On 28th August 2025, EMUGE-FRANKEN India celebrates its silver jubilee, marking 25 years of enabling precision manufacturing in the country. From its modest beginning with a limited programme of taps, the company has grown into a trusted partner for more than 750 customers across automotive, aerospace, and high-precision industries. This milestone year also coincides with another landmark: EMUGE-FRANKEN INDIA’s expansion, marked by the announcement of its 4th facility.
The parent company, EMUGE Werk Richard Glimpel GmbH & Co KG, was founded in 1920. FRANKEN GmbH & Co. KG, founded in 1916, was acquired by EMUGE in 1958, resulting in the formation of the EMUGE-FRANKEN brand. This merger provided the group with a combined heritage of over a century in threading, milling, and clamping technologies. In India, the journey began with the incorporation in 1998 and the inauguration of its first factory on August 28, 2000, at Village Kondhanpur, near Pune. Over the years, the company transitioned into a 100% subsidiary of the German parent, expanded with three factories, and is now preparing for its fourth facility to serve the next wave of advanced manufacturing.
At the helm of this journey is Santosh Ullal, Director & CEO of EMUGE-FRANKEN India, who brings a unique financial and strategic lens to the business. Starting as Financial Controller in 2002, he went on to shoulder dual responsibilities as Chief Marketing Manager and Financial Controller before being elevated to CEO in 2014. Over more than two decades, his leadership has combined financial discipline, customer-centric strategy, and a deep understanding of India’s industrial landscape, steering EMUGE-FRANKEN India from its early localisation phase to its current position as a market leader in precision tooling. To reflect on this remarkable journey, Machine Maker sat down with Santosh Ullal for an exclusive conversation.
The Journey: 25 Years of EMUGE-FRANKEN India
The seeds of EMUGE-FRANKEN’s Indian story were sown in the mid-1990s, when the German cutting tool giant began exploring opportunities to establish a footprint in the country. After years of deliberation and searching for the right entry model, the company finally decided in 1999 to set up a subsidiary in India. At that time, foreign direct investment (FDI) was tightly controlled, and automatic entry was not an option. “We had to go through a long process of approvals,” recalls Santosh Ullal. The certificate of incorporation was secured in December 1998, followed by government permission in February 1999 to operate as a joint venture. By May 1999, India’s liberalisation wave had opened the door wider, and the groundwork for EMUGE-FRANKEN India was firmly in place.
The landmark moment arrived on 28th August 2000, when the company inaugurated its first factory near Pune, dedicated to producing high-precision machine taps for the Indian market. The early days were cautious; operations began with a limited programme of taps, as the company carefully studied how Indian manufacturers would respond to premium, high-performance tooling solutions. But confidence grew quickly. “We didn’t know how India would receive a costly tool. Slowly, we expanded, adding thread milling cutters around 2008, and began assembling tap holders locally,” Mr Ullal explains.
Between 2009 and 2011, EMUGE-FRANKEN India inaugurated its second factory, enabling the local manufacture of tap holders and thread milling cutters. In 2018, they inaugurated the 3rd factory for producing high-precision milling tools. Today, they have three facilities in Pune and are looking towards further expanding their capabilities, focusing on serving the growing Indian market.
Customers, Market Growth & Value Philosophy
Over the last 25 years, EMUGE-FRANKEN India has established a customer base of over 750 listed clients, with numerous indirect users across the country. The company has particularly emerged as India’s most preferred brand for taps, and in recent years, its thread milling and end milling solutions have gained phenomenal growth. “Thread mills have brought us fantastic growth. In fact, in the last two years, we’ve seen 92% growth rates in this segment,” notes Santosh Ullal, underlining the accelerating adoption of advanced tooling in India.
This growth is carefully channelled through 36–38 focused channel partners, and dedicated 35 Application Engineers across India, ensuring that EMUGE-FRANKEN products remain application-driven rather than “over-the-counter” consumables. The emphasis is always on delivering solutions where they matter most, on the shop floor, directly addressing customer challenges.
Reflecting on India’s evolving machining landscape, Mr Ullal acknowledges the early perception that India was a market driven purely by basic machines and cost sensitivity. However, the reality has shifted dramatically. “It’s not just about conventional versus advanced machines; we provide solutions for both. What has changed is technology absorption. Today, customers understand that a higher upfront price is not equivalent to a higher cost. True cost is measured in consistency, performance, and value delivered per component,” he explains.
This philosophy has been at the core of EMUGE-FRANKEN India’s success: advanced, high-quality tools that deliver predictable performance, ultimately lowering the cost per component and enabling manufacturers to achieve global quality and productivity standards. For two decades, the company has applied this philosophy in all types of setups, and now, it is repeating the story with advanced machining environments, aligning perfectly with India’s rising industrial sophistication.
Rising Maturity of Indian Manufacturing
In the early years, many Indian manufacturers invested in modern machines but compromised on the tooling inside them, limiting the true potential of their investments. The lack of skilled operators further compounded the problem. But this has changed dramatically. Skill levels have risen, knowledge transfer across generations has improved, and younger, tech-savvy, experimental, and ambitious entrepreneurs are pushing the boundaries.
The second-generation leaders now entering the industry are particularly dynamic. They are more comfortable with technology, willing to experiment with processes, and focused on extracting maximum value from every investment. “Earlier, if we introduced a concept, it was easy for customers to dismiss it as impossible. Today, we hear them say, ‘Yes, this is possible,’ and then they push us to make it work. That is the biggest change,” he explains.
This evolution marks the next wave of Indian manufacturing, a stage where the impossible is no longer dismissed but pursued with determination. For EMUGE-FRANKEN India, this shift means more opportunities to demonstrate how advanced tooling can unlock value at the customer’s end, reinforcing the company’s belief that technology, when applied right, transforms the economics of manufacturing.
Future Roadmap & The Next Chapter
As EMUGE-FRANKEN India celebrates its 25-year milestone, the company is also preparing for its next leap forward. This year, the subsidiary is poised to surpass the ₹100 crore revenue mark, a significant milestone that coincides with its silver jubilee celebrations. But the bigger story lies ahead. “We will also be starting work on our fourth factory soon,” reveals Santosh Ullal, underlining the company’s confidence in India’s continued industrial growth.
Each expansion over the past two decades has been strategically aligned to customer needs, from the first factory in 2000 for taps, to the second in 2011 for tap holders and thread milling cutters, to the third in 2018, dedicated exclusively to aerospace manufacturing solutions. The upcoming fourth facility is a continuation of this vision, ensuring that EMUGE-FRANKEN India remains at the forefront in supplying cutting-edge tooling technology for emerging sectors.
Looking ahead, the company sees India entering its “third wave” of Make in India, a stage where manufacturers are building global-quality ecosystems. “We have been making in India right from the beginning,” notes Mr Ullal, stressing that localisation and value creation have always been part of EMUGE-FRANKEN’s DNA. The new factory will strengthen this commitment, offering advanced solutions tailored for aerospace, automotive, defence, and high-precision industries that demand the highest standards of reliability.
While EMUGE-FRANKEN India marks 25 years, its roots are intertwined with a much more profound global legacy. The parent company embody over a century of expertise in precision tooling, engineering excellence, and trust. “It is a 105-year-old EMUGE and 109-year-old FRANKEN legacy that we carry forward here in India,” says Mr Ullal, emphasising the depth of knowledge that flows into every product.
In his closing reflections, Santosh Ullal highlights gratitude as the cornerstone of this journey toward the German parent company, toward partners, and, most importantly, toward Indian customers. “Our customers believed in us and our philosophy that technology can be delivered right at their shopfloor. That trust has made this journey possible.”
