first manufacturing plant in India, Microprecision Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Located in the fast paced and popular technology district of Bangalore, Microprecision officially opened the doors to its new Greenfield facility at the end of 2012, but production volumes have been ramped-up in the first quarter of 2013. The large purpose-built facility is located at The Bangalore Aerospace Park in Karnataka. Keen to allay any thoughts of moving production from the UK, the company sees the venture as a true expansion; servicing customers with high-precision component parts locally in the first instance, while adding the capability to produce larger volumes of routine parts for the international market.

Terry Grubb U.K. MD and founder of Microprecision commented, “The design technology for our precision gear components is still centred on the U.K., as are many design operations in the aerospace and automotive industries. It made sense however for us to look at emerging markets for growth and also to take the opportunity to build a production facility for our higher volume products from the ground-up, something that we have always wanted to do.” The new factory also houses a joint venture between Microprecision and Uniflo Engineering, India.

Uniflo Engineering is a precision engineering company established for over 30 years and specializing in the manufacture of gear pumps. True to their description gear pumps include pairs or sets of plenty assembled precision cut gears, making them highly complementary to the existing skill-sets and machining knowhow held at Microprecision.

Uniflo gear metering pumps for example are commonly used for specialist applications such as in the manufacture of viscose, acetate and acrylics, staple fibre, filament yarn and tyre cord applications. The range also includes hydraulic pumps and lubricant pumps, plus micro geared DC motor drives (High Torque low Noise/RPM) for a variety of applications like automatic doors / windows and other custom made products.

As a tier-1 supplier of aerospace components to Airbus, Goodrich, Rolls Royce and others Microprecision operates at the highest level of gear manufacturing and sub-contract supply, with a host of industry approvals and a formidable array of test procedures. The production facility in Bangalore doesn’t yet quite match what is in the U.K., but, this is the idea according to Grubb,  “It has taken a lifetime to amass the machinery and experience to produce specialist short-run parts for motorsport, medical and aerospace in the U.K., and there is little point in reproducing that in its entirety, the new factory in Bangalore is a response to customer demand for higher volumes for some products and new ranges of other products where we have a demand already in geographic areas closer to the site.”

“We have been very impressed with the level of local engineering talent and also with the positive attitude of what is the next generation of Microprecision personnel in India. With a combination of specialty manufacturing knowhow and experience in precision gear pumps, we have the right expertise to deliver and support our expanding range of precision engineering products in India and the surrounding geographic areas.”