"With India having emerged as a major auto component procurement hub for global OEM players, there is a rising thrust on technology innovation and cost optimisation for manufacturers. Most leading auto manufacturers of the world outsource their component manufacturing to India and by 2020, India's exports from this industry is expected to reach US$40 billion, from the current US$12 billion. With the new plant and our continued expansion plans in this vertical, we are looking to garner significant share of this market opportunity," believes Melligeri.
A strong supporter of the JV approach, he believes it will ‘enable his company to offer top quality ancillaries and sub-assemblies to global customers at a very competitive price as we can access the latest world-class technologies through our collaborations'.
According to Melligeri, the biggest challenge for him has been getting quality manpower for precision engineering in India. "It requires highly skilled operators. For that we have experts in Belgaum to train operators on how to perform optimally on the machines. We work with machine tool manufacturers on an ongoing basis to upgrade controllers to the latest versions and train machine operators. The availability of machine tools at the right time is very crucial to ensure production doesn't get hampered," he says.
Melligeri took a barren land of 250+ acres 30km away from Belgaum city and built a world class infrastructure to have 24x7 operations in 24 months period in 2009 during the middle of the global recession! "That was challenging. Our organisational ability to focus on the end goal and deliver against commitments against all odds makes us unique in that sense," he says.
Last year was an inflection point for Aequs. "After eight years we saw a growth phase achieving profitability. Automotive has been a profitable venture for long period of time." The company has extensive plans for India this year and looks forward to expand its capabilities and offerings. "We are always scouting for acquisitions to enhance our global capabilities," he shares.
Melligeri believes that if India needs to think global, Indian firms needs to streamline their manufacturing process as well. "At Aequs, our top management comprises a global team that handles individual divisions. We also take great effort to have right man at the right place for the right job with a right portfolio to achieve our goals in our capabilities," he explains.
"My mantra for taking Indian auto components sector to the next level is to delegate meaningfully and appropriately. This division of powers has helped Aequs in not just boosting productivity but also to emerge as an employer of choice. Employees at Aequs know that each of them has an important role to play and everybody is crucial to the Aequs ecosystem," he shares.
His personal vision to have Aequs SEZ evolve into a leading integrated manufacturing ecosystem. "At Aequs, we offer a fast, efficient, and extremely conducive environment with no bureaucratic delays or roadblocks -- most of the units took less than two years to go from green field to production. Our location in Belgaum enables us to attract the considerable engineering talent across South India, Goa, and Maharashtra. We see enormous potential for growth as a low cost manufacturing ecosystem."
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