supplier: Megatel Inc. | end user: Guru Machines
It’s not surprising that the father and son founders of Guru Machines, Niromlak and Ravinder Ghataurey formed a machine shop in 2015. In India, the family owned a manufacturing business that made conveyor systems and custom machinery. And when they came to Canada, Ravinder worked as a CNC machinist for eight years before he and his father decided to set up their own machine shop.
Since 2015, the Brampton, ON, business has grown steadily. Guru Machines started with one machining centre “and after that we just kept buying machines including the latest, an AWEA machining centre we purchased from Megatel,” says Ravinder.
The AWEA machine, installed in May 2018, is a VP series bridge type machining centre with a 1.2 m by 3 m working envelope. It’s the biggest machine to date for Guru.
“We purchased it because the machining business is competitive and this gives us an advantage,” says Ravinder.
While there were many machines to select from, Ravinder says he liked the AWEA in part because of the price point. “When Mo [Obradovic, sales application engineer with Megatel] stopped by, at the time we were considering another machine but then he showed us the AWEA and we saw that we would get a bigger machine for the same price of a U.S. or Japanese machine and we knew it would open up capabilities for us to expand our business. We also liked that we received full support and were offered a money-back guarantee that it would live up to the standards of a Japanese machine and Megatel has stood by us at every step.”
The AWEA VP series bridge type machining centre in Guru’s shop is equipped with a 10,000 rpm dual contact 50 taper spindle, 25 hp, and high pressure coolant through the spindle. The machine features Heidenhain linear scales, a Mitsubishi CNC control and Renishaw tool and part probes.
“The operators found the machine easy to learn and use and were used to it in a day or two, so we didn’t experience a learning curve. The machine has been running smoothly since it was installed.”
Guru Machines operates out of a 5,000 sq ft shop and focuses primarily on tool, die and mouldmaking sectors, machining mostly alloy steels and tool steel. The operation is capable of short and long production runs, as well as prototypes. Recently, the company achieved ISO9001:2015.
Ravinder says he and his father are optimistic about growth for 2019. “We have a diverse range of customers and there’s always room for growth in each industry. We’re planning on getting another machine next year, a five axis machine, so we don’t have to send five axis machining work out any more. Megatel would be our first preference because we’ve had good service.” SMT
