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Rukmini Priyadarshini

Fuelling the climb: Here's a player that offers IT-enabled engineering services for the aerospace and automotive sectors.

AFTER IT, BT and BPOs, the phenomenon of outsourced engineering services taps India's vast pool of engineering talent and meets the need of Indian and international players for such expertise. eWorld profiles Plexion Technologies, an Indian company that provides high-end IT-enabled engineering services to the automotive, aerospace and manufacturing sectors.

Venture-funded to the tune of $9 million by J.P. Morgan Partner (JPMP), formerly Chase Capital Partner; which holds a 70 per cent stake in the company, Plexion Technologies is clocking growth of 70-100 per cent a year and hopes to have an IPO in India in two-three years, according to Dr M. K. Padmanabhan, President. Automotive and aerospace companies need IT-enabled engineering service providers with a strong domain and process knowledge and "Plexion's people at all levels have experience in the global industry and are among the best," Dr Padmanabhan asserts. Plexion provides complete IT-enabled engineering services - including CAD, CAE, e-Engineering and software for engineering solutions, he says. With a mix of engineering and IT expertise, onsite and offshore facilities and a Web-based tracking tool that allows for customer follow-up, Plexion is sure it has a winning formula.

Plexion Technologies offers basic design, design validation, design automation, specialised and predictive analysis, 2D and 3D models, interference and packaging studies, product and engineering data management, engineering software solutions and e-engineering services in the automotive, aerospace and manufacturing arenas. It also develops technologies used in auto safety measures - with customers ranging from Ford, Daimler-Chrysler, Audi and Volvo to Mercedes Benz. The company has a strong presence in Detroit, so as to be close to its customers.

JPMP's portfolio companies include automotive, aerospace and manufacturing firms, and Plexion Technologies will leverage this and have a strategic alliance partnership with these companies to provide high-quality, cost-effective engineering services, Dr Padmanabhan says.

A key offering by Plexion's auto services is the development of software for engineering solutions. Dr Padmanabhan says these include CAD customisation such as developing software interfaces to CAD tools such as CATIA,Pro/ENGINEER, Unigraphics and I-DEAS; design automation, specialised application development that involves developing wrappers for existing core engineering application software; Web-enabled CAD services and so on.

Plexion has an E-engineering service that enables design teams, OEMs and customers to work closely together by deploying Web technologies, says Dr Padmanabhan. These include specialised application development and customisation for workflow management, configuration management, project management and engineering change management as well as data exchange and distributed PDM solutions.

Most design is engineering-minded, says Dr Padmanabhan. "We are capitalising on our knowledge base, and have obtained the Semirac certification for our design house," he says. Operating margins are 25-30 per cent in the industry and with the provision of high-end services, there is a significant opportunity to ramp up these numbers, he says. The company is looking to acquire small speciality design houses in Germany and France in a bid to get a toehold in the hard-to-enter markets. JPMP will support any acquisitions, says Dr Padmanabhan.

The Indian market too is on Plexion's radar, although not more than 20 per cent of its revenues is likely to come from the country. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and other defence and space establishments are its main customers. However, OEMs in the auto and aerospace industry in Europe and the US are a large chunk of its customers now and in the future, says Dr Padmanabhan. Plexion is also exploring opportunities in the embedded and telematics space in catering to the auto and aerospace industries, he says.

With about 200 people on board, Plexion hopes inorganic growth will add more customers while it exploits the advantages of offshore development in India for people growth.

Picture by K. Pichumani

priya@thehindu.co.in

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