Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Airbus production facilities in Toulouse recently where he was received by Tom Enders, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus Group as well as other members of the Airbus Group Executive Committee.
“We are honoured to host Modi in Toulouse and convey to him our desire to forge a stronger industrial bond with India. India already takes a centre-stage role in our international activities and we want to even increase its contribution to our products. We support his ‘Make in India’ call and are ready to manufacture in India, for India and the world,” said Enders.
Enders was joined by Fabrice Brégier, CEO, Airbus; Bernhard Gerwert, CEO, Airbus Defence and Space and Guillaume Faury, CEO, Airbus Helicopters.
In India, Airbus Group already operates two engineering centres – one focused on civil aviation and the other on defence – and a research & technology (R&T) centre which together employ over 400 highly qualified people. During the meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the Group’s senior representatives conveyed their decision to expand these centres so that they can take on comprehensive design responsibilities for future Airbus Group programmes.
Prime Minister Modi also attended a presentation of Airbus’ supplier network in India followed by an interaction with representatives of some of the key local Airbus partners. In 2014, Airbus’ procurement from India stood at over US$400 million from around 40 companies (public and private) which together support more than 5,000 jobs locally. The top three procurement areas have been in engineering and IT services, aero-structures, and detailed parts & systems. The Prime Minister was informed that procurement from the country is set to grow further as the Group plans to award additional manufacturing and engineering work packages to local companies, which will accelerate their integration into the Group’s global supply chain.
The Group is willing to set-up final assembly lines and establish supply chains and related infrastructure for military transport aircraft and helicopters in the country. These would be in full compliance of the procurement policies specified by the Indian Ministry of Defence and local Foreign Direct Investment guidelines.
