High-performance cutting tools are in strong demand: Tosher Hormusjee

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High-performance cutting tools are in strong demand: Tosher Hormusjee

High-performance cutting tools are in strong demand: Tosher Hormusjee

Interviews
May 26,26

In this interview, Tosher Hormusjee, MD, Gusti Tool Works LLP, explains GTW’s transition into a global productivity partner for manufacturing and emerging industry trends.

High-performance cutting tools are in strong demand: Tosher Hormusjee

The Bangalore-based Gusti Tool Works LLP (GTW) specialises in high-precision solid carbide cutting tools, offering customised, application-driven solutions for diverse industries. The company has strengthened digital workflows, enhanced productivity-focused tooling, and expanded its aerospace, defence, and automotive offerings. In this interview, Tosher Hormusjee, Managing Director, Gusti Tool Works LLP, explains GTW’s transition into a global productivity partner for manufacturing and emerging industry trends.

How is Gusti Tool Works catering to the needs of the manufacturing sector?

Gusti Tool Works LLP is a specialist manufacturer of high-precision solid carbide cutting tools. After digressing from GW Precision Tools India Pvt Ltd (currently Ceratizit), GTW was established with a vision to support India’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem with reliable, application-driven, and productivity-focused tooling solutions. The company carries forward a strong tooling legacy, rooted in decades of experience in precision engineering and cutting tool technology.

GTW’s manufacturing footprint includes advanced CNC tool and cutter grinding machines, cylindrical grinding infrastructure, inspection systems, online inspection processes, centralised coolant and air management, and a paperless ERP-driven manufacturing workflow. The company focuses on special and customised carbide tools such as drills, reamers, end mills, profile cutters, form tools, step tools, micro tools, and application-specific tooling solutions.

GTW serves key industries including aerospace, automotive, machine tools, die and mould, electronics, medical, energy, mining, locomotive, and general engineering. Our key strength lies in understanding the customer’s component, material, machine condition, process bottleneck, and productivity requirement before designing the tool. This allows GTW to deliver not just a tool, but a complete machining solution.

Our unique selling points are customisation, fast development, application engineering support, high-precision manufacturing, strong process control, import substitution capability, and the ability to design tools that improve cycle time, tool life, surface finish, dimensional consistency, and overall cost of ownership

What significant developments or innovations has GTW introduced over the past two years?

Over the last two years, GTW has strengthened its focus on application-based tool development, digital manufacturing discipline, and productivity-driven solutions. We have enhanced our internal systems for design control, manufacturing drawing release, inspection sheet preparation, first article inspection, and online quality checks.

GTW has also increased its focus on aerospace, defence, die and mould, and high-performance automotive applications, where tool geometry, substrate selection, coating, edge preparation, and process stability are critical. We have worked on solutions for thin-wall machining, titanium, Inconel, hardened steel, aluminium structural parts, high-precision holes, profile tools, and multi-step tools that reduce tool changes and improve component accuracy.

A major development has been our transition from being only a cutting tool supplier to becoming a productivity partner for customers.

How has Indian manufacturing sector’s growth influenced demand for cutting tools?

Indian manufacturing has evolved significantly over the last five years. The market has moved from cost-based manufacturing to capability-based manufacturing. Customers are now looking for precision, consistency, traceability, productivity, and global quality standards. India’s manufacturing sector has remained expansionary, with the manufacturing PMI at 54.7 in April 2026, indicating continued growth momentum.

Sectors such as electronics, defence, aerospace, railways, automotive, and engineering exports are driving higher demand for precision machining. India’s electronics production reached Rs 11.3 trillion in 2024–25, almost six times higher than a decade earlier. Defence production also reached a record Rs 1.54 trillion in FY 2024–25, with defence exports at Rs 236.22 billion.

This growth has directly increased demand for high-performance cutting tools, especially tools that can machine difficult materials, maintain tight tolerances, reduce cycle time, and support unmanned or semi-automated production.

What are the main challenges faced by industries, and how is GTW helping them overcome these challenges?

End-user industries are facing several challenges today: rising raw material costs, shorter delivery expectations, higher quality requirements, shortage of skilled manpower, increasing demand for productivity, and pressure to reduce cost per component. In advanced sectors, customers also face challenges in machining materials such as titanium, Inconel, hardened steels, aluminium alloys, stainless steels, and difficult-to-machine castings.

GTW helps customers overcome these challenges by engineering tools specifically for the application. We study the component, machine, holding, material, cutting parameters, coolant condition, tool path, and quality requirement before finalizing the tool design. This helps customers improve tool life, reduce rejection, reduce cycle time, improve surface finish, and achieve consistent output.

Which end-user industries are driving growth?

Automotive remains one of the most important sectors for GTW because of its volume, repeatability, and constant need for productivity improvement. Automotive customers demand consistency, cost efficiency, high tool life, and strong technical support.

Along with automotive, GTW sees aerospace, defence, electronics, die and mould, medical, energy, railways, and precision engineering as major growth drivers. These sectors require customized tooling, tight tolerance capability, high process reliability, and application engineering — areas where GTW is strongly positioned.

Emerging sectors are creating strong opportunities for cutting tool manufacturers. Electronics manufacturing requires micro tools, high-precision drills, small-diameter end mills, and burr-free machining. Defence and aerospace require tools for titanium, Inconel, aluminium structural parts, hardened steels, and complex profiles. India’s aerospace parts manufacturing market was estimated at $ 13.6 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at 6.8 per cent CAGR from 2024 to 2030.

Railways and infrastructure-related manufacturing are also creating demand for robust tooling solutions for large components, high-strength steels, castings, and productivity-oriented machining.

How are AI and automation impacting the machine tools industry?

AI and automation are changing the machine tools industry by improving planning, monitoring, quality control, predictive maintenance, process optimisation, and data-based decision-making. Customers are moving toward unmanned machining, digital process control, and traceable manufacturing.

GTW is adapting by strengthening ERP-based workflows, digital drawing control, inspection data discipline, online inspection, process documentation, and application knowledge capture. A complete unmanned production at our facility in night shift helps in faster delivery times for our customers. Our focus is to build a manufacturing ecosystem where tool design, production, quality, and customer feedback are connected through data.

What are the key trends in the Indian cutting tools industry?

The Indian cutting tools industry is being shaped by several trends such as localisation and import substitution, demand for customised tools, growth in difficult-to-machine materials, higher focus on cost per component, increased use of coated carbide tools, micro-tool demand, faster lead times, and stronger after-sales application support.

Customers no longer want only standard catalogue tools. They want tools designed for their exact component and productivity goal. This is where Indian cutting tool manufacturers have a major opportunity.

What are the company’s growth plans?

GTW’s growth plan is built around technology, capability, capacity, and customer partnership. We aim to deepen our presence in aerospace, defence, automotive, electronics, die and mould, and precision engineering. We will continue investing in advanced manufacturing, inspection, design capability, automation, skilled people, and application engineering.

Our goal is to position GTW as a world-class Indian cutting tool company capable of supporting global manufacturing standards. We want to contribute to India’s journey from being a manufacturing destination to becoming a product nation.