Pune: Aircraft cabin interior company Jamco Interiors is planning to step up its efforts to increase hiring and grow its workforce to 500 engineers from current strength of around 180 engineers. It has allocated close to Rs1,420 crore ($150 million) for the talent hiring in India. The company has centres of excellence in Pune and Bengaluru.Indian engineers hired by Jamco will have a larger role in its global processes. “We do not want engineers in India doing only tactical tasks. We want design technology and capability being transferred here as well,” said Kate Schaefer, executive chair and CEO, Jamco Interiors, said on Monday while speaking at the company’s office in Pune.Jamco’s plan to step up hiring is closely linked with its process to decentralise the supply chain that is concentrated in Japan. It has plans to shift a major part of the supply chain to India. The company will be forming integrated project teams based on its workforce in Pune and Bengaluru and these teams will be tasked with setting up supply chains from local component manufacturers in India, Sanjeev Sen, COO, Jamco Interiors, said.The plans to shift the sourcing to India is because its component suppliers in Japan are almost maxed out on production capacity and the company is planning to de-risk its supply side and continue its operations seamlessly. Components that go into aircraft interiors include galleys, lavatories, premium seats and aircraft modifications.Separately, the company is also investing close to Rs189 crore ($20 million) for digitally linking its centres of excellence in Pune, Bengaluru, Tokyo and Seattle. The move is aimed at connecting its staff in these offices for faster connectivity and technology transfer. The company is in talks with three Indian IT services providers for enabling this digital transformation which is expected to be completed in two year, Sen said.Last year, Jamco acquired three companies to enable its offerings in cabin interiors such as ovens, chillers, wash basins and window shades. It is also looking at leveraging its presence in India to secure sourcing for these products locally.
