Industrial machining tools manufacturer, Seco Tools India Private Limited, plans to expand its India operations by setting up additional manufacturing units adjoining its existing unit on Pune-Nagar Road. Having shifted its operations from Singapore to India recently, the Swedish company has a strategy to now capture business in the Asia Pacific region. "As a part of our expansion drive, we are putting up the reconditioning centre in Pune which will be operational in the third quarter of 2013. This initiative will offer a complete solution for solid carbide tool reconditioning for all our customers in India which in turn will ensure the required dimensional accuracy and longer tool life for reconditioned tools," said Lars Bergstrom, Group President & CEO, Seco Tools.

Considering the demand for cutting tools, the company is cranking up investments in infrastructure, manpower and marketing as well as research & development. It has acquired around 25,000 square metres land adjoining its existing production facility in Pune. "Product innovation continues to be one of the key strategies for growth at Seco Tools. With the addition of new products that are being launched, we are continuously strengthening our product offerings to our customers," Bergstrom said. He, however, did not disclose the financial details about the expansion. Seco Tools exports 70 per cent of its production from India and the company registered a turnover of Rs 230 crore in 2012. Currently, the Pune R&D centre works in close association with Seco Tool's other R&D units in Sweden, Czech Republic and France.

Meanwhile, Seco Tools' education and training for metal cutting professionals has been taken to the next level with a new book from a leading expert in the field. It is also being used in the Seco Technical Education Programme (STEP). "This is my life in metal cutting - a life's work, in some ways," said the author, Jan-Eric Stahl, who is professor of production materials engineering at Lund University, Sweden. "Knowledge and understanding of metal cutting has, until now, been fragmented. My intention with this book was to bring these various strands together," he added. The book, 'Metal Cutting, Theories and Models', is an important new addition to STEP, which equips professionals in the metal cutting industry with education and training in efficient and effective cutting tool use.

Nearly 1,00,000 people have taken part in STEP since it was launched seven years ago. "Metal cutting is not an exact science. You can do as much preparation as you want on paper, but the reality will always be different," said Patrick De Vos, Corporate Technical Education Manager at Seco Tools De Vos. "Our training prepares participants for the fact that reality will be different," he added. Highly customizable, STEP training can either take place at customers' facilities or at any Seco Tools' technical centres around the world, and is a programme that is unique among tool suppliers. According to Stahl, the new book is more theoretical than practical. "It covers mechanical forces, temperatures and tribological loads, and deals with how these phenomena interact," he said.