At drupa 2016, Stallion Innovative Machines demonstrated its latest product – the M30 STITCHmaster, programmable wire stitching machine. The machine has been developed in collaboration with DeLuxe Stitcher Company of USA. The M30 has a speed of 20 sections a minute and can take book thickness of up to 30 mm. It is ideal for thick works like business forms and ticket books. The M30 was displayed online with Stallion’s automatic spine taping machine, the TAPEmaster, as one unit. Also on display was the company’s manual wire stitching machine, PINmaster.
Based in Andheri, Mumbai, Stallion Innovative Machines has come a long way in the last decade. It now has a portfolio of 11 products comprising stitching machine, taping machine, binding machine, folding machine, pinning machine, cutting and gluing machine, gumming machine, and other machines which are manufactured at the company’s Andheri East unit. Alhad Gandre, CEO of Stallion says, “For the first five to six years the company was selling just seven to eight machines in a year but with new and innovative products, sales gradually improved and in the last two years it has been selling close to 50 machines annually. Now we have about 450 installations in India and approximately 50 overseas.”
Apart from its focus on new innovative products, what was instrumental in the company’s European breakthrough was its marketing tie-up with Ireland-based Pro-Bindree. The last financial year was good for Stallion as it managed to penetrate developed markets in Europe such as the United Kingdom, Greece and Ireland informs Gandre. There were four installations in the United Kingdom and two each in Greece and Ireland. These eight installations were of the company’s flagship product, the M19 STITCHmaster.
Buoyed by the success, Gandre says, “Our machines are the very best in the world. And we offer Indian craftsmanship at a competitive price. However, our customers are not necessarily attracted by the economic sense of the machines as they also believe in the quality that we have been able to achieve. Trust is more important. And, honestly, I do not believe in going all out to achieve terrific numbers. What we believe in is trust and quality and our customers should be happy with our machines.
I feel vindicated when my existing customer recommends our machines to a prospected customer because of the efficiency and quality that they have received from our machines.”
The Indian market has picked up for Stallion and Gandre says that its machines are spread along the length and breadth of the country. “Although coming to a show like drupa helps in our overseas sales, the Indian market is a priority for us. We have booked ourselves in Printpack 2017 to attend and showcase our products to this market. We have also already booked ourselves a prime location at Pamex which will be held in December 2017. We know the value of our products and we aim to help our customers reach their goal with our trusted machines,” Gandre concludes.
