As Larsen & Toubro (L&T) forays into the industrial electronics segment and sets up a new business vertical, L&T Electronic Products & Systems (LTEPS), the engineering major is set to anchor manufacturing operations for this out of Coimbatore.
“We have a 40-acre campus in Coimbatore, and we have commissioned two lines of PCB assembly, that is now starting off with making DC-DC and AC-DC converters for chargers and some orders we have received from a sister company,” Prashant Chiranjive Jain, Head, Corporate Centre, L&T, told businessline in an interaction.
“We will be setting up a ground-plus-three larger building of approximately 20,000 sq ft in the same campus,” he added.
The new business vertical will focus on power electronics, automotive electronics, industrial robotics and Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM), among others, and will leverage L&T’s existing precision engineering and defence manufacturing strengths in Coimbatore. The idea is to provide robust and secure hardware and software for the country’s electronics needs, Jain said.
G+3 building
“The entire business is staffed. We have got about 400 employees on the ground, the first two lines are up and running, and the additional G+3 building is in the stage of planning and permit. The aim is to get the G+3 complex to be up by the end of the year,” added. He anticipates that by early next year, the division will start seeing “meaningful scale.”
LTEPS’ focus will span strategic electronics such as existing defence systems like radar, fire control, missile systems, power electronics including battery energy storage systems, central inverters, grid converters, automotive electronics such as EV drivetrain products and motor control units (MCUs), affordable ADAS systems, industrial robotics and automation systems, and the full-stack electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM).
One of their first products is a motor-control-unit platform for an electric vehicle (EV) motor. “Currently, we are launching in three variants, which is about 60 kilowatt to 300 kilowatt, which will be suitable for the small three-wheeler, four-wheeler commercial vehicle,” he said. “We have got an anchor customer. And we have got a very positive response for this product,” he added.
The division is also set to benefit from synergies with the conglomerate’s existing ventures, such as L&T Technology Services and the semiconductor fabless firm L&T Semiconductor Technologies. L&T Technology Services provides design services to global clients, but currently has a gap in manufacturing services. Similarly, L&T Semiconductor can complement L&T Technology Services by designing SOCs (system-on-chip) for its electronic products.
In the current Indian electronics ecosystem, Jain noted that it is largely high-value, low-IP-driven manufacturing, and L&T is looking to focus on an IP- and R&D-led business. “We want to create value; we do not want to compete and create a competitive pressure in the market,” he said. The division will be engaged in R&D, design, and technology collaboration in electronics, and the executive anticipates it will take about 2 years to qualify and test the product across all standards.
However, he anticipates access to specialised R&D talent and building a robust supplier ecosystem around Coimbatore to be among the key challenges. The workforce is expected to grow from the current 400 to around 800 employees as the business ramps up, he added.