New player on the toy market in India

Sanco was the first company anywhere in India to order a Mikron MILL P 500 Milling machine, which is designed for round-the-clock operation. Other high performance machines ordered by Sanco include the MILL P 900, the CUT P 550 wire cut machine, and the FORM P 350 spark erosion machine. “With our machines, Sanco can boost precision and efficiency in its production process. Many of the work steps are now automated,” says Suresh Peter, Head of Sales India at GF Machining Solutions. “Plus, the employees at Sanco have to put less effort into training than before because the machines are easy to operate.

Our System 3R tools also reduce the setup time for the machines.” Sanco’s core business is developing and producing solutions for high-precision tools and molds for customers worldwide, primarily in the aerospace, automotive, and medical technology sectors. Among other things, Sanco manufactures components for auto transmissions, seal slots, and metal implants.

Suresh Peter, who coordinates sales across the country from GF Machining Solutions in Bangalore, is happy to have Sanco on board as a new customer: “We were able to offer an end-to-end solution that will move Sanco forward.” The new machines will enable Sanco to implement its expansion strategy and tap into new markets. “Just as GF is passionate about manufacturing precision machinery, our passion at Sanco is offering our customers high-precision solutions,” says Salunkhe. “There is no question that GF is the world leader with its first-class machines.” According to Salunkhe, the machines from GF are a great fit for achieving Sanco’s goal of offering its customers even better solutions, as well as now producing its own range of toys. “While the costs are somewhat higher for GF machines, we also know that quality comes at a price.” Salunkhe notes that this aspect is not a given in India, as the South Asian country is what he describes as a “price-sensitive market.”

It took another year and a half before Sanco had its new expansion strategy in place and was able to select the new machines. However, the COVID-19 pandemic at this point had severely affected the whole world, and India along with it. “We received the enquiry from Sanco in the middle of the lockdown,” Pramod Saste now recalls. Saste is Senior Sales Engineer at GF Machining Solutions in Pune. “ Sanco wasn’t able to visit us in Bangalore due to the travel restrictions.” There isn’t a GF showroom in Pune, where Sanco is headquartered, so a visit would have been necessary to demo and test the machines,” says Saste.

“Luckily, we have a longstanding customer in Pune who made their machines available.” The demo was successful, and the tests ultimately convinced Sanco to purchase an end-to-end solution consisting of seven machines rather than the three machines that were originally planned. “Listening carefully to the customer is what made it possible for us to offer them the best solution,” says Saste. 

The start of serial production for Sanco Toys is planned for the end of March 2022, and this is only the beginning of the Indian industrial company’s expansion plans: “In addition to establishing our own line of toys, we also want to acquire new customers who need precision tools,” says Salunkhe. “We want to convince global suppliers, and especially European ones, that our service is the right one. When this happens, we will definitely invest in more GF machines.” In other words, it might not be long before there is another big celebration in Sanco’s production facility.