Saab Aerospace Goes to India
Joint venture is aimed at establishing a presence in India as the aerospace and defense market there grows.
Defense and security company Saab has established a joint venture to manufacture and supply assemblies for the commercial aerostructures market. Saab will hold a 26% stake in the JV with Indian partner QuEST Global Manufacturing. According to Saab, this will both strengthen Saab’s position in the commercial aerostructures market as well as increase its presence in India.
Saab develops and manufactures airframe assemblies for aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing. In the coming years Saab has stated it intends to grow its commercial aerostructures operations through new and existing businesses. The partnership with QuEST Global enables Saab to leverage that company’s manufacturing strengths and knowledge in machining.
“We anticipate increased production rates during the coming years,” said Kjell Johnsson, Vice President and Managing Director, Aerostructures, in a press release.
The new company will be located in Belgaum, Karnataka, India,site of QuEST Global’s operations. Facilities for the joint venture will bebuilt during 2013.
According to Aerospace Manufacturing and Design, the new venture will be named Aero Assemblies ndia and will concentrate on build-to-print assemblies for markets in India. “The growing demand for aerospace products and services,” the publication noted, “has propelled the markets to explore partnerships that can offer joint capabilities that are advanced and competitive to its customers.”
Why India? According to mydigitalfc.com (Shankar), “Aerospace might just replace information technology (IT) as [India’s]sunshine sector. Offset obligations from India’s skyrocketing aerospace defense needs, estimated at $50 billion over the next five years” is a major motivation. The article notes that these $50 billion of spends arise from large defense deals that have been signed or are in advanced stages of negotiation.
In related reporting, an article from 4-traders cites Saab’s Johnsson’s optimism about his company in general. The article also reported Saab’s approach to investing for the future: “Each year, Saab invests 20% of turnover in research and development. This is an unusually high figure that the company has maintained for many years. Within Aerostructures, this means active participation in a number of national and international development projects. During the year, the industry decided to support a continuation of the European research program, Clean Sky, in which Saab plays an active role. The EU projects GF Demo and LOCOMACHS are examples of R&D projects that have started during [2012].”