Airbus Group has consolidated its divisions in India under Airbus Group India Private Limited. Taking responsibility of the new company as President is Pierre de Bausset, a 25-year veteran of Airbus Group and its former Corporate Secretary. India is the first international market where local operations have been brought under a single company as part of the Group’s ‘one roof’ policy.
“Given India’s importance for us, we have implemented a new organisational structure there with Pierre in charge. There will be more internal coordination, pooling of resources and basically a far more efficient engagement with our local stakeholders. Formation of a single company will also greatly support our ‘Make in India’ plans and allow us to take a leap in our relationship with the country. Pierre is perfectly positioned for this role due to his wealth of experience, network amongst key decision makers within the Group and an in-depth understanding of our businesses,” said Tom Enders, Group CEO, Airbus.
“Synergies, growth, consistency and coherence are the main tenets of my vision for a robust Airbus Group India. My mandate is to further boost Airbus Group’s collaboration with India and embed it durably in the overall Airbus Group’s industrial organisation. A mature Indian aerospace and defence sector is in our own interest. It would open up more opportunities for us to partner with domestic players to fulfil requirements of our local customers as well as jointly target export markets,” said de Bausset.
The Group is tying up with Indian partners to target several ongoing defence acquisition programmes. It has submitted a joint bid with Tata to offer the C295 aircraft as a replacement for the Indian Air Force’s ageing Avro aircraft. The Group also plans to develop and manufacture electronic sensors here with a local partner. In the field of space, it is extending the cooperation with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to include joint development and production of larger satellites in India. On the helicopter side, the Group is in discussion with Indian companies to finalise teaming arrangements for various tenders.
Sourcing and engineering are amongst the pillars of Airbus Group India’s growth strategy. “We aim to firmly embed Indian industry, public and private, in our global value chain and achieve US$2 billion in cumulative sourcing from India by 2020,” said Bausset.
Complimenting the quality of engineering talent in India, he added, “I admire the intelligence and competitive attitude of Indian engineers and Indians in general. There is plenty of potential to make India a hub for engineering and innovation in the Group.”
