Aviation India: Careers

Bangalore: Engineering services major Quest is collaborating with business partners to establish a 300-acre special economic zone (SEZ) in Belgaum, Karnataka, to build an ecosystem of aerospace supply chain.
The SEZ-which has been granted in-principle clearance by the Board of Approvals — will be housing suppliers in a single area and carry out precision machining. “The SEZ is expected to employ 10,000 people. Talks are on with a handful of potential domestic companies and MNCs to have them set up units at the SEZ,” says Quest Global CEO Ajit Prabhu.
Quest’s present facility in Bangalore, set up in collaboration with Canadian major Magellan, will also move into the SEZ as a 2,00,000 sq ft plant. The facility marked Quest’s move into manufacturing from being an end-to-end engineering solutions company.
The offset clause for aircraft manufacturers is expected to give a big fillip to aerospace-linked manufacturing. India has said it plans to buy 126 fighter jets, valued at close to $10 billion. On the other hand, Airbus expects Indian firms to place orders for 1,100 passenger and freighter aircraft valued at about $105 billion over the next 20 years. “With the current offset clause pegged at 30% of the purchase value and looking at the buying estimates, at least $3 billion worth of business is expected in the next 10 years,” says Mr Prabhu.
Quest, which has been growing at 40% year-on-year, is the only engineering services company that works with the top three global aero-engine makers – GE, Rolls Royce and Pratt & Whitney.
04/07/07 Chiranjoy Sen/Economic Times