Joint ventures are now firmly taking root furthering the aerospace ecosystem in India
What are the key drivers of growth in India's advancing aerospace manufacturing ecosystem?
India's aerospace manufacturing ecosystem is taking wing. Beginning with small contracts, global OEMs are now entering into strategic collaborations with Indian Aerospace supply chain companies. This is fostering a network of Indian companies that are becoming crucial links in the global aerospace supply chain. While, Indian manufacturers have been supplying critical components to them, joint ventures are now firmly taking root furthering the aerospace ecosystem in India. These collaborations traverse across both the defence and commercial aerospace programs. For instance, Aequs has deep engagements with Airbus and other large OEMs apart from JVs with multinational giants Magellan Aerospace and Aubert & Duval. India has been gradually going up the Aerospace manufacturing value chain. Its large pool of technical and engineering talent and focus on technological advances are the reason for this.
How is Aequs building world-class manufacturing ecosystems to cater to customer needs? How can the Belagavi Aerospace Cluster serve as a role model for a larger, nationwide ecosystem?
Aequs has pioneered India’s first end-to-end Aerospace manufacturing ecosystem with state-of-the-art facilities capable of meeting industry needs. The Belagavi Aerospace Cluster (BAC) is the first notified precision engineering SEZ in India. It offers comprehensive aerospace engineering infrastructure, including forging, precision machining, surface treatment, and aerostructure assemblies. Since the setting up of our first unit in 2009, the cluster has developed into an efficient and sustainable hub for aerospace manufacturing achieving many firsts. Aequs has been fortunate to have customers and partners like Airbus which has not only endorsed the unique manufacturing ecosystem, but also recognised it with the prestigious Airbus Innovation Award in 2016 as a unique value proposition for the industry. The cluster serves both domestic and international customers, significantly contributing to the local economy through job creation, skill development, and technological advancement. Right from day one the emphasis has been on maximizing in-country value addition by increasing local inputs in the products we manufacture. Beginning with just 20% value addition when we started, I am proud to say we are delivering between 70% and 100% in-country value addition for many products that we make today. Our long-term goal is to push this to 90-100% on an average across our diverse product portfolio.
How does the company's ecosystem approach to manufacturing promote sustainability?
The global aviation sector's target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 has driven aerospace OEMs to enhance process and material efficiencies, directly and through suppliers like Aequs. Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) practices are integral to our long-term business strategy where sustainability as a core component. As part of this strategy, we are committed to making Aequs compliant with reduction actions implementation. Having said that, ab initio the very value proposition of ecosystems of efficiency that Aequs has propagated is anchored to the concept of sustainable manufacturing. For instance, traditionally aerospace parts travel over five thousand kilometres between production processes. However, at Aequs' Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Belagavi parts move less than five hundred meters thanks to the integrated and collocated manufacturing facilities at the campus. This cluster approach significantly reduces the carbon footprint of aerospace components manufactured at this location, making them some of the most environmentally friendly in the world. In fact, our emphasis on higher in-country value addition also adds to the industry’s sustainability in general.
How do you see the role of digitalization and automation in optimizing supply chain efficiency within aerospace manufacturing?
Digitalization and automation have revolutionized aerospace manufacturing supply chains by enhancing visibility, transparency, and efficiency. In a way our digitalization initiatives are also linked to our focus on sustainability where deployment of every Industry 4.0 technology leads to increased efficiency, lower waste, and optimized resource management – all building blocks of a cleaner and sustainable industry. This apart our focus on widespread use of Business Intelligence (BI) and AI tools across the board are designed to enhance human intelligence and make our people more efficient and productive. Apart from digitising our shopfloor there is a concurrent initiative to roll out such intelligent tools across our functions at every level.
What are the main challenges faced by aerospace companies in managing their supply chains, particularly in terms of quality control and timely delivery?
The aerospace industry is grappling with significant supply chain disruptions caused by war and the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. These have led to restructuring and revaluation of material availability and delivery timelines. Companies need to effectively mitigate these situations by establishing alternative mechanisms for raw material supplies globally and developing domestic sources. Encouragingly, domestic raw material supply lines are being developed with the certification of new suppliers of key materials. As such, the global aerospace supply chain is a complex mesh of players at every tier where given the nature of the industry, supplier reliability becomes paramount. Strategic investments in technology, collaboration, and relationship management are thus crucial. Long term relationships and constant engagement at every level are necessary.
What roles do regulations and industry standards play in driving sustainability initiatives within the aerospace manufacturing ecosystem?
Given the utmost importance to safety, the aerospace industry is driven by the need for zero defect. Therefore, regulations and industry standards are the most stringent. At the same time with the current drive for sustainability, these have become all the more stringent and all will have to fall in line with the prevalent and new regulations. It is thus a case of regulation having to keep pace with technology and vice versa.
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