Sansuk Industries’ Director Pratham Shanbhag discusses the company’s 50-year evolution in sintered porous plastic filters and its plans for global growth.
Established in 1974, India-based Sansuk Industries manufactures sintered porous plastic filters. As a provider of sintered polyethylene (PE) filters, sintered polypropylene (PP) filters and sintered ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) filters in India, Sansuk is looking toward the global market to increase the company’s footprint. Sansuk is already well established in the air filter, battery vent plug filter and self-sealing filter markets, and is targeting the dissolution filter industry and fragrance wick industry over the next few years.
Arun Rao, IFN’s international correspondent in India, recently had the opportunity to meet with Sansuk Industries’ Director Pratham Shanbhag to learn more about the company.
IFN: Sansuk Industries is just over 50 years old. How did the business get started?
Pratham Shanbhag: Like any other business, the socioeconomic conditions are a starting point for any business. People want to do something additional to generate more income to support the family. My grandfather, RS Shanbhag, came from a technical background. He used to work for a company in the late 1960s, but decided to do something to generate additional income. That was the time, when polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene came into existence.
While experimenting with polymers, my grandfather came across sintered porous plastic and realized that this could be used effectively as filters. At that time there were no manufacturers of sintered porous filters in India, and very few manufacturers in the world. A few months of trial and error later, he figured out how to control the porosity and mean pore size of the sintered porous plastic filter. The first product that he developed was a filter cartridge used in resin traps and for demineralized water (DM) treatment.
IFN: Sansuk was among the first manufacturers of porous plastic products in India. How much have the company’s products transformed over the last five decades?
Shanbhag: Since the 1970s, we have witnessed significant changes of demand for filters in the market. In the 1980s, we focused heavily on sintered porous air filters. In the 1990s, we became one of the first companies in the world to manufacture porous plastic discs for battery vent plugs. In the early 2000s, our business moved toward manufacturing pneumatic mufflers and silencers. In the last few years, the majority of our business is in the medical field, especially self-sealing hydrophobic filters.
IFN: What are the various applications for Sansuk filtration products, and which industries do you primarily serve?
Shanbhag: As per our understanding, every industry needs a filter in some capacity. In the last 50 years, we have served a vast range of sectors, including automobile, textile, pharmaceutical, biomedical, hospitality, agriculture and electric power. Applications include air filtration, water filtration, biomedical filtration, battery filtration, self-sealing filters (ESR), diffusion and emission, fragrance wicking and more.
We also supply plastic filters to nuclear power plants. Our resin traps are used to pass water, without letting the resins pass through in nuclear power plants. Our filter cartridges are also used in nuclear power plants to distribute DM water.
We have also developed a filter that we call “porous protector,” for the horn of an automobile. This filter disc prevents any water from passing through and adversely affecting the mechanism of the automobile horn. Recently we further worked on these protectors, and developed sensor protectors. These porous sensor protectors will prevent environmental damage to sensors, primarily from moisture in the atmosphere and soil.
In the gold jewelry sector, a lot of gold dust flies around and mixes with the water that is used during the jewelry making process. Here too, we developed a filter that separates the gold dust from the water. All put together we may have manufactured around 5,000 various filter elements to date, each with a different design and micron pore size.
IFN: How has the company’s identity and product range transformed from its early years to where it stands today?
Shanbhag: Our product range has diversified with the passage of years. We have porous plastic filters that are 1 meter long, and also supply those which are just 2 millimeters long. Similarly, we can adjust the mean pore size of the filter to anything from 1 micron to 500 microns.
IFN: Filter elements made from which raw materials have the highest sales?
Shanbhag: The highest sales of filters are filter elements made from textiles. However, if we are talking about our segment, sintered PE filters and sintered PP filters are most in demand.
IFN: To date, what has been the most challenging product development initiative?
Shanbhag: The most challenging assignment we faced was when some of our customers in the medical pathology industry had requirement of self-sealing hydrophobic filters, such that air could pass through the filters, but any liquid should not. These filters are used in intravenous (IV) cannulas, negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) tests.
It took us 18 months to develop these filters and now they are one of our most successful products. IV Cannulas need self-sealing filters because they need air to pass through, but stop blood from flowing. ESR filter tips are used to separate blood from plasma for medical diagnoses. NPWT suction filters are used to protect the suction machine from damage from liquids.
IFN: How do you decide which filter material best suits a given application?
Shanbhag: The polymer is selected based on the end application, and also other parameters like the budget of the customer, and the pressure and temperature that the filter will have to withstand. We also give samples in various polymers for the customer to decide which polymer best suits their requirements.
IFN: Do you have a research and development (R&D) department? Are there any filtration problems that were challenging to solve?
Shanbhag: R&D is our major strength and is the main pillar of our company. Most of the products that we manufacture and supply are a result of our R&D. Our R&D team is continually working toward developing better products and sourcing the best raw material. Recently our R&D team had a breakthrough in sintered UHMWPE filters and was able to develop a flexible filter rod.
IFN: How do you ensure your products remain competitive at an international level?
Shanbhag: When products are standardized, it is difficult to compete with Chinese manufacturers. We are competitive when it comes to manufacturing customized products, while also offering faster turnaround times. I recall one incident where a company that needed a filter gave us and a competitor a product design.
We delivered the sample product while the other company was still studying the design. Our objective has always been to remain competitive. With each passing year, the automotive battery industry is constantly trying to reduce prices for the battery components. We have been able to continuously meet their demands.
IFN: How significant is your export business today, and which international markets are you most active in?
Shanbhag: We do both direct and indirect exports and they account for around 15 percent of our revenue, while the domestic market accounts for the rest. We export to the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, France, Russia and also a few African countries. We are exhibiting at Filtech 2026 in Germany to expand our export markets.
IFN: Are there markets or any strategy you’re actively targeting for expansion in the next three to five years?
Shanbhag: In the next five years we envisage a lot of demand for sintered porous plastic filters in automotive battery vent plug industries, dissolution filter industry and fragrance wick industry. These three industries are growing rapidly.
IFN: If you could change one thing about how Indian manufacturing is perceived globally, what would it be?
Shanbhag: Supplying products of consistent quality is the most important change that Indian companies need to do. Secondly, globally, customers are reducing the tolerance limits in the products they purchase after which Indian manufacturers act and do the needful. All of us together need to work on reducing tolerance levels before the customer’s demands it and thereby be faster in implementing changes.
IFN: What does the next chapter of Sansuk Industries look like?
Shanbhag: We are now open to white labeling or producing on a job work basis and we would like to increase penetration and the business of our products supplied to the healthcare and agriculture industry.
IFN: In another 50 years from now, what would you want Sansuk Industries to be known for?
Shanbhag: We would like Sansuk Industries to be known as an excellent producer of porous plastic filter elements. In the past, we have been able to sell to buyers who were buying Chinese plastic filter elements and will strive to be the first choice for customers.
IFN: What products is your company displaying at the upcoming Filtech 2026?
Shanbhag: This is the first time we are exhibiting at Filtech 2026. To date, we have had customers approaching us with their requirements and challenges, and we have never actively marketed our products. But we now feel the need to be closer to our customers and promote our products in the global market.
We are displaying all our major products, including porous plastic filter discs, porous plastic filter rods, porous plastic filter candles, air filters, self-sealing filters, SPE frits, HPLC filters, dissolution filters, micropipette tip frits, ESR filter tips, dissolution filters, fuel filters, pneumatic silencers, pneumatic mufflers, fragrance diffusers, fragrance wicks, fluidization sheets and battery vent plug filters.
