An Amazon For Manufacturing Services

Amazon introduced us to the world of on-demand products. Everything at the click of a button! A startup based in Tamil Nadu has extended this idea to manufacturing services.

Founded in 2021 by Dr V. Tamizhinian (Tamizh), Frigate Engineering Services Private Limited is an emerging B2B platform that digitalises manufacturing for its clients worldwide. The startup provides on-demand manufacturing services and prototype development through a supply chain.With a background in mechatronics, Tamizh started his career as a designer, but yearned to witness the realisation of those designs through manufacturing. So, in 2011, Tamizh started seeking out various small businesses and created prototypes for them, in addition to his regular job at a global original equipment manufacturing (OEM) firm.

Initially, what used to be a side hustle became a full-fledged business after Tamizh recognised the value of creating a marketplace that brought dispersed suppliers together and connected them with potential customers beyond their existing circle. From 2021-22, Tamizh operated the company as a one-person enterprise. “My vision was to address the demand-side challenge by becoming a single point of contact for all outsourced components. I started with machining and expanded into sheet metal fabrication and achieved an asset turnover of 4 to 5 million rupees within the first year,” he says.

In 2022, Tamizh onboarded Karthikeyan Prakash, Chandrashekhar C., and Iniyavan Vasanthanas as co-founders to develop a common platform to serve their customers, providing an overview of their ongoing projects with Frigate. Frigate’s platform allows the client to track the project’s progress at various stages, from initiation to raw material procurement, manufacturing commencement, quality control initiation, and sales confirmation. “We have employed a tech-based and data-driven approach that involves working closely with suppliers in advance. Through this method, we gather around 120 data points, establishing checkpoints throughout the order process, and understand the customer’s needs comprehensively,” explains Tamizh.

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