GKN Aerospace opens 2nd unit

GKN Aerospace, a £4-billion company, is expanding its aerospace footprint in India with the opening of its second facility in Pune.

GKN has started manufacturing wiring harness plant in India to assemble wiring system for commercial aircraft and aero-engines like Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737, 777X and Boeing 787. GKN already has a five-year-old JV in Bengaluru serving the global defence aerospace markets. This is a 100% exporting unit.

The company says around 75% of the proposed 800 workforce will be women. It also plans to set up aerospace education infrastructure in Pune. GKN Aerospace is tier I aerospace supplier of advance aerosystems, components and technologies to world’s leading aircraft manufacturers. This includes aerostructures, engine systems, transparencies and wiring systems. Apart from GKN Aerospace, the group has made significant investments in GKN Driveline and GKN Powder Metallurgy in India and together have eight facilities across India .

Michiel Barendse, vice-president & managing director, Aerostructures & Systems, Europe and Asia, Fokker Elmo, said the company would be investing $10 million in the Pune plant.

Barendse said aerospace wiring was a $3.5-4-billion market and was growing as hydraulic systems in aircraft were getting converted into electrical systems. Also with more and more in-flight entertainment systems, the demand is going up further, he said.

The Indian arm, GKN Fokker Elmo India, will manufacture electrical wiring interconnection systems at the new plant in Chakan. This is their fourth wiring harness plant outside its HQ Netherlands with facilities in Turkey, China and Malaysia.

GKN Aerospace’s vice-president for business development Adriaan Leyte said they were talking to Indian defence companies and were seeking to work with indigenous defence projects in India as well as international defence companies for their offset programmes. This is being done through their JV in Bengaluru.