Defiance Technologies, a Hinduja group company and a provider of integrated engineering, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and IT solutions and services, plans to provide end-to-end solutions for aerospace companies as systems integrator. It will leverage Ashok Leyland's manufacturing capabilities to provide this service, according to Subu D. Subramanian, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
Similarly, for automotive companies, he said, Defiance Technologies was gearing up to provide product development as service. It would provide services from concept to prototype. The company had entered into an agreement with five aerospace and four automotive companies for the above businesses. To strengthen its presence in aerospace and SAP consultancy, the company had decided to acquire one aerospace engineering company in Germany and two SAP consultancy companies (one each in Europe and the U.S). “There will be two types of acquisitions — small cap companies with niche technology having a turnover of $5-10 million and large cap companies with a turnover of $40-50 million,” he said.
The company also proposed to invest 5-7 per cent of its revenue in creating IP and innovation. Defiance Technologies recorded a revenue of $50 million this year and hoped to double it next year.
At present, the company earned 55 per cent of its revenue from emerging technology and manufacturing space. The remaining came from enterprise and engineering space. It planned to enter newer geographies such as France, Singapore, Korea and Thailand.
Mr. Subramanian said the Chennai-based company had operations in the U.S., Germany, South Africa and Dubai and employed around 1,200 people. It had five centres in India and one development centre in Germany.
On the automotive business, he said all the auto majors were present in the emerging markets. India was becoming a major hub for all these majors. “The main agenda of these auto companies is to capitalise opportunities in the emerging countries and grow faster by applying the emerging technologies. Defiance Technologies will align with the auto majors to provide customised design to suite these emerging markets,” he added.
“We re-design and re-engineer the entire automobile's body structure (body in white) and engine (powertrain) for the emerging markets. Nearly 40 per cent of the automobile's products are customised for the emerging countries,” he said.