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Aerospace, defence and security solutions major Safran Group is thinking of setting up Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in India.
"We are looking at it. Which way it can be done is not clear at this point,’’ Christophe Poulain, Vice-President, Commercial Strategy, CFM, a joint venture of Safran and GE, told newspersons at CFM’s jet engine training facility in Shamshabad here on Thursday.
The jet engine maker now has nine customers in India with about 450 CFM engines. In addition, more than 1,700 Turbomeca helicopter engines are in service. The Safran group’s entity, Meissier-Bugatti-Dowty, has 100 per cent market share in wheels and brakes for A320 aircraft.
It has so far secured 184 orders for new LEAP aircraft engines including some from the SpiceJet in India which are slated for service entry in 2017. All this makes a case for possibility of a MRO for the company.
"Air India already has good knowledge of our engines and the Tatas are also involved in aerospace area. But we have not taken any decision on our MRO here as yet,’’ he added.
The CFM’s jet-engine training facility here would also be equipped with a LEAP engine going forward. Since its launch of operations in 2010, the facility had trained over 640 engineers in servicing of engines for Boeing and Airbus, according to its head, Vijay K Mehra.
Stephane Lauret, Chief Executive Officer, Safran India said the company was committed to invest in India further without committing any number. "So far, we have invested in only soft areas. There is potential for investments in industrial activities,’’ he said.
Besides business opportunities in the defence sector, other areas such as biometric solutions for banking, finance and security were also being explored, he added. Its arm, Morpho is now supporting the Aadhar project of the Government of India.
The $20 billion French Group now has about 3,000 employees on its rolls in different entities in India.
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