Could you give us a brief overview of the company and the key test and instrumentation solutions that you offer?

Accurate Gauging is a pioneering company in the field of metrology. It was founded in 1963, starting with the simple manufacturing of plug gauges and snap gauges. We were the first company to make Vernier calipers in India, and then we graduated into air gauging.

For the last 35 years, we have been building 3D coordinate measuring machines, popularly known as CMMs. We are among the leading manufacturers of coordinate measuring machines and are now one of the top five companies globally in this space.

We have a very vertically integrated manufacturing capability, building machines from very small machines to significantly large machines in Pune.

How does shop-floor measurement data help manufacturers improve product quality and decision-making?

With advancements in vehicle standards, such as BS4 to BS5 to BS6, the noise and performance parameters of vehicles have drastically improved. As a result, very close accuracy measurements are required for every component that goes into building the vehicle.

We support this entire value chain by going from micron to sub-micron level for carrying out these measurement tasks.

In dimensional metrology, there are typically two baskets of applications. One is precision machining. For example, when you look at an automotive car, whatever goes inside the engine and transmission, all the parts in the supply chain require precision machining and subsequently measurement. We cater to end-to-end solutions in this space, right from the shop floor to the measurement lab. All the solutions required to perform dimensional inspection tasks are something we handle in this space.

The second side is the body, which is metal forming. In metal forming, we do measurements for individual sheet metal parts as well as the complete body-in-white. In this space again, from small machines to machines that can accommodate the complete car body in a dual-arm composition, we manufacture and address those needs.

Shop floor needs to be integrated with the decision-making support system for organisations. We provide end-to-end measurement solutions and software that can start with an inspection plan, leading to ballooning, and then doing the entire digital quality management by connecting various measurement solutions on the shop floor for customers.

Are there any recent innovations in metrology technology that make Accurate Gauging’s solutions different?

Recently, there are two solutions that are becoming very relevant for the industry.

One is that, in the earlier scenario, machines were always used in the measurement lab. Now, the requirement is to have the measurement solution integrated with the machining cell. We have introduced a range of shop-floor machines that can be very well integrated with advanced CNC work cells, and the machines give feedback back to the machining centre for the required auto-correction.

The second side is that a lot of optical metrology is coming into play. Many solutions are required with a cycle time of under a minute for many parts. For this, we are doing both contact and non-contact advanced measurement fixtures, which inspect almost 100 per cent of the products produced on the shop floor.

As automation and digitalisation are growing rapidly, how are automation, digitalisation and Quality 4.0 being used in your measurement systems? 

The minute you talk about shop-floor measurement, the integration of the entire ecosystem becomes very critical. You have the machining centre, the part load-unload system for machining, and the same part load-unload system will take the part out from machining. It will do the pre-cleaning and then return it to the measurement stations.

After the measurement is done, it will receive feedback from the measuring stations on whether the part is to be processed further. All of this happens in an integrated manner. There is a very close linkage between the machining provider, automation provider and measurement system provider. All of these work together. They are no longer independent solutions; they are increasingly designed to work together.

Which sectors are seeing the fastest growth in demand, and how is the auto sector driving metrology adoption?

Traditionally, most of the solutions have been around automotive applications. Even today, more than 60 per cent of our customers are from the automotive or auto component sector, and that sector is growing very rapidly.

Nevertheless, measurement solutions are required in every manufacturing sector. Today, we are working very closely with aerospace, locomotive, medical, and the new 3C sector, which includes consumer electronics, communication and computer/computational devices.

All these sectors and their supply chains are growing rapidly with advanced needs for sophisticated measurement solutions integrated with the machining setup.

Virtually every automotive component maker is investing significantly in metrology infrastructure. I cannot name any one particular company, but every automotive company is investing in this area.

There are primarily two reasons. One is that the quality demand and the performance requirements of parts for the local market are growing. The second is that more and more companies are exporting components out of India.

The China Plus One strategy is helping many companies explore global markets. One of the critical requirements for the global market is that they cannot afford to send even one incorrect part. That requires 100 per cent verification of the parts that are going out.

So, there is significant investment happening in this space across industry sectors and companies, including mid-sized companies, large companies and OEMs. Almost every company is investing in this direction today.

Are there any industry trends increasing demand for precision metrology systems?

We are now seeing a big push for EVs. There is also a lot of localisation of EV parts happening in India. As a result, a lot of measurement solutions are being provided.

The second aspect I spoke about is the 3C sector. EVs can actually be considered as a sub-component of the 3C sector itself because the machining practices are very similar in this area.

These two sectors are greenfield sectors and are growing with far more traction than even other sectors.

How do you see automation, digital quality systems and smart manufacturing shaping the metrology industry over the next three to five years?

Metrology is becoming an integral part of the smart factory. There is a need for quick feedback to the machining centre so that every part being produced conforms to quality. With the volumes we have, process monitoring has to be done through an automated system rather than waiting for the operator to detect variations and take corrective action.

It has to be part of an integrated process where the system itself carries out auto-correction based on feedback.

Therefore, communication between the machining centre, part handling system or automation system, and the metrology equipment is the need of every modern shop floor going ahead.

In terms of Indian metrology growth, we have been growing at a growth rate of over 20 per cent year-on-year, and I think the market is growing even faster than that.

The overall manufacturing growth rate in India itself is anywhere between 15 per cent and 18 per cent, as we are seeing in manufacturing.

What steps is Accurate Gauging taking to expand its manufacturing capacity in India, and how does this support your growth strategy for the coming years? 

We have been expanding our capacities and capabilities. On one side, there is a huge product range that has been developed and introduced in the market. A significant amount of our revenue goes into R&D for these products, especially optical systems and solutions for the 3C sector.

The second part is that, being one of the leading companies in metrology manufacturing in India, I believe we already have one of the most advanced infrastructures in place. We are scaling up this infrastructure, and in the next two years, our capabilities will almost triple in terms of installed capacity for machining and manufacturing.

Recently, we have also expanded in Karnataka. We have invested in Tumakuru Machine Tool Park. In about two years’ time, we will start the project in Karnataka as well.

Right now, our manufacturing capabilities are primarily in Pune. We have three sites in Pune where we currently do the manufacturing.

We also run five measurement laboratories across the country. We are present in Chennai, Bengaluru, Nashik, Delhi, Pune and Gurgaon. We are expanding our laboratory network as well, and we intend to be present in every manufacturing cluster with a measurement lab in the near future.

We are working on a three-pronged strategy. One is investment in the skills of our people as well as industry skills. We are working in this area because metrology requires very niche application skills.

The second is growing our infrastructure. As I mentioned, we are almost tripling our capacity in the next two years. The third is introducing different products that we are planning, with more focus on optical systems and laser-based systems for the industry.