Bell Helicopter welcomes pro-market reforms
Source: Bell Helicopter.
Bell Helicopter welcomes pro-market reforms creating fresh opportunities in the Indian market which it has served for more than six decades.
“We strongly believe in the Make in India initiative and a number of pro-business reforms being introduced, as well as the recently announced Defence Procurement Policy (DPP),” said Sameer A. Rehman, Managing Director of Bell Helicopter Asia (Pte) Ltd.
These opportunities will allow Bell Helicopter to work out new plans and increase its business, especially through the government’s decision to allow 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment in selected industries, including the potential of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) set up, he said.
“Our future share increase will depend on such positive regulations,” added Sameer, an industry veteran of two-decade and regular at industry dialogues with the Indian authorities.
Noting India’s big demand for helicopters, he said “In the coming years, India is poised to significantly expand helicopter operations. We are working to understand the Defence Ministry’s needs and aim to offer a unique helicopter capability under the modernization programme in the near future.”
“We are also exploring areas of opportunity around our maintenance, repair and operations network in India, potentially adding customer service facilities in addition to the present arrangement of line maintenance,” disclosed Sameer at the Farnborough International Airshow.
The company will stay committed to the ever-growing Indian market and compete for more opportunities, he assured but with a cautious note on the regulatory regimes and market trends.
Bell Helicopter is already a market leader in India and is the largest supplier to the commercial sector.
The world’s leading helicopter corporation is also working across the country’s oil & gas industries, corporate services, law enforcement departments, medical evaluation services and tourism industry.
Bell Helicopter’s parent group, Textron Company, runs a large technology centre in Bangalore supporting the global operations.
In 2004, Textron Inc. opened an engineering and technology center in Bangalore that employs more than 130 Bell Helicopter engineers working various programs.
It also has a manufacturing agreement with engineering-based Dynamatic Technologies.
In 2013, Bell Helicopter contracted 407 cabin detail part fabrication, and later 407 cabin sub-assemblies with Dynamatic Technologies Ltd. in Bangalore.
“Eventually, we expect our India-based efforts to be central to our South Asian growth strategy stretched across Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives,” he said. fii-news.com
