Sigma Electric: Easy To Do Business With

The leading tech businesses of today are all wielding the latest technological innovations to push ahead in these digital times. The manufacturing industry is hopping on this digital bandwagon too to accelerate their growth in the age of Industry 4.0. One of the best proponents of Industry 4.0 is North Carolina- based Sigma, which is leading innovation in lean manufacturing.

Sigma has been a supplier to global customers for over 35 years. Majority of the company’s turnover (95%) is exported, primarily to the U.S., Europe, Middle East, and South America. With an intense focus on lean manufacturing, TPM, digitalization and low cost automation, Sigma has 16 world-class facilities across India, North America, and Mexico.

Sigma manufactures castings and components across all market segments like commercial-electrical, retail-electrical, appliances, diversified industrials, power tools, instrumentation and telecommunications, backed up by worldwide sales, distribution and service network to provide customers with the solutions to achieve their manufacturing goals.

The company’s facilities have received several awards and recognitions in India & abroad. Through its excellent state-of-the-art tool manufacturing units, engineering innovation centers, global certified labs and a technology center, Sigma has built excellent customer relationships over the last 35years and has never lost a customer.

Sigma is a partner to those who provide a unique service of product, technical innovation and engineering. Its innovation centers continuously develop new innovative products to add value to its customers’ product portfolio and provide precise engineered solutions to meet the customers’ requirements.

Sigma’s strength of over 500 engineers and 2000 diploma trainee engineers on the shop is deeply valued by its customers. This unique combination of resources and skills, supported by the company motto “Easy To Do Business With” helps Sigma meet and exceed global customer expectations.

Driven By Technological Innovation

Sigma has developed the capability of driving technological innovation by incorporating a modern technological centre that is equipped with highly engineered equipments with a proprietary Special Purpose Machine (SPM) design and development center which manufactures over 150 SPM annually. Under the umbrella of Industry 4.0 revolution, various projects on robotic automation‚ real-time process monitoring‚ digitalization‚ and auto guided vehicles are implemented across Sigma. This has resulted in improved labor productivity by 20%, making the work for employees fatigue-free. The company’s Go-Green initiatives in office digitalization have resulted in 150+ process automations.

Sigma has actively worked on maintaining proprietary tooling library and ensuring protection

of customer’s intellectual property with its state-of-the-art in-house proprietary tooling capabilities. Well-equipped with product design and CAD/CAM facilities, it manufactures over 500 tools annually. For this, leading design programs are used including Solid works 10, Unigraphic NX 6.0 and Magma 5.1 where dimensional and profile accuracy of all tools are ensured with CMM technology. The addition of sophisticated X-ray, degassing M/c, high-end closed loop control die-casting and high pressure molding line adds value to the processes, ensuring defect free products.

The company has a technology driven integrated business model. Its R&D, Innovation and Engineering capabilities coverstate-of-the-art innovation and engineering center and modern office environment enhance employee morale.

Its innovation, design, and development and in-house UL (Under Light) testing facilities create a lean new product development process with lead times less than 16 weeks from concept design to pilot production that helps to differentiate Sigma as a world-class manufacturer in the global market.

Focused On Growth

As the global economic situation drives the demand for cost competitive suppliers across all industries, there are significant global growth opportunities for industrial castings today. The weak rupee and export incentives are added factors that can support Sigma’s drive for higher volumes in the global market in near future. The global economic scenario is largely influenced by several varied external factors at different times, creating volatile raw material costs over which manufacturers have very little to no control. However, the industry must focus more on fully controllable internal factors like technological upgradation and operational excellence.

In order to be a highly productive and cost competitive producer, Sigma practices‘ Just in Time’ –to deliver what the customer needs, in the quantity that the customer wants, and when the customer wants it. All the while, using minimum raw material, equipment, space and labor.

To operate in ‘Just in Time’, Sigma follows three principles -TOP:

T – Pace to Takt Time: All foundry machines work with a concept of takt time, where production is matched with the customer’s demand. A line balancing concept is introduced in order to make the processes lean and productive.

Benefits: On time delivery improvement - Service levels improved from 80% to over 97%; achieved +99% in retail sector.

O – One Piece Flow: In order to reduce the lead time, the batch size of material flow is reduced. Sigma eliminated material handling by breaking the wall between die-casting and machining cells, reducing transportation of material and excess motion by 100%. It is a concept deployed across all its facilities.
P – Pull System: Sigma operates with a weekly pull customer model. Weekly plan is converted into a daily plan by assembly lines and the pull is created. Here, material is pulled through the system only when needed, and this forces co-operation within the cross functions, departments and prevents over and under production.

Benefits: Inventory reduction from 150 days to 107 days.

The Leader

Viren Joshi, CEO and President

Mr. Joshi has over 35 years of experience in leading large engineering MNCs in India and globally. He has led Sigma Electric successfully for the past 8 years, creating a global leader in precision castings and components for the industrial markets. He set up Parker Hannifin operations in India and South Asia, and over 15 years led it to a leadership position in the fluid power market. He has wide experience in growing new businesses from start-up and managing rapid growth and performance at large engineering MNCs with a rich experience in M&A. He is a keen practitioner of lean enterprise, profitable growth strategy, policy deployment, and balance score card and talent development. He has received a National Award from The President of India, for a paper on ‘Alternative Sources of Energy’. He was Chairman of CII, Pune Zone, is a member of CII, National Committees and actively participates in CII and Industry association activities. He speaks regularly at global and national conferences on a variety of topics. He is working with the Govt. of India and international associations to promote Global Supply Chain, Lean India and programs to create a vibrant US - India Supply Chain corridor.

“Sigma has been a supplier to global customers for over 35 years.”