Gurugram, India, Aug. 26: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is looking to expand the role of its joint venture with Samtel across display systems for upcoming aircraft platforms while increasing sourcing from the domestic ecosystem, HAL Chairman and Managing Director Ravi K said Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters at the inauguration of the Samtel-HAL joint venture facility, Ravi said the two companies have been working together for several years, and HAL now wants to extend the partnership to more products and platforms.
“Going forward, we want to move ahead with all the other displays for our new products that are coming up. We want to work with the joint venture because, capability-wise, they are already there,” Ravi said.
He said HAL also wants to increase sourcing through the joint venture, which in turn works with local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“In all our platforms now, we want to take this forward and make sure that more and more sourcing is happening,” Ravi said, adding that Samtel is also working with local MSMEs to strengthen the broader domestic ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Samtel Avionics Managing Director and CEO Puneet Kaura said the joint venture is expected to record a turnover of about Rs 200 crore this year, its highest ever, and could more than double that over the next three to four years as new projects are added.
“We will be doing about Rs 200 crore in turnover in the JV this year. This is by far the highest turnover for this JV and also one of the best-performing JVs for HAL,” Kaura said.
He said the turnover could rise to around Rs 400-500 crore over the next three to four years.
“This will grow further with these projects that I’m talking about. The potential order book is very large. So this is how we see the number going up, maybe to about Rs 400 or Rs 500 crore in the next three to four years, doubling from here,” he said.
Kaura said there are no immediate plans for new investment in the nearly two-decade-old joint venture, but rising requirements from the Indian Air Force and upcoming projects could create additional opportunities.
The companies are looking at potential work related to the Indian Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH), aircraft upgrade programs, and multiple avionics products.
“We are looking at multiple different products, as the chairman already said. We are looking at head-down displays, head-up displays, and even helmet-mounted display systems,” Kaura said.
He added that satellite communications, or SATCOM, technology is another potential area of collaboration under discussion.
“Another area we discussed today, which can be a potential collaboration, is looking at some SATCOM technology as well. These can be some new areas where we are looking to expand the scope of the joint venture with HAL,” Kaura said.
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