For more than 43 years, Presto Group has supported manufacturers across India with quality control and testing solutions designed to improve consistency, reduce waste, and strengthen production confidence. What began as a family business founded by one generation has grown into a multigenerational company now led by brothers Vishal Malhotra and Gaurav Malhotra—with the next generation already joining the organization.

That long-term perspective has shaped not only Presto’s business philosophy, but also its decades-long partnership with Evident and the Magna-Mike™ 8600 Hall-effect thickness gauge.

“We are a family-owned company,” Vishal explained during a recent interview. “My grandfather started it, then our father joined the business, and now both of us brothers run the company. Fortunately, our sons have also joined the company. It’s more like a legacy company.”

Today, Presto serves industries ranging from beverage packaging and blow molding to automotive, medical packaging, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods manufacturing. Across many of these industries, the Magna-Mike 8600 thickness gauge has become a critical tool for non-destructive wall thickness measurement and process control.

Identifying a Gap in Packaging Quality Control

Presto’s journey with the Magna-Mike 8600 technology began nearly 25 years ago through close conversations with major customers in the beverage industry. At the time, manufacturers struggled to accurately measure bottle wall thickness and often relied on destructive testing methods that involved physically cutting containers for inspection.

“One of our customers told us they did not know how to properly test the wall thickness of bottles,” Vishal recalled. “That’s when we realized there was a real gap in the industry.”

That challenge ultimately led Presto to the Magna-Mike 8600 Hall-effect thickness gauge—and to a partnership with Evident that continues today.

“Until now, we love, eat, sleep, and drink the Magna-Mike 8600,” Vishal said with a smile. “We love it!”

Addressing a Growing Manufacturing Challenge in India

According to Vishal, one of the biggest challenges manufacturers face today is maintaining consistency while balancing rising quality expectations and strong pricing pressure.

“In India, the biggest challenge that manufacturers face nowadays is inconsistency in supplies,” he explained. “A lot of suppliers are providing molds that are not of consistent quality. Because of that, wall thickness keeps changing and fluctuating.”

At the same time, manufacturers are under constant pressure to reduce costs while maintaining product quality.

“The Indian industry is very price sensitive and very price conscious,” Vishal added. “Manufacturers want to deliver a good-quality product at a very low price.”

He emphasized that this challenge extends well beyond India.

“They want the best at the lowest price,” Vishal said. “That value proposition is one of the biggest challenges the industry is facing globally today. And that’s where we get into the picture and provide the solution.”

This combination of material optimization, tighter tolerances, supplier variability, and pricing pressure has made accurate thickness measurement increasingly important for packaging and manufacturing companies.

Why the Magna-Mike 8600 Hall-Effect Thickness Gauge Made Such a Strong Impact

Before adopting the Magna-Mike 8600 Hall-effect thickness gauge, many manufacturers relied on cut-section analysis, mechanical gauges, or approximation-based inspection methods that often produced inconsistent results and limited visibility into production variation.

According to Gaurav, the Magna-Mike 8600 thickness gauge fundamentally changed the way many manufacturers approached wall thickness measurement.

“These methods were slower, inconsistent, operator dependent, and frequently incapable of measuring complex geometries with confidence,” he explained. “The Magna-Mike 8600 thickness gauge fundamentally changed that by introducing non-destructive precision, and now clients can measure with much greater confidence.”

The ability to perform accurate, repeatable, non-destructive measurements has become increasingly important as manufacturers pursue lightweight packaging strategies and sustainability initiatives.

“Sustainability is increasing precision requirements,” Gaurav explained. “Manufacturers are reducing material usage to optimize cost and reduce environmental impact, but lightweighting cannot compromise integrity.”

He added, “The Magna-Mike 8600 thickness gauge enables that balance beautifully.”

Today, the Magna-Mike 8600 thickness gauge is used across a wide range of applications, including:

• Beverage bottle inspection
• Plastic blow molding
• Medical packaging
• Pharmaceutical packaging
• Automotive airbags
• Consumer goods manufacturing

Delivering Measurable Results for Manufacturers

Presto shared one example involving a packaging manufacturer that experienced recurring variability issues. Traditional inspection methods failed to isolate the root cause because the measurements themselves lacked consistency.

After implementing the Magna-Mike 8600 Hall Effect thickness gauge, the manufacturer was able to identify previously undetected thickness deviations across production runs.

The result was improved process control, reduced rejections, and stronger confidence in product quality.

“The real value was not just measurable—it was actionable insight,” Vishal said. “They were able to save a lot of money and time by reducing rejections.”

For Presto, the long-term value of precision measurement goes far beyond the initial investment.

“Precision tools should be judged by repeatability, reliability, ease of use, and confidence in production decisions,” Vishal explained.

More Than a Product: A Partnership Built on Trust

Throughout the interview, both Vishal and Gaurav repeatedly emphasized that Presto’s role is not simply to sell instruments, but to help customers solve manufacturing challenges.

“We do not sell instruments,” Gaurav said. “We actually help solve quality challenges.”

That philosophy includes application guidance, operator training, technical consultation, free testing services, and customer education programs.

The Presto team also highlighted the importance of Evident’s long-term support in helping them expand Magna-Mike 8600 Hall Effect thickness gauge adoption across India and Asia.

“Evident has allowed us to bring something really great to India,” Vishal said. “Their support has helped us gain this mileage.”

He added:

“Every time we give a demonstration to a customer, the wow factor is amazing. Every time they say, ‘This is the product we were looking for.’”

The company also praised the reliability and continued relevance of the Magna-Mike 8600 platform.

“The Magna-Mike 8600 thickness gauge continues solving increasingly complex manufacturing challenges with remarkable precision,” Gaurav explained. “That has been the backbone for us to sustain and grow Magna-Mike 8600 sales in India and Asia.”

Vishal also emphasized the emotional connection the company has developed with the product over decades of customer success.

“Every time we review our sales figures, we always keep a separate space for the Magna-Mike 8600 thickness gauge,” he said. “Sometimes we even debate whether we work with the Magna-Mike 8600 from the brain or from the heart. I think the heart takes over every time.”

Looking Toward the Future of Intelligent Measurement

As manufacturing environments continue evolving, Presto believes quality control systems will increasingly integrate AI-driven analytics, predictive quality monitoring, and real-time process intelligence.

“The future is intelligent measurement,” Gaurav said. “Measurement will increasingly move from detection to prevention.”

Even as technology advances, Presto believes one principle remains unchanged: quality measurement should be viewed as a strategic investment rather than simply a compliance requirement.

“Please do not treat measurement as an expense,” Vishal said. “Treat it as strategic infrastructure.”

He added:

“Do not buy instruments based only on price. Buy instruments that determine your quality. That decision will determine the future of your business.”

For three generations, that philosophy has guided Presto’s approach to quality, customer relationships, and innovation.

And through the continued success of the Magna-Mike 8600 Hall Effect thickness gauge, the company is helping manufacturers across India build something equally valuable: confidence.