1. How has Rupkala Engineers evolved technologically over the decades, moving from conventional gear cutting to precision grinding and advanced metrology?
Rupkala Engineers’ technological evolution has been gradual and deliberate. Established in 1972, the company initially began gear manufacturing on conventional milling machines, catering to basic industrial requirements of that period.
As customer demands increased and component complexity grew, Rupkala progressed from milling to gear shaping machines, followed by upgrades to gear hobbing machines, which enabled higher productivity and improved consistency in gear manufacturing.
Recognising early on the importance of profile accuracy and surface finish, Rupkala began gear grinding operations in 1995. This capability was further strengthened in 2006 with the introduction of CNC gear grinding machines, marking a decisive shift towards precision-controlled manufacturing.
A major inflection point came with the establishment of a modern manufacturing facility in 2007, which enabled focused investments in CNC machining, advanced gear cutting, profile and generation grinding technologies, and structured metrology systems. Today, manufacturing decisions at Rupkala are driven by measurement data, process capability, and repeatability, ensuring consistent achievement of DIN 5 quality levels.
2. Your product range serves demanding sectors such as rail, renewables, compressors, and construction equipment. What core engineering strengths allow you to meet the performance needs of such diverse industries?
Across these sectors, material integrity and process discipline are as critical as dimensional accuracy. Rupkala’s core engineering strength lies in maintaining material quality and executing every manufacturing process in a technically correct and controlled manner.
The company has developed strong capability in manufacturing large-module and large-diameter gears, including components produced from die-forged blanks. Equal emphasis is placed on material quality assurance, control over gear geometry, profile modifications, and surface finish.
Close coordination between manufacturing engineering and quality teams ensures that each component is produced with the required reliability and consistency, enabling Rupkala to serve diverse and demanding applications effectively.
3. Maintaining DIN 5/6 quality consistently requires precision. Which processes, machines, and quality systems are most critical in helping you achieve these tolerances?
Consistently achieving DIN 5 quality is the result of integrated process control, rather than reliance on a single machine or inspection step.
Critical elements include advanced profile and generation gear grinding machines, controlled pre-grinding processes to minimise cumulative errors, and robust in-house inspection systems in close environments such as gear testers and roll testers. Structured inspection plans and in-process checks ensure deviations are identified early.
Equally important is the feedback loop between inspection and manufacturing. Process corrections are driven by actual measurement data, ensuring accuracy is embedded within the system and not dependent on individual operators.
4. Heat treatment distortion is a common challenge in gear manufacturing. How does your team manage post-heat treatment corrections and ensure accuracy in large gears and shafts?
Heat treatment distortion is addressed at Rupkala through comprehensive metallurgical control, preventive planning, and corrective capability.
The process begins with raw material testing in the in-house metallurgical laboratory, ensuring uniform grain flow, appropriate chemical composition, and hardness suitability. As a standard practice, Rupkala performs normalizing or isothermal annealing on 100% of components as pre-machining treatments to stabilise the material and minimise distortion during subsequent operations.
Pre-machining sequences are planned with suitable allowances, and close coordination is maintained with qualified heat treatment partners regarding process selection, fixturing, and loading patterns.
Post heat treatment, dimensional and geometric accuracy is restored through profile and generation grinding, supported by hard turning where applicable. Inspection-driven correction strategies ensure consistency, particularly in large gears and shafts where distortion behaviour must be carefully managed.
5. Rupkala handles both precision batch production and highly customised components. How do you balance flexibility and efficiency while keeping lead times competitive?
Rupkala balances flexibility and efficiency through a modular and engineering-driven manufacturing approach. Operations are structured to accommodate both batch production and customised components without disrupting overall flow.
Flexible machine configurations, standardised tooling methodologies, and strong involvement of manufacturing engineering during the development stage enable smooth execution. By front-loading engineering effort and minimising shopfloor iteration, Rupkala is able to maintain new product development timelines typically within 8–10 weeks, even for complex components.
6. With your long-standing presence in the Indian manufacturing landscape, what changes do you see in customer expectations in areas such as precision, noise reduction, and material performance?
Customer expectations have evolved significantly over the years. Earlier, gears were primarily evaluated on dimensional compliance and cost. Today, customers increasingly demand tighter tolerances, improved NVH performance, consistent material properties, and predictable service life.
There is greater awareness of gear micro-geometry, surface finish, and profile modifications, with customers expecting suppliers to possess a deeper technical understanding and contribute proactively beyond basic manufacturing.
7. As global OEMs increase their sourcing from India, what strategies are you adopting to position Rupkala Engineers as a trusted export partner?
Rupkala’s approach to exports is firmly rooted in its core value of a customer-centric approach, which places the customer’s interest first at all costs.
This philosophy is reflected through close coordination with customers at every stage—from development and manufacturing to inspection and delivery. Transparent communication, adherence to commitments, and consistent quality performance are central to Rupkala’s export strategy.
By prioritising long-term relationships and customer confidence over short-term gains, Rupkala aims to establish itself as a trusted and dependable export manufacturing partner.
8. What new technologies, whether automation, digital inspection systems, simulation tools, or next-generation grinding machines, are you prioritising to remain future-ready?
Rupkala’s focus is on adopting technologies that enhance process stability, repeatability, and decision-making. Priority areas include advanced gear grinding technologies for complex geometries, digital inspection systems, and better integration between manufacturing and quality data.
Selective automation is being evaluated to reduce process variability and manual dependency, ensuring long-term capability improvement rather than automation for scale alone.
9. The gear industry continues to become more competitive and capital-intensive. What major business challenges do you anticipate, and how is Rupkala preparing to address them?
Key challenges include rising capital investment requirements, increasing expectations on quality and delivery reliability, skilled manpower availability, and margin pressure.
Rupkala is addressing these challenges through focused investments, disciplined capacity planning, workforce stability, and by avoiding over-diversification. The emphasis remains on strengthening core capabilities and executing with consistency.
10. What is your long-term vision for Rupkala Engineers over the next five to ten years in terms of technology upgrades and market expansion?
Over the next five to ten years, Rupkala Engineers aims to strengthen its position as a globally benchmarked precision gear manufacturer, with a growing presence in export markets and technically demanding applications.
From a technology standpoint, the focus will be on adopting Industry 4.0 in a practical manner—connecting machines, grinding processes, and inspection systems so that shopfloor decisions are driven by real process data. The objective is better visibility, repeatability, and early correction, rather than automation for scale alone.
Rupkala will continue investing in advanced gear grinding and digital inspection systems, while gradually integrating production and quality data to improve traceability and process stability. By adopting Industry 4.0 step by step, Rupkala aims to support customers with consistent long-term performance and contribute to India’s emergence as a trusted source of high-precision gear components, pursuing growth in a disciplined and sustainable way.
Viral Panchasara is a third-generation entrepreneur with over 24 years of hands-on experience in gear manufacturing. He leads the technical functions at Rupkala Engineers with a clear, growth-oriented vision—to build a globally benchmarked organisation known for world-class quality gears. His deep technical involvement, combined with long-term thinking and continuous improvement, drives Rupkala’s journey toward excellence in precision manufacturing.
