BENGALURU: French aircraft company Latécoere, a tier-1 partner of major international aircraft manufacturers including Airbus, Embraer, Dassault, Boeing and Bombardier, has opened its new manufacturing plant at Belagavi. The 4,400 sqmt site was opened on Tuesday. The plant is dedicated to manufacturing of the radio navigation harnesses for the Falcon 2000 aircraft.
In the coming years, it will also make the main harness as well as the avionics harnesses for Thales to be fitted on aircraft such as Boeing B777, B737 and Airbus A320, as well as other aircraft, according to a statement issued by the French consulate office in Bengaluru. The plant employs 70 people and the company plans to have a workforce of 300 by 2022. Yannick Assouad, CEO of Latécoere, stated they will continues to evolve in line with the transformation 2020 plan. As of December 2018, the firm employed 4,958 people in 13 countries.
Benoît Berger, Senior Executive Vice-President (Procurement and Purchasing) of Dassault Aviation said the new step paves the way towards positioning India as an international supplier reference in the global aerospace market, matching the highest standards in the field.
“The move resonates with our strategy to support ‘Make in India’ initiative by contributing to Foreign Direct Investment directly and through our partners, while also transferring skills and technology to local enterprises,” stated Gil Michielin, Thales Executive Vice-President for Avionics. He said India remains an integral part of their global supply chain strategy and look forward to significantly increasing the level of procurement.