Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman Ashok K Baweja is quick to take offence to the word ‘recession’ these days. It’s not as if the Bangalore-headquartered aerospace major is facing a recession — if anything, it’s doing better business than before. The man who’s piloted this state-owned aircraft manufacturer for three years now, was explaining to a journalist why HAL was putting off its MRO project since the current recession had affected the aviation industry quite badly — the article, when it appeared, however, quoted him as saying ‘HAL is in recession’.
While most sectors in the economy, including the aviation one, are reeling under the slowdown, HAL is doing quite well. Its long-cherished dream of getting a breakthrough in the export market for its Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) was fulfilled when the first batch of five ALHs were handed over to the Ecuadorian Air Force at Aero India 2009.
“We are not a Tier-I or Tier-II supplier, we are the prime contractor to many global aerospace majors including Boeing and Airbus. Had we been a second tier supplier to global aircraft majors, the global recession could have impacted us to a certain extent”, says the person who was instrumental in many of HAL’s path-breaking projects. He has held important positions in the organisation before becoming chairman, including in the intermediate jet trainer project.
A hard taskmaster, according to HAL insiders, Baweja has always stressed the fact that there are enough opportunities in the domestic defence and civil aviation market. This, HAL insiders argue, is what has made the company recession-proof to a great extent. “Recession also throws up challenges as well as opportunities, and we take them all. We will manage our own requirements first. There are a lot of opportunities in this country”, Baweja adds.
HAL’s ALH project has been subject to intense scrutiny from the time the first prototype was flown in August 1992 — its slow progress prompted many to ask whether it would continue. The changing demands of the Indian armed forces, certain design issues and finally the US sanctions on India after the nuclear test in 1998, further delayed the project. However, the successful delivery of the helicopters to Ecuador has helped the navratna company make its presence felt in the Latin American market and position itself better for the export market. The Ecuadorian order was secured by HAL through a bid where global aerospace majors like Elbit, Eurocopter and Kazan had participated.
How important the ALH is for HAL can be seen from the fact that it accounts for around Rs 16,000 crore, or around 32 per cent of HAL’s total order book of about Rs 50,000 crore.
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“The ALH export delivery to Ecuador has proved that an aviation company located in a Third-World country is capable of making an international foray, in a tough competitive market, outbidding the ever-aggressive global players. Making an export breakthrough in the South African market is no small achievement for HAL”, says an analyst who tracks the aerospace sector quite closely.
Baweja who, after 36 years of service, will be retiring next month has grown with the company. The son of an Air Force officer, Baweja, is the only chairman of HAL who joined the company as a management trainee and rose to its top job. An engineering graduate from the Delhi College of Engineering, and an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies in Delhi, Baweja joined HAL in 1972, passing up another offer to join Tata Power.
Towards the end of his career with HAL, Baweja says HAL has seen the birth of many leaders in the past. “Each leader is different. It’s not correct to try and shape or thrust your ideas on the coming leadership,” says Baweja on his successors in HAL.
According to N R Mohanty, who was succeeded by Baweja as HAL’s chairman. “HAL has just started taking off. It is a very different company today as compared to what it was three years ago. A lot of this has, of course, been possible due to the efforts made by a dedicated and hardworking person like Baweja. He gave a lot of thrust on design and exports, and the results are bearing fruits now.”