Mahindra to invest Rs250 crore in aerospace

Mahindra Aerospace, a division of India's top utility vehicle and tractor maker Mahindra & Mahindra, plans to invest Rs250 crore ($54 million) in its aerospace division, the company's vice chairman and managing director, said today.

Mahindra Aerospace, he said, will invest Rs150 crore in aircraft component manufacturing and another Rs100 crore in aircraft manufacturing.

Mahindra said the group is also open to idea of acquisitions in the aerospace business, although that is not a priority area for the company now. That would depend on growth opportunities and the way things turn out, he added.

"As of now we want to consolidate what we have acquired," he added.

In fact, Mahindra has already bought over or is in the process of acquiring some overseas aircfat and component manufacturers. Mahindra along with Kotak Private Equity bought majority stakes in two small Australian firms - aerospace component maker Aerostaff Australia and aircraft maker Gippsland Aeronautics - in Australia.

Mahindra Aerospace is an AS9100 Rev.B certified design organisation with years of experience in design and development programmes. The company offers a wide range of services ranging from conceptual design through productionising aerospace products - both components and complete vehicles.

As of now, the company offers services like conceptual design as per operator's specifications, full spectrum of computer-aided design services and engineering services, embedded systems for aerospace applications, software development for aerospace applications, design and development of structural test fixtures and procedures and production-quality tools, jigs and fixtures and prototyping and production planning.