Tarsem Lal Pathak, Proprietor, Pathak Industries (Kol), tells Industrial Products Finder in this interview. Excerpts...

Though you have now formed a new company, your association with the machine tool industry is a long one. What are the changes you have witnessed during this period in this industry?

Pathak Industries (Kol) was incorporated in the year 2012 after separation with the Pathak Group of Companies and the company is doing business satisfactorily and successfully at the same place at Salkia, Howrah, where the parent company was established in the year 1960. As a director of Pathak Machine Tools Pvt Ltd from January 1979 to 2012, I have gathered vast experience in the machine tool line from the very beginning and also been engaged in design of a number of machines as per requirements of the customers. These machines are very successful in the market and continue to receive repeat order from the customers.

What is the manufactured range of machines on offer?

The range of workshop machines is very much on the higher side but few machines which are developed by us are giving highly satisfactory service and these machines are lathes, milling machines, shaping machines, shearing machines, radial drilling machines, press brakes, power presses, slotting machines, hacksaw machines, grinding machines, planing machines, etc.

Besides products manufactured by the company you also are a trader. What are the machines under this group?

Besides the manufacturing, to fulfil our requirement we have developed a number of vendors in Punjab and Gujarat who are manufacturing machines for us as per our specifications and design.

What is the clientele you are primarily catering to?

Our clients are mostly from the State of Bengal and also other States from the eastern part of India who are using our machines since long. We provide after effective sales service and spare parts as per requirements of the customers. The customers are public sector organisations as well as multinational companies and other local customers with workshops and job shops. We are also exporting our products to various other countries satisfactorily and have captured good areas in our Export Expansion Programme.

You seem to have sister company catering to businesses in Odisha. What is the scenario there?

We have opened a branch in the State of Odisha at Cuttack and this is looked after by my son Hitesh Pathak, who is a qualified engineering from the Heriot Watt University, Sweden. The Cuttack branch is doing very well and soon he will be expanding the business in Odisha taking it to other cities and industrial clusters.

What are the current trends in machine tools in terms of cost vs features? Especially given the fact that many features are actually rarely used but drive up the cost?

We are not into very sophisticated machines that are over engineered with features that are unlikely to be used and add to the cost. Our machines are developed as per requirements of customers and manufactured at different places in Punjab and Gujarat for giving smooth and efficient service to the satisfaction of the customer. Very recently we have also developed CNC machines and these are performing very satisfactorily. We are very much in tune with the changing requirements of the end users.

How strong or effective is the after sales service?

Our sales and service network is quite effective. With the team work of sales and service and with the support of the customer, we are planning to open a new showroom at NH 6, Bombay Road very soon to fulfil the requirement of our nearby customers.