Nest targets to become $1 bn group in 3 yrs

Kochi, Aug 16: Unveiling plans to make it big in the global arena, the Kerala-based NeST Group today said it is targeting to become a one billion dollar concern in the next three years.

Addressing a press conference here, NeST Group chairman Javad Hassan said the group had posted a sales turnover of $ 200 million last year and already had a global footprint in the US, Mexico, UK, Poland, Sweden, Japan, Australia, UAE and Qatar.

The group had been achieving an annual growth rate of 50 per cent, vice-chairman N Jehangir said.

The group, which has a presence in electronics manufacturing, photonics, engineering design and software development, is now planning a foray into the health care, communications, indusrial and transportation sectors to facilitate its growth plans, Mr Hassan said.

The foray into the new sectors would tap into the group's core competence in technology. For instance, the health care division would go into the manufacture of competitive diagnostic equipment such as scans and ultra sound machines.

Mr Hassan said the group is currently holding an in-house global meet, which is being attended by 80 of its global business executives, including 20 from overseas.

The five-day meet, which started here on August 14, will come out with a blueprint that will ''fine-tune our vision and to understand our strength to become a $ one billion company,'' Mr Hassan added.

Global business executives will be assigned to lead the group's efforts in each of the new markets.

He said that in 2006, the group more than doubled its manufacturing capacity in Kerala and other states and acquired businessnes internationally to further expand its technical capabilities and add new customers.

UNI