After opening a technical office in Singapore in March 2017, the French group Axon’ Cable (French Pavilion, Booth F18) has already made the decision to strengthen its position in Singapore and in the ASEAN zone with the creation of a subsidiary in January 2018. The company, which had been represented by its agent for 20 years, aims at improving the sales and technical support to customers mainly in aeronautics, defence and space.

Axon' Cable chairman Joseph Puzo explains  that the decision came in response to rising demand for the company's services, prompting the  move to create a subsidiary earlier than planned and well in advance of the three-year deadline imposed by Singapore for the maximum duration of a technical office. From the Singapore base, which constitutes a hub for the company's activities, Puzo notes that they will be able to serve countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.

Network

Axon Cable — headquartered in Montmirail, 100km east of Paris — is a specialist in cabling, interconnect solutions, cable assemblies, connectors and mini systems for high-tech applications. It already has three other subsidiaries in the region, located in Japan, China and Hong Kong. This network could be reinforced with the creation of a marketing and technical office in Australia, as the group seeks to support Tier One customers like Airbus, Safran, Thales and Dassault.

This series of moves is likely to increase Asia's contribution to the group's activities. In 2017, 20% of the group's total sales (€140m) came from Asia. Puzo would like to boost this share to one-third, in order to achieve a balance with Europe and the Americas.

One of the main paths towards achieving this goal will be to convince an increasing number of Asian customers to equip their telecommunication satellites with the company's reduced-weight bus bars for electrical power distribution. The group hopes to achieve an increased competitive advantage thanks to technology inputs from Isa Suisse. This Franco-Swiss firm — an expert in cutting, injection and assembling micro and nano-technologies, thanks to its original core business in the design and manufacture of miniature watch parts — was acquired by Axon' Cables in early 2017 after filing for bankruptcy.

Renamed Axon Nanotech, the company already has 20 more employees than it had when it was bought out. It is now focused on the space sector and the pursuit of weight savings in satellite components. Puzo explains that the company is currently looking to create a new line of lightweight connectors for future satellite applications. He says the first prototypes could be ready in three or four years and could offer additional weight savings of 10-30%.

Investment plans

The company says it has no further external growth plans at this stage. The organic growth target is around 7% per year for the coming years. Investment plans, including extrusion machines and numerical control machines, are set to increase at a similar pace.  

The company is already equipped with additive manufacturing capability. This technology is mostly used to produce plastic and metallic prototypes and, to a lesser extent, for connectors produced in small batches.

The group's workforce has broken through the 2,000 mark for the first time following the recruitment of 200 people last year, including 100 outside France. Hiring is expected to continue at the same pace. The company is looking for around 20 additional engineers in France. The group has introduced specific measures to attract younger recruits, including paid internships and an offer of low-priced accommodation for young recruits. Axon Cable also offers one-week immersion programmes for secondary school students, the most recent of which was organised at the end of January.

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