- Sahasra Electronics is targeting semiconductor manufacturing to offer import substitute alternative to Indian manufacturers
- Sixty percent of Sahasra’s revenue comes from exports, creating a strong of ‘Made in India’ Indian products in foreign markets
- The company plans to double revenue and commission 3 new manufacturing plants in the next 3-5 years
As India moves towards self-reliance in the field of manufacturing it comes across various challenges. The biggest challenge to manufacture 100 percent ‘Made in India’ products is the lack of proper infrastructure and supply chains of basic components without which any specialized product cannot be manufactured. As in the electronics industry, there is still a dearth of manufacturers who make semiconductors- a component integral to any electronic product.
Sahasra Electronics Group, an electronics manufacturing company, which has been in operation for over two decades, now seeks to bridge that gap and strengthen its position in the Indian electronics industry by unveiling new manufacturing units which would produce semiconductors along with a host of other electronic components which are currently imported from other countries such as China.
These new plants, once operational, will contribute towards attaining self-reliance in the field of basic components and help India to grow into a global manufacturing hub of the future. In an exclusive conversation with Machine Maker, Varun Manwani, Director, Sahasra Electronics talks about Sahasra’s journey and the ambitious plan.
Sahasra was founded about twenty years ago in the millennium year of 2000. Over the years the company has launched 6 different companies to cater to various sectors of the electronics market. Sahasra also has started a new company, its seventh, which is the first private company in India to completely manufacture NAND Flash IC packaging technology started in July 2020 and is the newest addition to their already large group of companies.
Mr. Manwani adds, “I am an Economics graduate and was present at the firm from the beginning since 2000. Hence I am in a unique position to view possible growth plans and decide what’s best for the company after staying for over two decades.”
Making in India For Global Market
Sahasra is primarily involved in electronics manufacturing and manufacturing their various components involved in the proper functioning of an electronic product such as PCBs. Regarding Electronics Manufacturing Services, Sahasra populates electronic components on a PCB and makes either a subassembly line or produces a finished product, which is known as ‘box made’.
Secondly, Sahasra also manufactures PCBs which is the raw board on which other components are attached and is one of the core parts of an electronic product. Sahasra also specializes in the LED lighting business. Their manufacturing plant in Rwanda, a country in East Africa is involved in the manufacturing and distribution of LED and solar lights, which have a large market nowadays.
Sahasra is incidentally the largest producer of memory products in India. These products include micro USB chips and pen drives, which have become a common necessity in the current modernization of the way we store and utilize data. They manufacture them under their brand as well as make them be sold by some major OEMs like Sony, Silicon Power, and so on. They also sell them to e-commerce giants which market them as their product. Thus they are arguably the biggest company in memory device manufacturing in India.
Technology Driven Global Collaborations
About 3 years back, Sahasra was involved in a joint venture with a large Taiwanese conglomerate which goes by the name of MaitakSinex Corporation. Through this joint venture project, Sahasra had access to their high-tech portfolio which includes motherboards and servers of industrial grade and automobile dashcams, and so on. Sahasra had access to manufacture and install them in India. This helped them grow their market share of the Indian electronic industry and provided a decisive advantage over their peers.
Sahasra owns 2 manufacturing sites in India and 1 in Rwanda. They have planned three new manufacturing plants in India. The first is expected to be operational near the end of December this year. The second will come up by June- September 2021 and will manufacture semiconductors. The third is still in the planning phase and will come up sometime in 2022. Most of Sahasra’s 550-strong employee force is located in India and some are in Rwanda. They have also 4 sales offices in India- one each in Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, and Bengaluru and one in the capital of Rwanda. They also have a presence in foreign countries in addition to domestic operations. Mr. Manwani says “Sixty percent of our revenue comes from foreign markets and exports. Hence we have set up sales offices in Pennsylvania in the US along with some offices in Canada and other countries.”
Self-Reliance in Electronics & Beyond
“The electronics market in India is still in a nascent phase when compared to other global nations like China and even nations like Malaysia and Vietnam whose electronic industry is far more advanced than in India. Hence it is still lacking in terms of infrastructure and electronic ecosystem,” said Mr. Manwani. However, he also added that India has a lot of potential for growth and with the current situation of anti-China policies throughout the globe and in India, there is a renewed pitch for self-reliance in electronics and beyond.
The Modi government’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and associated policies to help promote manufacturing in India is indeed a step in the right direction. Also, many global companies that were manufacturing in China, are now interested in moving operations to India. Riding on the current Anti-China wave can be a really good factor that would accelerate the growth of the electronics market in India.
To help achieve the dream of being the biggest electronic market and surpass that of China, India needs to proactively work on developing infrastructure related to manufacturing sectors. These include proper roads, railways, and ports and establish a supply chain of raw materials which could be the base of producing specialized products down the line. Currently, there is no ecosystem of infrastructure and supply chains in India. This needs to change as soon as possible so that more and more companies, both domestic and foreign, would be interested in manufacturing in India.
Way Forward: Expanding Manufacturing Facility & Market Share
“We are happy with our progress in these last two decades. We plan to double our revenue and commission 3 new manufacturing plants in the next 3-5 years,” Mr. Manwani. Sahasra feels the current period is challenging as well as exciting and they are poised to gain from it. Sahasra is taking some steps to ensure that its growth trajectory remains untouched. These include investing in new projects and manufacturing sites in the last 4-5 years and expand operations both domestic and international to ramp up their production of electronic services.
Sahasra is working a lot in the background to ensure that they become a part of India’s growth story. They have aimed to invest ₹350 crores over the next 5 years in existing as well as new projects. Sahasra aims to achieve their dreams with their innovative ideas and approach.
The group’s mission “to deliver goods and services of the high-quality level at competitive prices with a business velocity that can provide complete satisfaction to our customers anywhere on the globe” has been the success mantra over the last decade. For more details, visit:https://www.sahasraelectronics.com/
