It was the beginning of the 1990s, HansRudolf Schurter took over as Chairman of the Board of Directors from his father Rolf. At the same time, Asia was the emerging continent. China was awakening and beginning to reform. The martial term Tiger Countries was on everyone's lips. Schurter, at that time almost exclusively present in Western Europe and the USA, decided to venture east as well in order not to miss this opportunity.
China or India?
But the focus was not on Hong Kong or Singapore. Many Western companies were drawn to China, others to India. The most populous countries on earth promised enormous potential. The choice between the giants China and India was decided in favour of the latter. HansRudolf Schurter assumed that the Indian mentality would be easier to integrate because of the English legal system and language.
First contacts
However, the first contacts between locals and members of the Schurter Group took place on the other side of the planet - in the USA. Bruno Schurter, then managing director of Schurter Inc. in Santa Rosa, California, maintained business relations with Asgari Lokhandwala. After his studies, Asgari worked for a company that manufactured power supply units for personal computers. For this purpose, he bought connectors and fuses from Schurter Inc. This was the beginning of the association between the Lokhandwala family and Schurter.
Commencement of business activities
Things officially got underway on 1 June 1995. The initial task of the newly founded company, which at that time was owned by the Lokhandwala family, was to introduce products from other Schurter Group companies to the Indian market. Four years later, a restructuring and a relocation were on the agenda. A pure sales office with less than 10 m2 of space became a veritable production facility. The Lokhandwala family entered into a joint venture with Schurter Holding today's Schurter Electronics (India) Pvt. Ltd. based in Gujarat.
5x20 fuses
5x20 fuses are used in huge quantities all over the world. It was no longer possible to produce these fuses in Switzerland at a cost-effective price, so Schurter began looking for alternative production locations at an early stage. Schurter Electronics (India) became the first multinational company to manufacture this important type of fuse in India. In addition, small parts such as spacers (transipillars) were also manufactured locally.
Injection moulding
More and more, however, the topic of plastic injection moulding gained importance in Vadodara. Machines from Switzerland and later from China (Shenzhen) were transferred to Gujarat to produce housings for connectors or power entry modules.
Own engineering department
After various certifications (ISO 9001/ISO 14001) and the knowledge of obtaining certificates for self-manufactured products according to UL and VDE, so much knowhow has accumulated over the years that Schurter Electronics (India) now has its own engineering department with the necessary measuring competences. In particular, appliance connectors are on the agenda here.
Renovation and expansion
Planning and initial work on the "Double The Space" expansion project started at the end of 2018. The project involves doubling the production and storage space to be able to handle the significant increase in production activities. In addition, more space was also needed for administrative matters in the office building.
The construction work was not always that easy. On the one hand, production operations and daily business were not to be affected. And on the other hand, an unusually heavy and long monsoon season in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic that started shortly afterwards in the following year hampered the construction work. These circumstances delayed the project considerably. By the end of 2020, however, all external construction work was completed.
The entire production and part of the warehouse were relocated to the new premises. Fortunately, this relocation went smoothly and with only minimal production downtime. Schurter Electronics (India) is now ready for the next 25 years.
