M&M to shift acquired Boeing plant to B'lore

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd has decided to dismantle Boeing's aircraft machinery plant in Melbourne that it recently acquired, and would shift it to Karnataka.

The company is also in talks with several major aviation companies to be a supplier of components and services, according to Mahindra group vice-chairman and managing director, Anand Mahindra.

After launching Mahindra First Choice Wheels 2S Superstore in Chennai, he said, “We have asked the Karanataka government to allocate land close to the Bangalore airport. We are dismantling the Boeing's plant to set it up in Bangalore.”

The company hopes this would boost orders as it will likely help improve the quality of aircraft parts it produces and attract clients that need to fulfil their offset obligations in India. Under Indian law, foreign companies selected for government defence contracts have to source about 30 per cent of the project value from local vendors if the project is worth Rs 300 crore or more.

“We are also in conversation with some of the world's largest aviation companies to be providers of components and services, these opportunities will increase even further. We will be providing services and goods to aviation companies that sell to Air India”, said Mahindra.

The company's entry into manufacturing aircraft is not in conflict with Air India, which is itself very promising, he said.

“Manufacturing out of India is inevitable and we are planning to manufacture here and we have designed along with NAL, the NM 5 and we will shortly undergo a trial flight and we hope to be pioneers in aircraft manufacturing,” said Mahindra.

Last year, Mahindra purchased 75.1 per cent stake in two Australian aerospace companies -- Gippsland Aeronautics and Aerostaff Australia -- for a total of around Rs 175 crore to expand its aircraft and aerospace-component manufacturing capabilities in Australia.