Hinduja Group to foray into aerospace biz

The Hinduja Group today said it is keen to venture into the aerospace business and will make an announcement over the next three months.

"We will announce our plan (to enter the aerospace business) over the next three-four months," Hinduja Automotive Executive Vice-Chairman V Sumantran told reporters on the sidelines of a conference here.

"We see a huge potential in the aviation business. We think this (aerospace) sector will continue to grow," he said.

When asked whether the Group wants to manufacture commercial or defence aircraft, Sumantran said "everything you will know over the next 3-4 months".

Talking on the likely investment, he said "it is difficult to talk about it now as we are still in the process of deciding the scale of the business."

Hinduja Group outfit, Defiance Technologies, has already started work on testing and validation for aerospace systems while Ashok Leyland Defence Systems is doing design and engineering for some sub-systems in India.

Another leading conglomerate, the Anand Mahindra-led M&M, is also foraying into the aerospace segment through the acquisition of two Australian companies -- Aerostaff Australia and Gippsland Aeronautics.

Aerostaff is a 20-year-old manufacturer of aerospace components and assemblies for global aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) at Port Melbourne in Victoria state.

The 26-year-old GippsAero is a leading turboprop aircraft manufacturer for the general aviation sector and has certification in 32 countries world-wide,

It also has the US Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR 23) certification, which testifies the highest degree of safety to fly fare-paying passengers between small and remote airfields.

Mahindra Aerospace (MAPL), belonging to the Mahindra group, plans to invest Rs 175-crore over the next 4-5-years to manufacture 475 aircraft in the two-to-twenty-seater range.