Latécoère, a tier 1 partner to major international aircraft manufacturers, has unveiled its new plant in Belagavi, India, in the state of Karnataka, on September 10.With a total surface area of 4,400 sqm, the new site is dedicated to the manufacturing of the Radio Navigation harnesses for Falcon 2000and for the future,its main harness as well asthe avionicsharnessesforThales for aircraft such as Boeing B777, B737 and Airbus A320, as well as many other airlines (Emirates, British Airways and Qatar).
The new "best cost" site, which employs 70 people, in line with the objective of reaching a workforce of 300 by 2022, completes the Latécoère group's productionsystemof harness equipment.
The first delivery took place in August 2019 tothe Latécoère site in Liposthey, France, in order to finalize the manufacturingof the Radio Navigation harnesses for Falcon 2000.
Yannick Assouad, CEO of Latécoère, added: "First of all, I would like to thank all our teams in India and France who, for now more than a year, have made this project possible. I am proud to open a new chapter for Latécoère's development in India, alongside two prestigious names in aerospace, Dassault Aviation and Thales. Latécoère continues to evolve in line with the Transformation 2020 plan, and actively pursuing its strategy to optimizeits industrial infrastructure and ensure operational excellence and quality for all customers”.
Benoît Berger,Senior Executive Vice President, Procurement and Purchasing of Dassault Aviation, adds: “Dassault Aviation welcomes the establishment of Latécoère in India which illustrates the commitment of French companies to contribute to the “Make in India” policy by nurturing a sustainable eco-system for the benefit of the entire Indian aerospace Industry. In addition to the implementation of DRAL manufacturing facilityin Mihan Nagpur, this new step paves the way towards positioning India as an international supplier reference in the global aerospace market matching the highest standards in this field”.
Gil Michielin, Thales Executive Vice President for Avionics, comments: “Latécoère is an historic partner to Thales and India is a strategic country for the Group. It is therefore a significant milestone that Latécoère chose to join us here, a move that resonates with our strategy to support the government’s Make in India initiative by contributing to Foreign Direct Investment directly and through our partners,and transferring skills and technology to local enterprises. India remains an integral part of our global supply chain strategy and we look forward to significantly increasing the level of procurement here”.
