European company awards A320neo titanium parts contract to Aequs
IFM Correspondent
May 13, 2016: In a further boost to the ‘Make in India’ programme, Airbus has contracted Aequs Aerospace, a wholly-owned subsidiary to supply over 100,000 titanium machined parts for the A320neo (new engine option) programme. This is the first time work on critical elements has been given to an Indian company.
These parts will be delivered to the Airbus plant in France. Srinivasan Dwarkanath, President of Airbus Division in India, said, “This contract for specialised titanium components underpins our commitment to expand our aerospace supplier partnerships in consonance with ‘Make in India’, which is at heart of our strategy.” He went on to say that “every Airbus is partly made in India”.
In 2015, Airbus exceeded $500 million in annual procurement from India. The company plans to increase its cumulative sourcing figure to $2 billion over the next five years.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Airbus and have produced detail machined parts for its single aisle, long range and large aircraft since 2009, including wing leading edge subassemblies for its A380,” said Aravind Melligeri, Chairman and CEO, Aequs.
India is amongst the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. The robust growth is primarily driven by a growing middle class, increase in purchasing power coupled with renewed economic confidence.
“You can see there is a lot of pent up demand. We forecast a need for over 1,600 passenger aircraft in the next 20 years,” said Dwarkanath.
Airbus is used by most Indian carriers. Recently, IndiGo ordered 250 A320neo aircraft, which is the world’s largest civil aviation order. GoAir had ordered 72 A320neo in 2011.
“The demand in India is high. In fact, we aim to deliver one Airbus per week for the next years in India,” says Dwarkanath.