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A 300-acre
special economic zone for the precision engineering of
aerospace products is expected to be established in southern
India.
Called Quest SEZ Pvt Ltd, the zone will be located in
Belgaum in the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is set to
be approved within a month and be operational by 2008. Four
companies plan to set up facilities for landing gear
manufacture and engine components by next year.
Quest CEO Ajit Prabhu said a zone is necessary because of
the huge growth in engineering services being offshored from
India, as well as the offset clause for aircraft firms that
are supplying Indian carriers.
Bangalore-based Quest provides support across the entire
product lifecycle, from design and modeling through
analysis, automation and data documentation to manufacturing
support and in-house precision machining.
The offset clause for aircraft manufacturers is also
expected to give a big boost to aerospace-linked
manufacturing. In Karnataka, there is no focus on aerospace
precision engineering and supply chain. "Apart from enabling
vendors to move up the value chain to do assemblies, this
will also facilitate an increase in exports going out of
India to the aerospace sector," said Aravind Melligeri,
president and CEO of Quest Machining and Manufacturing.
Quest is also setting up India's first independent
processing facility for aerospace manufacturing in a 50/50
joint ownership company with Canadian Magellan Aerospace.
The processing facility's launch positions Quest and
Magellan as early adopters in aerospace supply chain
development in India. The facility will initially focus on
processes for aluminum, titanium, and stainless steel
components for aerostructure and aeroengine components. "We
are machining titanium parts - a significant portion used
for landing gears - that need to go for short peening (small
balls of metal to relieve stress) that does not exist in
India," Melligeri said
Meanwhile, GE recently awarded one of two five-year Super
Center contracts for engineering services to CTQ
Engineering, a joint venture company formed between CDI, TK
Engineering and Quest. The agreement covers global
engineering work for GE Infrastructure. "The party is just
beginning. The company will grow at a 40 percent-50 percent
rate for the next few years, and you can expect some
announcements on relationships soon," Prabhu said. |
