Crafting Dixon’s Electronics Revolution

IT WAS NOTHING more than a bold experiment but that’s how most success stories begin. Dixon Technologies was born in a small rented factory in Noida in 1993 with a modest capital of ₹40 lakh. At a time when the concept of outsourcing and electronic manufacturing services was unheard of in India, the company secured an order from Lucky Gold Star, later renamed LG. “They gave us an opportunity to make box-style TVs for export to Europe. We were assembling 5,000 units a month,” recalls Atul Lall, CEO & MD of Dixon Technologies. This marked the beginning of a journey to become India’s most prominent electronics manufacturer.

Today, Dixon is a key player in India’s electronics sector, with market capitalisation of $10 billion-plus. The company has evolved far beyond its humble beginnings, driven by innovation, resilience and alignment with goals of India’s electronics manufacturing sector. But the journey hasn’t been without challenges.

Early Days & Turning Points

The early days were about survival and persistence.”We didn’t have any money, and the concept of outsourcing was foreign in India,” he says. Over the years, he added more categories and built a diverse portfolio.

While Dixon experienced steady growth in first two decades, the turning point came around 2013-14. The global geopolitical landscape began shifting, and with China becoming more expensive for manufacturing, India emerged as a viable alternative. Simultaneously, Indian government introduced policies for local manufacturing, including Make in India and later Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme. “We could see the trend. It was time for India’s electronics manufacturing sector to take off,” says Lall.

Dixon seized the opportunity by building teams, automating factories and expanding into new product lines such as smartphones and IT hardware. The company’s 2017 IPO provided capital to accelerate growth. “Today, we are possibly the largest mobile manufacturer in the country. The smartphone category was a huge trigger for our growth,” says Lall. In last two years, Dixon has grown 80-90% every year, largely driven by its entry into mobile manufacturing. Not to mention the move into IT products, where it has partnered with four of the largest local brands to manufacture laptops and notebooks. Lall is confident the component ecosystem will catalyse growth.

The Challenges

One of the major challenges for Dixon has been high cost of land. “This is a disadvantage when you’re setting up a new project,” he says. The company also had to navigate the complex logistics landscape in India that increases cost for companies. Supply chain resilience has become an essential focus area. “The world is interconnected. Anything that happens in China, Middle East or elsewhere has a direct impact on business. We are working to localise our supply chain more and more,” he says. Despite these challenges, Dixon has managed to stay competitive by leveraging strengths in innovation and cost.

Innovations Drive Growth

At the heart of this success is its relentless pursuit of innovation. In recent years, the company has diversified into new product lines, including IT products, refrigerators and components for mobile devices. It recently set up a plant for mobile screen displays. Lall is particularly excited about refrigerators. “We started refrigerator production in April with a capacity of 1.2 million units, almost 12% of India’s requirement, and have already reached 90-95% capacity utilisation,” he says. Dixon plans to expand this to 1.6 million units in the coming financial year.

The company embarked on a digital transformation journey by partnering with Siemens and other global players to automate and optimise operations. “Digitisation has helped us streamline processes and improve efficiency,” says Lall. This forward-thinking has enabled Dixon to scale up operations while maintaining quality and cost-effectiveness, he says. It has also rolled out employee stock option plans to instill a sense of ownership among its workforce and set up centers of excellence to train employees.

Commitment To Sustainability

As Dixon expands, it has recognised the growing importance of sustainability in manufacturing and is taking steps to reduce its environmental footprint. It has implemented energy-efficient practices at factories and is exploring use of renewable energy in operations. “A lot of work is happening on renewable energy and electronic waste,” says Lall, adding, “In most of our production processes today, we don’t use lead, we don’t use toxic materials.”

Current Standing

From a small television assembler, Dixon has become a leader in India’s electronics manufacturing sector. “In seven years since listing, we have grown our revenues from $250 million. We should be at $4 billion this fiscal. But we feel the journey has just begun,” says Lall.

The company is preparing to capitalise on rise in demand for electronics in both domestic and global markets. India has set ambitious targets for the sector, with plans to grow the electronics industry to $300 billion by 2028 and $500 billion by 2030. Dixon is keen to be a part of this growth story by becoming globally competitive. “We have strong conviction that India is going to service the global market as well,” he says.

Looking ahead, Dixon is betting on entry into components such as display module manufacturing. “That deepens our value addition. It makes us more tenacious and it enhances our stickiness with customers,” he says. It is also exploring opportunities in future technologies that have the potential to revolutionise the electronics manufacturing industry such as EV and industrial electronics.

As it moves forward, Dixon will need to navigate the evolving global manufacturing landscape while addressing critical issues such as sustainability and supply chain resilience. The company’s ability to innovate, particularly in component manufacturing and future technologies, will be key to sustaining its position in both domestic and international markets. As Lall puts it, “The journey has just begun, and we have a long way to go.”