Grind Master marks 40 years of innovation

By Staff Report April 7, 2025 7:11 pm IST

Grind Master celebrated its 40th anniversary of innovation, excellence, and sustainability in manufacturing at an event on 29th March 2025. The event featured a guided tour of the River Rejuvenation project, which showcased the latest developments in metal finishing.

Grind Master, the global leader in metal finishing technology, celebrated 40 years of relentless innovation, excellence, and sustainability in manufacturing at an event held on 29th March 2025, jointly with Ecosattva, a force for sustainability and civic transformation. Grind Master has been more than just an innovator in engineering—it has also been an incubator for Ecosattva, providing support, resources, and infrastructure to help drive its mission. With organisations working out of the same premises and supporting many pilot projects.

Grind Master launched an autobiography, ‘Garage to Global’, written by CEO Sameer Kelkar. “Garage to Global” delves deep into the remarkable history of Grind Master, founded in 1984 in a small garage by Milind and Mohini Kelkar. The book captures the vision, innovation, and relentless determination that propelled Grind Master.

“In our small way, we have tried to develop things that were not developed earlier. We began without a pedigree in machine building. Later we went on to build microfinishers that compete with the best in the world. Though the company is not large in turnover and size, its achievements in selling sophisticated machines internationally to developed countries are of interest. The thought process behind going global with innovative products required a giant lot of confidence, creative thinking, perseverance, and sweat. Writing ‘Garage to Global’ was a journey in itself, uncovering the layers of innovation and resilience that define Grind Master. It’s a story that will resonate with anyone who values perseverance and ingenuity,” said Sameer Kelkar.

Celebrating engineering excellence and innovation in sustainability

Ecosattva began as a small civic transformation project focused on solid waste management, river restoration, and afforestation efforts and has now grown into an internationally recognised movement, winning prestigious global awards.

The Kham River project won two major international awards—

1. WRI ROSS Foundation Prize for Cities – in New York, September 2024

2. St Andrews Prize for Nature – in Scotland, October 2024

The project was also the subject of a TED Talk delivered at MIT Boston.

This incredible project thrives on collaboration—with contributions from the Municipal Corporation, Varroc, Cantonment Board, and Ecosattva.

The celebration took place in the form of open house events at Grind Master and at Kham Eco Park and a celebration evening at the Taj Vivanta. The programs were attended by industry stalwarts, key stakeholders, global experts, government officials and media representatives.

The Open House at Grind Master showcased the latest developments in the field of metal finishing. Satish Netalkar and Soniya Netalkar inaugurated the event that featured the IMTMA Design Award Winning Bearing Raceway Superfinishing Machine and R&D Facilities for Key Process Research in manufacturing. Grind Master partners with IIT Madras and is supported by MHI in some of its endeavours for MAKE IN INDIA – MAKE for WORLD.

The Open House at Kham Eco Park exposed visitors to the River Rejuvenation project with a guided tour explaining the river, its significance to the city, and how the restoration efforts are being done collaboratively following ecological principles. Ecosattva has used its expertise gained over the years in planning, solid waste management, afforestation and wastewater management to achieve significant milestones in this project. Further partnerships with organisations in the city will only take the project forward.

Garage to global – Launched at IMTEX 2025

The Celebration evening featured a free wheeling discussion about the journey of Grind Master. 

Baba Kalyani, CMD of Bharat Forge, writes in the foreward of the book ‘Garage to Global’ – One of the most intriguing aspects of their approach is their quality philosophy: 100-1 = ZERO. This relentless pursuit of perfection reveals itself through the book. I also found the last chapter, which delves into Grind Master’s ‘Subhashita’, particularly interesting. The saying, “sweat in Grind Master rather than bleed at the customer’s end,” reflects a principle that not only applies to them but is a guiding philosophy for any business striving for excellence. Rajesh Mandlik, Mukund Bhogale and Kultar Singh each of whom have been involved in the journey as friend, partner, motivator gave their insights into various aspects of the journey – including partnerships, audacity, succession planning and more.

Yatin Shah, Chief Guest, said, “Capital goods, in particular machine tools, are a real measure of a nation’s technological prowess. In building a specialised equipment business from scratch, the Grind Master story demonstrates the strength of MAKE IN INDIA. The manufacturing industry needs to more proactively partner with the machine tool industry to develop self-reliance.”

Natasha and Gauri, founders of Ecosattva, reflected on their journey in the past 10 years, highlighting the partnerships with government for creating on-the-ground impact. The success of the Kham Project reflects a truly collaborative approach for transforming the city. The Ecosattva team has engaged with multiple partners, including the Municipal Corporation, Varroc, and the Cantonment Board. The project has the momentum to move forward along the length of the Kham River and also expand to other wetlands in the district.