N. Jehangir,
Chairman, NeST Group &
MD, SFO Technologies Pvt Ltd
SFO Technologies, part of the NeST Group, operates across a range of industries including Aerospace & Defence, Communications, Energy & Industrial, Healthcare, and Transportation. In an interview with Aeromag, N. Jehangir, Chairman of the NeST Group and MD of SFO Technologies Pvt Ltd., discusses the company’s operations, exports, focus areas, etc.
How does SFO Technologies position itself within India’s burgeoning defence manufacturing and export ecosystem today?
Over the past three decades, SFO has expanded significantly through its focus on building strategic partnerships with OEMs and providing them comfort in agility to acquire advanced technologies and skills. Fortunately, these three golden initiatives have proven successful as we have progressed in the areas of A&D manufacturing and exports. Consequently, positioning ourselves as a ‘leading nice service provider’ in both Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) and Original Design Manufacturers (ODM) for Tier 1 and 2 OEMs worldwide has been straightforward for us, thanks to the trust our customers place in us as their Strategic Partner.
Could you reflect on your growth over the past decade, especially on your current export business?
SFO achieved a steady annual export growth of 15% for A&D Business in the past decade. Following the announcement of the Make in India initiatives, our offset business significantly contributed to the enhancement of exports through Tier 2 players.
You have developed significant technologies in fiber optics, photonics, lasers, high-capacity electronics, and avionics with DRDO laboratories. How do you collaborate with other defence PSUs and private entities?
While SFOs high-end and niche competencies are always appreciated, breaking into PSUs has consistently been challenging for us. This difficulty arises mainly because PSUs possess their own design and production capabilities. Besides, there are the intricacies of the tendering process often placing us at a disadvantage. However, we are gradually overcoming these challenges as PSUs begin to recognize the importance of partnerships with private companies to meet the high demand from the A&D sector.
With PSUs, having started considering outsourcing their EMS needs recently, discussions are at an advanced stage with some of the larger companies. SFO is confident of securing several large contracts soon.
How does SFO Technologies contribute to enhancing operational flexibility and customer satisfaction for Aerospace & Defence OEMs?
Customer centricity is one of the most important core values we cherish. From top to bottom, everyone in the hierarchy works like a well-oiled machinery to boost operational flexibility and exceed customers expectations.From the proposal phase to design and prototype development, through pilot production and project closure, the workflow incorporates flexibility, allowing the team to specify the methodology used at each stage with specific approvals of the customer.
Likewise, product failure mode and effect analysis, design of experiments, product realization plans including process and performance criteria, automated preventive maintenance and calibration programs, and automated plant management systems for traceability down to component and operator levels are some of the best practices that SFO meticulously follows for ensuring that our A&D OEMs are supported fully.
To what extent do your efforts align with the Make in India initiative of the country?
At the forefront is the offset program pursued by the Defence forces. SFO with its global A&D clientele and industry-specific quality certifications such as NADCAP, AS 9100:2016, ISO ESD S 20:20, Rev 2021, ISO 27001:2013, ISO 45001:2018, CMMI Level 5 V 2.0, along with state-of-the-art production facilities in Cochin, Bangalore, Pune, and Mysore, is able to provide indigenous solutions to global customers at a competitive price. This enables customers to meet their offset obligations effectively. Initially, customers start with SFO for their immediate Indian requirements, and through sustained relationships, world-class quality, and on-time delivery, we support their supply chain for global requirements as well. The vertical integration capability is one of a kind in India, as we provide end-to-end solutions for customers’ manufacturing needs, the advantages being easy vendor management and cost-benefit to customers.
Secondly, SFO also leverages the end-to-end competencies, from design to bulk production, to utilize its ODM Plus expertise to support new products or value- engineered products to meet the significant demand from all three defence forces of the country.
