Tamil Nadu's aerospace kitty reaps investment of over Rs 200 crore

A Singapore based company with its origins in Tamil Nadu is setting up an electronics testing facility, the first of its kind in the state at an investment of Rs 50-100 cr. Further, the state is also set to get an advanced tech centre funded by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises that envisages an investment of Rs 200 cr. The TN government will allot a land parcel of 10-acres free of cost to serve the tech centre. This will be one of the 15 new tech centres aimed to spur manufacturing activity and research, that will come up across the country.

The Aerospace Industry Development Association of Tamil Nadu (AIDAT), set up in 2016, has been at the forefront of promoting and developing the aerospace and defence (A&D) industry ecosystem in TN, its President N Shekar told DT Next. “We represent the MSME sector and subscribe to the idea of cluster based ecosystem. And that is what is being created at the Aero Park in Oragadam,” he said, noting that 12 of AIDAT members had already taken up land parcels (ranging from 1 to 5 acres), where the infrastructure is being readied.

The Singapore-based firm, which Shekar refers to, has a turnover of Rs 200 crore and it will be setting up the electronics testing facility, that will come up on about 4 acres. The deal is in the final stages of being formalised, he said. Meanwhile, Tidco-Tidel is also setting up an Advanced Computing and Design Engineering Centre that will mean an investment of Rs 150-200 cr. This is awaiting finance clearance, he added.

Shekar said the Ministry of MSME has been pursuing its plans to set up tech centres across the country for a while now. Besides 18 tool rooms spread across various locations, plans are afoot to provide the 15 tech centres with facilities that will give the ‘Make in India’ initiative added momentum. The centres will provide diverse industries with upgraded facilities in the manufacturing and R&D space. One such tech centre is coming close to the Aero Park in TN. The state government has allotted the land free so that high-end machining work can be done, he said.

Instead of blocking their capital, MSMEs can avail infrastructure support from such tech centres, Shekar said, adding these lease-hold premises were modeled on a government-owned, privately-operated infrastructure support system. This infra would be offered at a competitive pricing, he said. "While this upcoming tech centre would focus on aerospace and defence, the Puducherry facility will be concentrated on retail - specifically the manufacturers of FMCG goods," Shekar said

There are 150 to 200 companies in TN, that are specialising in A&D segment, supplying to marquee clients such as DRDO, HAL, Ordnance Factory and ISRO. “AIDAT provides networking support and helps in business development. We have organised delegation visits to France, Germany, US and Australia as our aim is to showcase TN as an attractive A&D destination. The stated objective is to bring about $5 billion investment within 15 years and provide 1 lakh job opportunities. MSMEs are at the bottom of the pyramid, but it is their passion and entrepreneurial skills that we are seeking to leverage,” he said.

Incidentally, LMW Coimbatore, Sundram Fasteners, Valmet Engineering, Polyhose, Roots Industries Coimbatore, AIDAT, Metallic Bellows, Jayasuriya Aero are taking part in AeroIndia 2019, besides TIDCO, which is hosting the TN pavilion in this five-day flagship event to be held in Bengaluru from February 20.