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Madhumathi D.S.

Bangalore , March 16

AWEX, the export agency representing Belgium's Wallonia region, is exploring collaboration opportunities in aeronautics and space between Belgian companies and the Indian private sector, according to its CEO, Mr Philippe Suinen.

The agency's financing arm Sofinex supports international joint ventures by taking minority equity shares with Belgian companies. The same model could be extended to any ensuing Indian ventures, Mr Suinen, who was here with the Belgian economic delegation, told Business Line.

The eight-month-old Sofinex, he said, had formed a manufacturing joint venture in Brazil with Belgian aircraft fuselage maker Sonaca. Sonaca is a leading supplier to Brazilian regional jet maker Embraer and was the first company that catapulted Belgium into the European aerospace league.

AWEX or the Wallon Export Agency represents the French-speaking Wallonia region of Belgium. Wallonia is the hub of aerospace industries that are involved in several major activities of global and European aeronautics and space companies.

Among them are the programmes of Airbus, Dassault, Boeing, Brazil's Embraer, Canadian Bombardier, Lockheed the European Space Agency ESA.

According to Mr Suinen, "There could be cross-participation in programmes, production, research and creation of legal entities" between India and Belgium. They could also think about licensed manufacturing agreements of mutual benefit.

Belgian companies have a role in the Indian helicopter (ALH); Techspace Aero is into component supplies for the ongoing Kaveri indigenous engine development programme; FZ was in talks with HAL for a role in its new generation helicopters.

If Belgium had experience and expertise from major programmes, India had vast quality manpower, access to a large Asian market, just as Belgium would open the gates to European majors. "We are ideally complementary," Mr Suinen said, adding, "We are impressed with what India has to offer (in aerospace sector) and there is a lot for both to work together in. We would be happy to invite companies from Karnataka and India to Wallonia."

According to Mr Philippe Schleicher, CEO of Techspace Aero, Wallonia had a pool of industrial and academic centres and expertise to support Indian industries.

Its aerospace cluster is a network of 53 industries and 5,000-strong workforce making engines, equipment, systems, frames and electronic components for majors. The cluster generated a 2004 sales of euros 925 million and expects to touch euro 1075 million during 2005. The region contributes 5 per cent of Belgium's total export revenue of euro 25 billion.

Apart from participation in NASA and European Space Agency missions and major air shows, it has a space technology park, the Liege Space Centre and the Wallonia Space Logistics Centre.

In a presentation at a seminar on joint opportunities in the aeronautics and space sectors, Mr K.R. Sridhara Murthi, Executive Director of ISRO's commercial arm, Antrix Corporation, said there was scope for Belgian companies in using and marketing imageries from Indian remote sensing satellites.

They could also use Indian launchers as Verhaert did in October 2001, when it got its 100-kg experimental microsatellite PROBA on ISRO's polar satellite launch vehicle rocket.

"We need material and equipment for our growing space programme. ISRO has an annual budget of $ 600 million for components. We would like to have supplies and partnership," Mr Murthi said.

Air Commodore (retd) B. Banerjee, HAL's Director, Marketing, said there were five areas of partnership - for major and sub-assemblies of aircraft, engines, accessories, composites, among others.

HAL could offer one-stop solutions from design to hydraulics supply to aircraft systems to international companies.

Wg Cdr (retd) T.R.Subramanyam, Joint Secretary, Society of Indian Aeronautical and Technology Industries SIATI, said all the 330 members of the association were geared up to produce sophisticated components and would be able to establish contacts for rewarding Belgian collaborations. Ten Belgian companies visited HAL and ISRO facilities.

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