Global aircraft maker Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd on Wednesday signed a pact to collaborate in aerospace and defence manufacturing as well as to tap into integrated systems development opportunities, including unmanned aerial vehicles. The companies, under the memorandum of understanding, intend to access markets jointly for products and platforms developed together by Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd.
The collaboration, which is in line with the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, will not only work in the domestic market but will also be for international markets, sources said. The agreement was signed by Shelley Lavender, President of Boeing Military Aircraft and Sukaran Singh, managing director and chief executive officer of Tata Advanced Systems Ltd.
Tata Advanced Systems Ltd is already on contract to manufacture aerostructures for Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook and AH-6i helicopters. “This agreement with TASL is significant because it demonstrates Boeing?s commitment to expanding its aerospace manufacturing footprint in India,” Lavender was quoted as saying in a Boeing statement.
“As we step into our 100th year in business, a new aerospace partnership with India is the perfect milestone to accelerate the momentum we have generated for making in India,” said Pratyush Kumar, president for Boeing India. “It is noteworthy that TASL will produce Chinook helicopter parts in India even before the procurement contract is signed with the Indian government,” he said.
Government is in the process of clearing a contract worth over USD 2.5 billion for 22 Apache attack
helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers. S Ramadorai, Chairman of TASL, said this gives them an opportunity to explore the massive potential in India for aerospace manufacturing and make the investments required to grow the industry.
Other Tata group companies — Tata Advanced Materials Ltd (TAML) and TAL Manufacturing Solutions (TAL) — are also supplying important components to Boeing. TAML has delivered power and mission equipment cabinets and auxiliary power unit door fairings for the P-8I long range maritime surveillance and anti submarine warfare aircraft. TAL is manufacturing floor beams out of composite materials for the Boeing 787-9. TAL has provided ground support equipment for the C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifter.
Nano was made to reach out to people… but never has: Ratan
Admitting that Tata Group made a “bunch of mistakes” in the sales and marketing of Nano, iconic business leader Ratan Tata on Wednesday said branding it as the ‘cheapest’ rather than most affordable car was the greatest flaw that distanced people from it. “Nano was made to reach out to people, (but) it never has. It is meant to be reachable throughout India with our dealerships. But we made our bunch of mistakes,” Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus said during in an interaction with students of Great Lakes Institute of Management during its 11th Convocation here.
He said that the biggest mistake was getting the car branded as cheapest rather than most affordable. “...And that had a negative impact on the car in the market, people did not want to be seen in the cheapest car and I think that has been our greatest deficiency that has disenabled the car to perform what it was trying to do,” he said.