The Gala Group, headed by Mr. Kirit Gala, believes that "Innovation is about challenging conventional wisdom and finding creative solutions, challenging the obvious, and combining discipline and competency in precision engineering." It proclaims that it is engaged in engineering next-generation solutions for a world on the move. Gala is a leader in manufacturing torque fatigue disc springs, regular springs and strip springs catering to the globe. The company is also a name to be reckoned with in providing surface engineering solutions galore. Mr. Anand Kaundanya, Chief Operating Officer - Surface Engineering at Gala Precision Engineering Pvt. Ltd. said that the company's innovations and engineering solutions help the customer achieve superlative quality and excellent performance of his end products.

(?) MFN: What are the prime activities of the Gala Group?

(!) A. K.: We are a technology leader in Springs offering a wide array of Springs for applications in automotive, off highway vehicles and the power sector. We also make precision assemblies where springs are the main components.
In surface engineering, we offer integrated solutions in the area of finishing and cleaning of metal parts. We provide end-to-end solutions for deburring, polishing and washing & cleaning of parts. Moving one step ahead, we offer finishing and cleaning solutions using robotics where safety, reliability and performance are of paramount importance. For deburring and polishing of parts, we offer vibrators, centrifugal barreling and disc finishing machines with complete automation. For cleaning of parts, we provide different types of spray cleaning, multi-stage ultrasonic cleaning and special purpose customized parts cleaning systems. In order to complete the spectrum, we also offer high quality media and compounds that are essential to achieve the required level of performance in finishing & cleaning processes.

(?) MFN: What are the different types of springs you offer?

(!) A. K.: Our range includes disc springs, strip & spiral springs, coil springs, special springs & assemblies. With our design capability and application engineering, we have become a preferred partner for OEMs.

(?) MFN: What are the surface engineering solutions you offer?

(!) A. K.: We at Gala see surface refinement as an art in engineering that we have developed with decades of experience and continuous innovations. Today we offer sophisticated, customized Surface Engineering solutions in the fields of deburring, finishing, washing & cleaning. Finishing is a proven, highly effective form of surface engineering. It occupies an important place in the production process. Our deburring & finishing solutions are tailored to suit the ever-increasing demands of modern manufacturing environment. We provide customized integrated solutions suitable for specific products and production requirements.

(?) MFN: What is precision cleaning of parts?

(!) A. K.: The parts cleaning process which results in achieving stringent millipore values and particle size and particle count is known as precision cleaning of parts. This also calls for complete oil-free surfaces.

(?) MFN: What solutions do you provide to achieve precision cleaning of parts?

(!) A. K.: Precision cleaning of parts can be achieved with a combination of cleaning processes such as spray, deep spray and ultrasonics. This is supported by basket dunking, basket rotation, basket tilting and agitation. Filtration at multiple levels is equally important. We provide all types of cleaning solutions under one roof.
This includes all types of spray cleaning machines such as those with a conveyor, rotary basket, an indexing station and others customized. Tabletop ultrasonic to multistage ultrasonic cleaning systems up to 5000 ltr work chamber with complete automated basket handling mechanisms are provided.
We also offer:
Single chamber multiprocess aqueous cleaning machines.
Rotary screw type Immersion and Spray cleaning machines up to a capacity of 1250 Kg / hr
Customised cleaning machines like Single piece flow ultrasonic cleaning, high pressure cleaning and Robotic cleaning, etc.

(?) MFN: Could you throw some light on your manufacturing facilities?

(!) A. K.: We have our manufacturing facilities in India. The plant is spread across an area of 31,000 sq. m, and houses our machine manufacturing division as well as our R & D Centre. The R & D centre conducts pre-sales trials to develop finishing & cleaning solutions to achieve the desired results. The Centre is equipped with a dozen machines for pre-sales trials; 85 varieties of media and 20 varieties of chemicals, and a plethora of instruments to measure various parameters like surface finish, critical dimensions, millipore value, etc. In the design office, we have facilities like AutoCAD, 3D modeling and modern workstations. We also have in-house facilities for SS & MS fabrication and machining.
We have a separate corporate office set up in India, as well as in Germany.

(?) MFN: What's your marketing / service setup?

(!) A. K.: We have a team of highly trained sales engineers stationed in various parts of cities in India. We also have an extensive service network covering major industrial belts across the country to attend to service calls. Service is crucial in our business.

(?) MFN: What are your significant and recent milestones?

(!) A. K.: Following are some of our recent achievements:
a. Export of finishing & cleaning systems
b. Turnkey projects in the defense sector
c. Manufacturing of precision parts cleaning systems to achieve millipore value of less than 1 mg
d. Successful completion of 5,000 ltr capacity ultrasonic cleaning system for a PSU sector
e. Successful completion of one of the world's biggest centrifugal finishing machines

(?) MFN: What are your new thrust areas?

(!) A. K.: Our thrust areas and new initiatives include: (a) Development of high technology aqueous cleaning solutions for precision cleaning of parts at par with global standards; (b) Application-based approach to offer customized precision cleaning systems; and (c) Building special purpose machines for the defense sector for polishing of non-ferrous parts.

(?) MFN: What's your vision for Gala precision?

(!) A. K.: Our core ideology is to be genuine, trustworthy, sincere, innovative, and committed to continuous learning and spreading knowledge. Our vision is to be No.1 in every market we serve and build the sinews of this organization to have the strength of a big enterprise and at the same time the leanness and agility of a small company. The Group will be driven by entrepreneurship and professionalism, and will offer great opportunities to deserving and dynamic individuals to make their mark in the world of scientific management. Furthermore, Gala will remain committed to spiritual orientation and peaceful co-existence of all stakeholders.

MFN would like to thank Mr. Anand Kaundanya for this interview!

For Information:
Gala Precision Engineering Pvt Ltd.
A 59 Road No.10, Wagle Industrial Estate
Thane 400 604 , India 
Tel. +91.22.4141 0404
Fax +91.22.2582 0771
E-mail: v.chandrasekharan@galagroup.com
www.galagroup.com