Mahindra intends to add bigger wings to AVIATION biz

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), the
automobile manufacturer which has
recently also entered the aviation
sector, has ideas of replicating the
global success of Brazilian aircraft
maker Embraer. The company acquired a stake of
more than two-thirds in two
Australian aerospace companies last
month, to expand its aircraft and
aerospace component manufacturing
business. Speaking on the sidelines of a truck
launch made by M&M at the Delhi Auto
Expo, vice-chairman and managing
director Anand Mahindra said: " We have our feet firmly planted on the
ground, but we have our dreams and
they are not limited. There have been
instances abroad, like Embraer, who
have made it big in the aviation space." " I don' t see a reason why any
company from
India cannot do
what Embraer did," Mahindra added. Embraer is one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in
the world, based in Brazil, which
services the commercial, defence and
executive aviation space. M&M is looking at establishing itself as
a premier aircraft manufacturer, as
well as a supplier of high-precision
aircraft components. It has formed a
wholly-owned unit named Mahindra
Aerospace for the purpose. The company has already built and
delivered executive private aircraft,
which can seat five people in comfort,
to Jordan-based Seabird Aviation. Post
the acquisition of the two recently
acquired companies, M&M hopes to build 20-seater executive jets, with an
aim of selling 25-30 such aircraft every
month. M&M executives say they hope to sell
about 475 aircraft globally in the next
five years. Currently, M&M is undertaking various
activities in aircraft development, from
design and engineering to actual
manufacturing. It has invested $10
million (Rs 46 crore) in setting up an
aerospace facility at Malur in Karnataka and expects it to be operational by
July. National Aerospace Laboratories, in
collaboration with M&M, is developing
a five-seater turboprop aircraft. In
addition, like most Indian automotive
companies, M&M is eyeing multi-crore
contracts arising from the offset clause made mandatory by the government
on defence aircraft manufacturers
when supplying fighter jets to the
armed forces. Large passenger aircraft building
activity is restricted to a handful of
companies globally, such as Boeing,
Bombardier, Airbus and Embraer. The
number of executive jet
manufacturing companies are much more.