Aravind Melligeri who founded Quest and Aequs to start toy manufacturing SEZ in Koppal in Karnataka

BENGALURU: Aravind Melligeri, who co-founded engineering services company Quest Global and later established an aerospace SEZ in Belagavi, is planning a major foray into toy manufacturing.
Melligeri’s company Aequs has been given the approval by the Karnataka government to start a large new facility in Koppal.
“They want to make electronic toys, under a new entity. We have approved the project. We will support it in every way we can,” state industries and IT/BT minister KJ George told TOI.
When asked about the venture, Melligeri said the plan is to establish an SEZ and a DTA (domestic tariff area) in Koppal.The objective is to manufacture for both exports and the domestic market. Melligeri declined to talk about investment figures, saying it’s premature.
Melligeri noted that the Aequs SEZ in Belagavi already hosts a 200,000 sqft toy manufacturing unit. This operation started two years ago. “We employ 1,000 people in that unit. And we export toys to North America, Europe and South America. It has been like a proof-of-concept for us. We’ll do a multifold expansion in Koppal,” he said.
The Belagavi unit makes plastic toys. But in Koppal, the plan is to get partners from China, and move into more complex toys, including electronic toys. “We have a labour cost advantage over China. Our labour is less than half their cost,” Melligeri said.

China is the world's toy manufacturing hub. Some 75% of all toys and games in the world are made by China's 10,000 toy manufacturers.
Melligeri said toy manufacturing involves large-scale employment, unlike his aerospace business that is getting increasingly automated.
Quest Global, which Melligeri founded in 1997 with childhood friend Ajit Prabhu, is now a unicorn – a company valued at over $1 billion. The Aequs SEZ, which was launched as a unit independent of Quest in 2009-10, has some 21 operating units today and its biggest customers are Safran, UTC Aerospace Systems and Airbus.
“With toys, we are entering the consumer business for the first time. We have a completely different team for it. We ensure the highest levels of quality and safety. What we do will be transformational for India,” Melligeri said.