Engineering industries in Coimbatore, a good chunk of them micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), are betting on the opportunities provided by the aerospace sector as it demands high-tech products, according to a senior officebearer of the Coimbatore District Small Industries’ Association (Codissia).

He said though the earlier promise of a rail factory in neighbouring Kerala, which was expected to give a boost to the manufacturing industry in the region, has not materialised so far, the aerospace sector’s prospects were different as the level of sophistication required was higher and Coimbatore industries could meet this requirement given their exposure to the automotive industry.

Speaking to the media at Coimbatore on Thursday ahead of the INTEC 2015 show to be held from June 5 to 9, V Sundaram, Vice-President, Codissia, said “business has been sluggish” during the last fiscal for most companies. But in the last two months, the automotive sector has witnessed a pick-up in car sales. Heavy industries were also witnessing an improvement in sales with export orders flowing in. He expected these companies to begin executing their orders in the next quarter and felt component suppliers would experience better times by September. By July-August, he anticipated industries to start making fresh investments in capacity addition.

He said Texas Ventures was organising the `Global Manufacturing Cluster Vision 2020’ on June 5 along with Codissia. Aravind S Bharadwaj, Senior VP - Advanced Technology & Services, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors of M&M Ltd, who wants auto component vendors in Coimbatore to get into the aerospace sector as well, will address the meet. The aerospace industry promises a good future and once Coimbatore industries embrace the opportunity provided by it, they would have to expand their businesses.

Sundaram pointed out that while a rail factory would have benefited companies involved in fabrication activity, Coimbatore industries were more into manufacture of `high technology precision components’ and the aerospace industry was looking for competent suppliers in this sphere. Coimbatore industries fit the bill perfectly and have proved themselves by emerging as critical suppliers to the automotive sector. He said many European and Japanese car-makers have plumped for Coimbatore suppliers to meet their needs and felt that aerospace industries could give a boost to Coimbatore MSMEs.

P N Balasubramanian, Chairman, INTEC 2015 exhibition, said nearly 30 foreign companies are taking part in the show. The NSIC and SIDBI have provided subsidy to the participants. Nearly 425 exhibitors would display their products at the show, which he expected to generate business worth nearly ₹600 crore. He said the response this year was better than last year.

Giriraj Singh, Minister of State for MSME, will be the chief guest at the inaugural function on June 5 and Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for MSME, will the chief guest at the valedictory function on June 9.

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