With a legacy spanning over 95 years, Grob has earned a stellar global reputation for building cutting-edge machining and automation systems that power some of the world’s most demanding manufacturing operations. Now, with the inauguration of its first production plant in Bangalore, the German powerhouse is making bold strides into the Indian market—not just as a solution provider, but as a local manufacturing partner. In this exclusive interaction, the Managing Director of Grob India, L J Naidu sheds light on the company’s strategic focus, its offerings for sectors like automotive, aerospace, and e-mobility, and its commitment to blending German precision with Indian agility to deliver world-class solutions that meet the evolving needs of the industry. Excerpts:
Q. GROB is recognized globally for innovation and engineering excellence. What core values and differentiators make Grob a frontrunner in advanced machining and automation systems?
Our success is built on a broad foundation of values, but three stand out.
Innovation and Technological Leadership
GROB has been a pioneer in manufacturing technology since 1926, evolving from its first product in Munich to a global leader in advanced production and automation systems. We are committed to continuous technological advancement, as demonstrated by our development of cutting-edge machining and e-mobility solutions.
Sustainability and Responsibility
We integrate sustainability deeply into our operations and corporate philosophy. Our motto, “Excellence in sustainable technology,” reflects our dedication to environmentally friendly innovation, resource efficiency, and social responsibility. We actively reduce environmental impact through energy-efficient production and responsible resource management.
Family-Owned Stability and Values
As a family-run enterprise, GROB emphasizes long-term thinking, integrity, and a people-centered management style. This fosters a culture of trust, transparency, and respect, which is reflected in our global operations and stakeholder relationships.
Q. With the grand opening of your new manufacturing plant in Bangalore, how does this milestone align with Grob’s global growth strategy and commitment to the Indian market?
The inauguration of our new manufacturing facility in Bangalore marks a pivotal step in GROB’s global expansion strategy. India represents a dynamic and rapidly growing market, and establishing a local presence allows us to better serve our customers with greater agility, efficiency, and proximity.
Since 2009, GROB Machine Tools India Pvt. Ltd. has operated with its own subsidiary in the Indian market. The new plant is the logical next step in deepening our commitment—transforming our long-standing presence into a full-scale production capability.
This milestone underscores our long-term commitment to India—not only as a key customer base but also as a strategic hub for innovation and production. By investing in local infrastructure and talent, we aim to foster stronger partnerships, support the region’s industrial growth.
Our Bangalore plant is designed to meet the highest standards of quality and sustainability, reflecting GROB’s dedication to excellence and forward-looking manufacturing. It also enables us to respond more effectively to regional demands while reinforcing our position as a trusted global technology leader.
We are proud to bring in 100 years of German technology, experience and precision engineering to India being first German machine tool company with production plant in India as part of India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat and make in India program.
In the coming years GROB aims to develop India facility as a Global Competence Center as promised to Honorable Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Nara Chandrababu Naidu.
Q. Grob has deep expertise in 5-axis machining. Could you elaborate on the uniqueness of your 5-axis solutions and how they address the demands of precision-driven industries like aerospace and automotive?
Our G-series offers extensive capabilities tailored for the Aerospace OEM- and Supplier industry. Thanks to GROB’s unique “horizontal 5 axis and tunnel” concept, these machines excel in rough and finish operations of challenging aerospace materials, with optimized chip fall through upside-down machining – especially beneficial for aero engine & structural components. The customer benefits from perfectly coordinated drive systems that enable dynamic machining with maximum surface quality and dimensional accuracy.The work area imposes no restrictions on tool length, making it ideal for long blade geometries, while requiring minimal compensation movements regardless of tool size. Additionally, special table configurations are available for complete mill-turn machining of components such as blisks, IBRs, and single blades.
GROB is a well-known name in the automotive sector, and we have supplied machines and systems to almost all major OEMs and suppliers worldwide. To maintain and further expand this position, we are constantly evolving our portfolio, closely aligned with the needs of the industry, as our G920F5 demonstrates.The F5 in the machine name stands for 5-axis machining.
The G920F5is designed for the machining of front and rear bodies – also known as “giga castings” or “underbodies” or “ frame structural parts “ in automotive parlance – and is already in demand worldwide as a solution for the vehicle construction of the future. Its robust construction ensures reliable machining under demanding conditions, while its flexible configuration enables a wide range of machining options for the most diverse component designs. These F series machines are designed not only for the current challenges of the automotive industry, but also for those of the future.
Q. The Indian market is rapidly advancing in e-mobility. How is Grob positioning itself to support this sunrise sector with its modular and scalable electric powertrain solutions?
Since entering the field of electromobility 10 years ago, GROB has gradually expanded its product portfolio and expertise in this area. As GROB’s machining systems also largely produce workpieces for e-mobility, this division now accounts for almost 60% of the company’s output.
In the area of stator production, for example, we offer continuous hairpin technology, and insertion winding technology. GROB also offers various technologies in the rotor area, including needle winding and permanent magnet technology. This broad portfolio enables us to serve the Indian market, from 2-3 wheelers to larger passenger vehicles.This area, E-Drive, is also our current focus for the Indian market, we have already delivered many insertion technology projects and are delivering first hair pin stator line to India in July 2025 .
In addition to systems for stator and rotor production, GROB continues to focus on battery technology. GROB has been successfully developing and selling systems for the production of battery cells, modules and packs for several years. Our medium-term goal is to place these systems in the rapidly growing local market in India as well.
Since especially the battery sector, involves very complex technologies, it is very important to us to provide our customers with comprehensive support right from the quotation phase.
Q. What are the key product offerings and services from Grob India, and which sectors are you actively targeting with these localized solutions?
We generally offer our customers in the Indian market all available products from our machining and e-mobility portfolio. At our production facility near Bangalore, we focus on our access and Gen2 series within our universal machines, offering ideal entry-level versions up to high end 5 axis machines of the company’s unique technology. We are very successful with these machine models in India.
Our unique machine technology is supported by a customer-oriented and long-established service support. We have recently established a refurbishment center dedicated to our own GROB motorized spindles. With the capacity to handle up to 25 to 20 spindle repairs annually, we are the only German manufacturer offering such kind of service locally in India. This initiative significantly reduces downtime and offers a cost-effective solution for our customers.
Q. Given the cost-sensitivity of Indian customers, how do you strike the balance between offering high-end German technology and staying competitive in pricing through local manufacturing?
You’ve already mentioned the most important point. To produce a machine for the Indian market that meets their expectations for price, we opened our factory near Bangalore last year. By establishing a local supplier network, we will offer our customers the GROB quality they expect at a market-driven price. Our top priority is always delivering the GROB quality known from Germany. We have several German expats on site to ensure this. As you know we design and develop our machines in Germany and produce the same machines with 100% same quality and reliability in all our plants worldwide.
Q. Can you shed light on Grob’s contribution to the aerospace industry in India, and how your 4- and 5-axis machines are helping shape mission-critical applications in this domain?
Over 75 machines are already in operation in the Indian aerospace market, successfully used for machining structural components, turbo machinery parts, as well as valves and manifolds.We are particularly proud of the proportion of machines for blade machining in India. This is the highest country-specific share in the entire GROB Group. As we at GROB always say we start where our competitors stop in terms of cycle time, tooling cost, surface quality and reliability.
Q. How does Grob’s integrated approach—from planning and engineering to commissioning—benefit OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers in streamlining their production processes?
As a seasoned manufacturer of production lines, GROB delivers a complete turn-key system tailored to meet the demands of high-volume production.
Our services include the coordination and timely management of all sub-suppliers, along with meticulous scheduling, quality monitoring, and the provision of standardized documentation. We handle all approval and acceptance procedures and take full responsibility for interface integration. Additionally, we conduct thorough tests and trials to validate system performance. Throughout the entire project cycle, our dedicated project management and engineering teams provide consistent support and serve as direct points of contact.
By choosing GROB, our customers benefit from decades of experience in machining technology. They have a single, reliable contact person overseeing the entire project, with all services delivered from one trusted source. Our systems are modular and configured to meet specific requirements, offering maximum productivity and flexibility. This approach helps reduce part costs in series production, allows for quick adaptation to different components, and supports flexible adjustments in production volumes.Our turn-key approach is complemented by a holistic global service support.
Q. What trends do you foresee in the Indian machine tool industry, and how is Grob gearing up its R&D and talent development to stay ahead of these trends?
We are currently observing that more and more companies are switching from 3- and 4-axis machining to 5-axis machining which is our core strength. As specialists in 5-axis machining, we can of course provide our customers with the best possible support during this transition – both technologically and in training their personnel at our plant and also at our customer plant, which brings us to the next point.
The challenge of finding and retaining qualified personnel for sophisticated machining systems continues to grow across the mechanical engineering sector, also In India. In response, our customers are starting to rely on automation solutions. Initial customer projects have already been successfully implemented, and demand is clearly on the rise. This shift not only helps alleviate workforce shortages but also leads to significantly higher productivity and improved quality standards. Automation is becoming a key strategy for maintaining and increasing competitiveness.
Q. Finally, what is your long-term vision for Grob India in terms of growth, technology transfer, skill development, and contribution to the “Make in India” initiative?
Our long-term vision for GROB India is rooted in a strong commitment to sustainable growth, technological advancement and skill development.
With a generous first phase built up area of 7,800 square meters and a clear focus on quality and efficiency, our Indian facility significantly strengthens GROB’s presence on the subcontinent. This investment is part of a long-term, strategically oriented process that not only leverages the region’s dynamic growth potential but also actively drives technological progress. We have space available in our procession for expanding the facility 6 times bigger.
Our goal is to deliver customized and highly complex systems for a wide range of industries in Indian market, tailored to meet the evolving needs of customers in India and beyond. In addition to production, the site includes engineering, software, sales and service departments, ensuring that customer requirements are met with the highest precision and quality.
A key pillar of our vision is skill development. To address the shortage of qualified professionals at our Mindelheim and Bluffton plants, we have been employing skilled Indian technical specialists for years—currently around 50 in Mindelheim Germany and 30 in Bluffton USA. Skilled workers who will not only support the GROB plants worldwide but will also return to work in India after intensive induction and training.This is a great win-win situation from which our Indian customers will benefit sustainably.
We see significant potential in the universal machine business and especially in the aerospace sector, particularly in the Bangalore, Hyderabad and New Delhi region, where many of our customers and suppliers are located. While the Indian automotive industry still focuses largely on combustion engines, we are already engaged in early e-mobility projects, working directly with major manufacturers and suppliers.
For more information,
www.grobgroup.com
