CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government is planning to set up a Rs 100-crore mega cluster for micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) catering to the aerospace and defence ecosystem in Hosur, according to a senior government official.
The official said the State will be floating a tender to appoint a consultant. Based on the consultant’s report, the project would be implemented in two phases. “We are in talks with Hosur Industries Association for setting up the mega cluster,” said the official.
The project will be funded by the State and the cluster will focus on critical aviation components as well as spare parts for the defence industry. This would come at the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor, which has Hosur as one of the five industrial nodes. A Common Facilities Centre will also be established in Hosur, the official said.
This comes after Aerospace Engineers Private Limited, an MSME unit in Salem, bagged a long-term contract from aerospace major Boeing to manufacture and supply critical aviation components for the global aerospace company’s products.
The contract order was handed over to Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company R Sundaram by the Director of Supply Chain Management, Boeing India, Ashwani Bhargava, in the presence of Chief Minister M K Stalin. Sundaram told TNIE, “We have been supplying components to Boeing as a Tier II (sub-contract) supplier. We have been upgraded as a Tier I supplier and would be supplying directly to Boeing. We are the first MSME in State to supply components to Boeing.”
“They have been asked to provide 700 spare parts by the global aeroplane manufacturer,” the official said. There are a few companies, which can become Tier-1, Tier-2, and Tier-3 manufacturers for aviation components. The cooperation between Aerospace Engineers Private Limited and Boeing is a significant milestone and will provide an impetus to the growing aerospace and defense ecosystem in Salem and Hosur, he added.
The company is building a plant at Hosur and expanding its unit in Salem at a cost of `150 crore. “Work on a 1.25 lakh sq ft manufacturing facility in Hosur started two years ago. The construction slowed down due to Covid-19. We expect the plant to be ready in December 2021 or January 2022. We are also expanding our existing facility (1.25 lakh sq ft) in Salem with an additional building space of 50,000 sq ft. The two plants will provide direct employment to 1,000 people, of which 450 jobs would be at the new plant at Hosur,” Sundaram said.
(With inputs from Salem)
Clientele
Besides Boeing, Aerospace Engineers supply to Airbus and Rolls-Royce. In the domestic market, the company supplies components to MIG 21, 27, 29, Sukhoi SU 30, Hawk Aircraft, Tejas, Brahmos and Akash missiles, Dhruv helicopters, GSLV, and PSLV rockets