Inaugurating the Aerospace Manufacturing Facility at the Mysore Complex of BEML Ltd. on Monday, the Indian Defence Minister, AK Antony called upon the management and the employees to take full advantage of the Defence Offset Policy.

“Get ready to deliver more quality products, assure deliveries on time and I can assure you the government will give you all support,” Antony said.

The new facility will manufacture gears for helicopters including the Light Combat Helicopter, jigs for aircraft structures, machining of aerospace components, fabrication of structural sub-assemblies for Su-30 fighter jets and an array of Ground Support and Ground Handling Equipment.

“In fact, aerospace is not an entirely new area for us,” BEML Chairman-cum-Managing Director VRS Natarajan later said, adding, “We are already making various Ground Support Equipment such as the Aircraft Towing Tractor, Multipurpose Weapon Loader and Crash Fire Tender.”

Launched two years ago during the AeroIndia-2009 at Bangalore, the Aerospace Manufacturing Division of the BEML has earned AS-9100B aerospace quality certification standards, said Kallol Roy, Asstt. General Manager (Quality Control). “It will eventually undertake manufacture of complex Gears and Gear Boxes for helicopters and aero engines, landing gears for aircraft and upgrades of aircraft and choppers,” he said.

The company, with a targeted turnover of Rs.4,200 crores for this Financial Year (FE) ending next month, has also acquired 25 acres of land worth Rupees 360 crores at the Areospace Park SEZ near the New International Airport in Bangalore for setting up an exclusive Aerospace Manufacturing Complex. “The Hangars are likely to come up by March next year and work at the facility is likely to begin in FY 2012-13,” Natarajan said. “We are also considering assembly of the An-148 Regional Transport Aircraft,” he added, which will entail an investment of $70 million and create 200 jobs.

Another Manufacturing Facility spread over an area of two lakh Square Feet was recently inaugurated at Palakkad in Kerala, exclusively dedicated to production of defence equipment.

Antony also unveiled the BG-405A Grader for rock face-cutting, an entirely indigenously made earthmover, and laid the foundation stone for the integrated new Fabrication Hangar at the BEML’s Mysore plant, where higher weight age capacity Dumpers will be assembled. BEML has an installed capacity to manufacture Dumpers of 100 Tonnes capacity. “We are now going for 120 ton, 150 ton and later even the huge 205 ton capacity dumpers,” said Natarajan.