Teddy Duthel on Scaling Sonovision-Aetos and Shaping the Future of Aerospace

Sonovision-Aetos, the result of a successful Franco-Indian partnership in India, a country with the rigorous aerospace and defense standards needed to enable foreign companies to achieve a lasting foothold.

1. Can you tell us a little about your career path?

In 2008, I had the opportunity to work for Reactis, an ESN (Entreprise de Services du Numérique) based in Aix-en-Provence and our main customer was Airbus Helicopters.

In 2011, I opened the Reactis subsidiary in Germany, where I stayed for ten years. In 2016, I was recruited by Airbus to become manager in Germany.

After 4 years with Airbus, I joined the Sonovision group, a European leader in logistics and document engineering services for the aerospace industry, which asked me to take over the management of its branch in India. I first stayed in Germany for 1 year, then moved to Bangalore in December 2021, when we had 230 people on the site. Today there are almost 600. In the meantime, I have taken on the role of Vice President in charge of our offshore centers.

2. Could you tell us about Sonovision's activities?

Sonovision-Aetos is a subsidiary of the French group Sonovision SAS, specializing in document engineering and technical information management for the aerospace, defense and industrial sectors.

We support our customers in the creation and management of essential technical documents, such as maintenance manuals, spare parts catalogs and training documentation for major manufacturers like Dassault Aviation, Airbus and Safran.

We draw on a team of over 500 engineers and technical writers based in our Bangalore and Pune offices.

Thanks to our expertise and proximity to major industrial players, we contribute to our customers’ competitiveness by offering them solutions tailored to the demands of international markets.

3. When and why did Sonovision decide to set up in India?

Sonovision set up in India in 2006 through a joint venture with a local partner, Aetos, to meet the growing needs of European manufacturers for outsourced document engineering.

India offered a unique combination of cutting-edge technical skills, a young and dynamic population and the ability to work to strict international standards, particularly those of the aerospace and defense industries. Since our establishment, our growth has been gradual and strategic. We have strengthened our teams, diversified our skills and expanded our geographical presence.

In 2024, we opened a second office in Pune to support the expansion of our activities and meet our customers’ growing demands for proximity and quality of service.

One of the key factors of our success lies in our ability to meet the requirements of industrial offsets, notably for Dassault Aviation or Airbus D&S. These commitments enable us to play an essential role in structuring a solid local aeronautical engineering ecosystem.

4. How do you see Sonovision's future in India and the wider region?

India is a market in full transformation, with considerable potential in the aeronautics, defense and new technologies industries. We are looking to the future with ambition and are structuring our development around three major axes:

Strengthening our presence in India

Continued development of our Pune center.
Recruitment of talent and upgrading the skills of our teams.
Diversification of our services to cover a broader spectrum of document and software engineering and more generally aeronautical maintenance.

Regional expansion in Asia

We already manage Sonovision’s operations in Malaysia and have plans to open in South Asia, including Sri Lanka in 2025.
The aim is to support our European and Asian customers in the region, drawing on our expertise and geographical proximity.

Adding value and specializing in the field

Unlike the large generalist engineering groups, we are focusing on strengthening operational and field aspects, in particular by developing a maintenance support business for MROs and airlines in Asia.
We intend to make rapid progress in this strategic segment, following a two-stage approach:

Expansion of our GSE (Ground Support Equipment) design and manufacturing activities in India to serve the whole of Asia.
Contribution of cutting-edge expertise in aeronautical maintenance, with a focus on optimizing TAT (Turnaround Time) and improving the quality of maintenance interventions.

Our aim is to become a key partner for aeronautical maintenance players in Asia, providing them with solutions and technical support to optimize their operations while guaranteeing high quality standards.
We firmly believe that India will continue to play a key role in the global aerospace industry and Sonovision Aetos India intends to be a major player in this dynamic.

5. What is your philosophy of the working world?

I often feel that I’ve just started working; despite this, I remain conscious of the passage of time. I think we should strive to have a multitude of small projects in life, so as to achieve as many as possible on a regular basis. In this way, we can be satisfied from time to time. The big projects will come with the accumulation of small successes. I’m still thinking about building an innovative company, in a field that is becoming clearer by the day, and above all with people who will accompany me on this adventure. Because we must never forget that “entrepreneurship is above all a human adventure that requires the right people in the right place”.

6. What advice would you give to help you succeed professionally?

Be kind to those around you. You’re bound to meet them again one day during your career, and they’ll remember you!
Be bold. We live in a fast-moving, fast-changing world and you need to have the courage to put your ideas into practice.
Be rigorous and demanding with yourselves. Everyone has the right to make mistakes, but they must serve as a learning experience and not become a habit.

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