Infotech HAL Limited, a 50:50 joint venture company between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Infotech Enterprises Limited, has entered into a technological alliance with UK-based Nasmyth Group Ltd, a precision-machined component and equipment supplier to the aerospace, healthcare equipment, oil instrumentation and specialist automotive industries.
The alliance with Nasmyth will address manufacturing and design, as well as reverse engineering of mechanical and electromechanical products for applications in both the Indian and global markets. It will be supported by the design and systems integration facilities of Infotech HAL and the comprehensive machining, assembly, surface treatment and testing facilities of Nasmyth, Infotech HAL chief operating officer Mathew Chacko said.
“The alliance will provide the global aerospace industry with comprehensive and fully integrated design and reverse engineering facilities for products, sub-systems or assemblies. We will primarily target OEMs in emerging economies,” Chacko said.
Nasmyth Group Limited, a group of 12 companies, is an international supplier to the civil and military aerospace sectors. It offers design, production and process design and planning, manufacturing, assembly, system integration and product support services across the fields of precision mechanical and electro-mechanical engineering.
“We will jointly work on design as well as redesign of aerospace components. Any patents will be held jointly by both groups. Many OEMs are currently faced with a huge backlog of legacy spare parts for the engine and other components, which require redesigning. We will also focus on build-to-design services for aerospace majors. The long term plan for this alliance is to set up a R&D centre though it is too early to talk about it right now,” Chacko said.
The partnership with Nasmyth will supported by Nasmyth’s manufacturing and Infotech HAL’s procurement facilities and integrated supply chains. Nasmyth’s facilities in the UK, Europe and the US will help match prototype, legacy or mainstream production requirements of aerospace manufacturers.
Aerospace OEM giants like Boeing, Rolls-Royce and General Electric are increasingly turning their attention from component manufacturing to systems integration. Entering into agreements with aerospace engineering firms for design-to-build services enables the big OEMs to reduce their systems integration costs and improve their risk-sharing profile.
Bangalore-based Infotech HAL has a 30-member team of highly skilled technologists at its development facility in Electronic City. The company’s solutions involve conceptual design, redesign, manufacture and production of aerospace modules, systems or components together with manufacturing management.
Infotech HAL also provides specialist services covering aerodynamic and mechanical design, structural, stress, thermal and rotor dynamic analysis, aeronautics, computational fluid dynamics and combustion studies, together with digital mock-up, testing, analysis, control system design, development and software applications.
