It has been our pleasure to interview Sureshbabu K, MD of Caliber Interconnect Solutions. In this engaging conversation, he shares Caliber’s journey so far and what lies ahead for his company as it has emerged stronger in the post pandemic world and poised to grow significantly in the years to come.
Tell me about Caliber Interconnect?
We have been providing end to end product and IC test engineering services for 100+ global customers for the last 20 years. With 500 + engineers with many years of experience on multiple tools and tester platforms for diverse devices, Caliber has been delivering projects both full turnkey as well as modular projects in IC testing, ATE board design, SI/PI simulation , IC packaging and embedded system/power electronics solutions to long standing customers.
How did you aim to differentiate Caliber when you started?
Having been part of the electronic design and test industry for long time, We understand the critical importance of process efficiency in the design and test development process. From the very inception of Caliber, we have invested lot of our efforts and resources in developing IPs that can quicken the design and test development cycle which renders asymmetric time and cost advantages to our customers to stay ahead of the curve in the market. Shortened Turnaround time & High Quality have been the Hallmark of our services.
How did the offerings of Caliber change during the recent years?
Well. As the technological trends have been changing rapidly, we at caliber constantly learn and adopt to those developments in to our service offerings as value add for our customers. For instance, recently we have designed and developed an AI Platform called KEN QA- which converts visual information to actionable intelligence ensuring integrity of manufacturing process for one of our existing customer. We have also been providing customized AGV solutions (Automatic Guided Vehicle) to many industries and warehouses. We developed our ICU ventilator with AI which can make self decisions based on patients conditions. We developed energy efficient PMSM motors and drives for E-vehicles. Our grid tied solar three level inverter uses the latest technology for high voltage capability and less THD (total harmonic distortion) for higher conversion efficiency.
What is a typical customer for Caliber?
We have quite an eclectic mix of customers coming in all shapes and sizes. We are into both B2B and B2C business spaces. Nevertheless, to put it in perceptive ,part of our customers are these global behemoths wanting to focus on their core while leaving all other peripheral activities to us. On the other hand, we have many startups and medium level ASIC companies who need some one like us to provide them a cost effective and low volume silicon validation before they can go for a mass production. We extend our services and solutions to medical ,production industries and working for British/Indian railways as well.
Pls share more on your test support and resources?
We have strong test engineering talent with decades of experience supporting silicon test engineering and product bring up in house. We have also established a state of art test lab with Advantest 93k and Teradyne uFlex testers with the latest instruments .With all other allied services such as ATE board designs.SI/PI and IC packaging along with Testing under one roof in India, we are uniquely positioned to offer maximum value to our customers from abroad.
What’s next for Caliber?
Caliber is on the cusp of tremendous growth, increasing its size and scope every passing year. Pivoting that growth while balancing the current challenges of pandemic would be my immediate focus.
And also ,we have grown organically into a 500+ strong engineering company without receiving any external funding. We have reinvested all our earnings for the growth of the organization. As our business model has made us self reliant from the very beginning, I have always been conservative and reluctant to accept the overtures of many VCs and investors with the plans to scale up. Going forward, I would like to be more open to exploring the possibilities for growth.
How has COVID affected Caliber?
Fortunately our industry has seen tremendous growth, Caliber in particular has done very well acquiring many customers and projects. However, we had to grapple with of lot of challenges to move our entire staff from office to work from home arranging secure network connections to our servers. We designed our own VDI (virtual desktop Infrastructure) communication software and hardware for our employees to establish connections to their desktops and servers from home. That has been quite a challenge. Good news is that all these changes have not affected our schedule a bit and our customers are quite happy with the things thus far.
On a personal front, how do you spend your time when not working?
I like keeping myself fit, both physically and mentally. I play shuttle and football and do yoga to stay in good shape and relax. As an avid reader, books are my best travel companions and I read all genres—fiction, technology, management and finance. The knowledge gleaned from my reading has expanded my mental horizon and helped in making the right decisions most of the time.
How can I find more about Caliber?
You are welcome to have a look at our website: Caliber Interconnect Solutions.
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