Mikrotek has an in-house state-of-the-art manufacturing unit equipped with latest machines and technology to manufacture dies according to client’s specifications.
Mr. B. Kamal Babu — the Managing Director of Mikrotek Machines Limited believes that one of the major successes of the company has been in establishing itself as a leading manufacturer of diamond dies for multi drawing machines for copper wires. The dies offered by the company are used by leaders in the cable industry from different parts of the world. By using these dies, the customers have given Mikrotek an opportunity to contribute to its efforts in improving the performance of their machines. Furthermore, the company believes in handling its customer’s needs in a thoroughly professional manner, which has resulted in a win-win situation for both of the parties.
The company also provides technical support to its clients covering subjects such as die maintenance, customization of die profiles and analysis of wire breaks. With its products, the company has enabled its customers to reach wire breaks as low as 0.05 to 0.1 per metric ton of copper wire, measured at an optimum speed of 30 per m/s, and for an average wire diameter of 0.200 mm. In some special cases, the customers have even achieved wire breaks even lower than 0.02 per metric ton.
Moreover, the engineers at Mikrotek closely coordinate with the customer’s technical teams and design customized die profiles to suit their drawing conditions which depend upon the type and condition of the drawing machine, quality of input copper material, condition of lubricant etc.
Sharing few instances on how Mikrotek supported wire and cable manufacturers meet the set quality requirements —Mr. Manjunath, Head of Sales, mentioned two specific cases of a reputed Indian cable manufacturer and a leading copper wire manufacturer:
“Firstly, a reputed Indian cable manufacturer who was usually ordering from other sources placed an order with us. This cable manufacturer received an order from a reputed American company — however; the quality requirements for this order were so stringent that their client suggested that the Indian manufacturer procures drawing dies from certain die makers located abroad. Worried at the long deliveries and high costs due to customs duty of the drawing dies, the cable manufacturer hesitantly turned to Mikrotek for their need. We agreed to develop custom made dies to meet their stringent quality requirements; and also agreed that the manufacturer places an order only if they found the dies meeting the exacting quality requirement set by their client. Mikrotek executed the task — and in the process, demonstrated running their drawing machine at an average speed of 30 m/s which was earlier 22 to 24 m/s. Thus, a company with whom we were in touch for over a decade without business became one of our strongest customers.
“The second case is about a well-established Indian copper wire manufacturer. This manufacturer received an order from a multinational automobile company. After two attempts, the manufacturer could not meet the surface quality requirements set by their client. At this point of stage, the wire manufacturer approached Mikrotek — and the required diamond dies were produced and delivered to the manufacturer. The wire drawn using Mikrotek’s drawing dies was instantly approved. The customer has been awarded a long term contract with the multinational automobile company.”
Both these customers have standardized on Mikrotek and have reaped several benefits like running at optimal speeds, minimal wire breakages resulting in higher productivity and additional business.
Journey towards transition and transformation
Mr. Kamal Babu is of the opinion that while COVID came as a shock to many and disrupted their businesses beyond repair, it gave Mikrotek an opportunity to clean up several things in the company for which sufficient time was not previously available. It turned out that this period was one of great productivity and innovation the company needed. During these months, despite restrictions and hurdles, Mikrotek took several steps to service its customers with uninterrupted die supplies. As an example, armed with special permission from the Government, they were able to maintain a non-stop supply of dies to medical wire manufacturers and the same has been highly appreciated by their customers.
He further states: “It gave us an opportunity to streamline our production processes as a result of which we retired a significant number of old machines, refurbished some of our vital machines and set up an in house CNC tool room. Also, we could identify resources under stress and, as a result; we have brought in new infrastructure in the inspection department by adding three more state-of-the-art Conoptica equipment. This new investment reinforces our commitment to quality and strengthens our journey towards a zero-defect regime. We are now one of the few organizations in the world to have such a large and well equipped inspection and quality assurance set up. All in all, this has brought our company closer to the customers by helping us wield greater control on quality and reduce lead times.
Lean principles were always at the heart of our production philosophy. COVID gave us a perfect setting to renew our faith in Lean principles and made us work towards single piece flow in conformance with Lean thinking. We have rededicated ourselves to the principles of Lean and have rolled out a logical plan to instill Lean concepts in the daily routine of every member of our organization. We are confident that our dedication to Lean will carry us closer to our mission of being the most preferred drawing dies supplier to the wire industry.
Our company is driven by a passion to meet international standards expected by industry leaders. Being a young and dynamic team makes it easy to work towards our goal. The very fact that our customers are spread across the globe, Especially in Europe is a testimony to our efforts.”
