Sourcing from India to grow beyond $1 Bn: Boeing India Chief

New Delhi: Global aerospace major Boeing expects annual sourcing of key components from India to grow beyond the current level of $1 billion, a senior company official has said.

At present, more than 160 suppliers provide the company with advanced components and subassemblies for commercial and defence aircraft as part of Boeing's integrated global supply chain.

These parts and assemblies cover critical components such as aerostructures, wire-harness, composites, forgings, avionics, mission systems and ground support equipment.

"Opportunity is a 'buzzword' with us and we are constantly looking at doing more here, with partners... Our annual sourcing from India stands at $1 billion from over 160 suppliers, but this number will continue to grow," Boeing India President Salil Gupte told IANS.

Currently, the company runs a successful joint venture with Tata Advanced Systems known as Tata Boeing Aerospace (TBAL), which is located in Hyderabad and manufactures fuselages for the AH-64 Apache choppers globally.

"Ultimately, TBAL is set to become Boeing's sole producer for Apache fuselages globally," Gupte said.

Other companies such as Dynamatic Technologies manufactures the 'ramp' and 'aft pylon' for the Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.

On the civil aviation side of the business, Boeing with TAL manufactures 'floor beams' for all Dreamliner airplane variants -- 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 -- at the TAL's manufacturing facility.

Other firms like Rossell Techsys, Bharat Forge, SASMOS HET Technologies and Hindustan Aeronautics manufacture different types of components for the company.

Besides, the company expects an exponential domestic passenger traffic growth in India as new long-haul opportunities and infrastructure development will help the sector to further expand.

The global aerospace major has predicted a demand for 2,380 new aircraft in India, valued at $330 billion, over the next 20 years.

According to its annual India Commercial Market Outlook (CMO) 2019, many of the new airplanes will replace aging aircraft and help operators grow their network as India's aircraft fleet is projected to quadruple in size to approximately 2,500 by 2038.

Boeing currently employs 3,500 people in India, while more than 7,000 people work with its supply chain partners.

The company has been present in India's civil aviation sector for more than 75 years. It has also provided aircraft and choppers to the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.