Global Accolades for Quest Belgaum

Frost & Sullivan Honours QuEST Global for Its Exceptional Competitive Strategy Leadership
Source:http://www.frost.com.

Last update: 1:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 13, 2008
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct 13, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The 2008 Competitive Strategy Leadership Award for Global Commercial Aviation Suppliers Based in India is presented to QuEST Global. The company's successful venture into manufacturing aero structures, aero engine parts and sub-assemblies for aerospace Tier 1 suppliers and OEM's has been followed by an exciting venture -- the establishment of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belgaum (India) for precision engineering. This strategy aims at optimally capitalizing on the opportunities in the aerospace sector, while catering to the complete aerospace supply chain on a long term basis.
"The precision engineering SEZ being promoted by QuEST Global will provide best-in-class facilities and infrastructure for the global aerospace industry," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst John Siddharth. "The SEZ, set to be operational by year end, is spread over 300 acres and will provide an ecosystem for OEMs, their suppliers, all ancillary and related end user industries to set up precision manufacturing and engineering units."
The SEZ will have a direct impact on the supply chain of the Indian aerospace industry. Currently, the industry is segmented. The SEZ aims at creating a complete supply chain for both the Indian as well as the global aerospace industry. It will act as a platform for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India.
The SEZ is strategically located and offers greater scope for expansion. It has access to a large talent pool of machinists. Belgaum, in the state of Karnataka (India), is a Tier-III city, and development/expansion in Tier-III cities is typically easier, less expensive and less cumbersome. Moreover, the SEZ is close to three sea ports and is linked to key cities through major highways. Belgaum also has an airport of its own, besides 2 other airports within 90 minutes drive.
Till date, four units catering to various areas of the aerospace supply chain have initiated the setting up their operations in the SEZ. QuEST Global is planning to double the size of the SEZ based on the growth needs of the companies.
QuEST Global is working with Aerospace OEM's and Tier-1's that are looking to globalize their supply chain to leverage the aerospace precision engineering ecosystem, by establishing facilities in the SEZ. QuEST Global is, itself, expanding its precision machining activities in the SEZ, and is also setting up a special processing company as a joint venture called Aerospace Processing India (API) with Magellan Aerospace. In addition, there will be a sheet metal unit and an engineering design unit in the SEZ.
"The strategic advantage of having players across the value chain in aerospace manufacturing in the SEZ, would be the amount of time saved for logistics, which is highly time consuming in the case of aerospace systems and assemblies," remarks Siddharth. "Since each unit in the SEZ would be a specialist in their own segment, this presents a win-win situation."
Importantly, the SEZ will allow QuEST Global to offer complete design to build services, right from the concept to the finished product that can be used to build an aircraft. This is a unique offering from QuEST Global that is set to gain widespread appeal in the aerospace industry, as companies consolidate their supply chain and look for more value-add from their suppliers.
QuEST Global has been growing substantially, with year on year growth averaging nearly 45 per cent over the last 3 years. In 2008-2009, QuEST Global is anticipating an over 75 per cent growth in revenues. On completion of the SEZ, the company's overall growth is set to rise more rapidly than the current rate.
The Frost & Sullivan Award for Competitive Strategy Leadership is presented to the company whose competitive strategy has yielded significant gains in market share during the research period. Often, the recognised company has taken advantage of recent market changes that facilitate the introduction of never-before seen methods of capturing and solidifying market presence. Alternatively, the Award recipient may have executed an innovative strategy within the existing competitive landscape, empowering the company to overtake the competition. In either case, the company captures the attention of the competition, which quickly adjusts in order to protect its own market position. Frost & Sullivan analysts expect such innovations to produce lasting, precedent-setting trends in the industry.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.
About QuEST Global
QuEST Global is a leading provider of outsourced engineering services and manufacturing. The company helps customers in the aerospace, power generation, oil & gas, civil structures, industrial products, and transportation verticals to cut product development costs, shorten lead times, extend capacity and maximize engineering resources availability by providing support across the complete product life cycle from design and modelling through analysis, prototyping, automation, data documentation, instrumentation and controls, embedded systems development, manufacturing support, vendor management, and in-house precision machining. Through our Global Product Development framework and our on-site/off-shore/on-shore models, we leverage our local presence and global reach to support globalization initiatives for our customers. QuEST Global employs over 1500 people and has delivery centres in India, USA, Italy, Japan and footprints in UK, Germany, France, Spain and China. For more information, visit http://www.quest-global.com.