Advik Hi-Tech forays into aerospace component making
Advik Hi-Tech Private Limited (AHPL), one of India’s leading and global automotive components manufacturer, is now foraying into the aerospace segment. The 18-year-old auto component manufacturer has been catering to the needs of a number of domestic and overseas customers across 4 continents in the two-wheeler, stationary engine, and transmission system.
“We are just getting into the aerospace segment. We wanted to make critical parts and supply it to the industry in the first stage. We will be making an important high-quality component, and moving on, we are looking to develop products in the critical areas. Our facility will be installed by July-August of this year and the manufacturing will mostly start by September,” Aditya Bhartia, Managing Director of Advik Group, told AutoComponentsIndia.
With a huge customer base of leading automotive OEMs in India, Europe, the UK and the US, the component maker opened the first plant in Chakan, Pune, in 2000. The aerospace components are also to be manufactured in the same plant. “The building was initially used for the auto components manufacturing. On footprint, we have invested about Rs 7 crore in the first stage and for quality and testing we have invested around Rs 1.5 crore to start with. Altogether, primarily an investment of Rs 5-10 crore in the first stage for the refurbishment of building etc., is made. Once the production starts we will look for the possibility of investing more,” he said.
The auto components firm has made sure that there will be zero defect in the making of the new product as it needs to be of high
quality. “We have made a dedicated plant for aerospace and defence sector in Chakan and got a stateof-the-art section standard rule. We have also imported the best products from all over the world.”
As of now, the Pune-based company is concentrating on the defence sector and in the future, they also have plans to be in the commercial sector. Bhartia said that, they are sure that they do not want to be in the fabrication, welding etc., of the aerospace segment and will be in machining section making the critical machine part. “We want to stick to our best, that is auto components where we have a large knowledge of machining. We will take this expertise to the aerospace segment,” he said.
Replying to the query on why Advik is now foraying into the aerospace segment, Bhartia said that it is just an extension of their existing business. “In the last 20 years, we have a large experience in machining. So, it is just a onedegree separation, and this will be just like an extension of our business. At present, we produce a variety of parts for different auto components. But, the core component remains the same. We know how to assemble, to create a defect-free product and that will help us.” On light weighting, he said that they are not going to design anything, and it is mostly build-to-print. “We are just getting into this segment and know very little about the dynamics, “he added.
It is noted that with the government’s Make in India initiative, the country has caught the attention of major aerospace defence manufacturers to come and invest here. Bhartia said that aerospace is a sun rise sector in India. The segment is very fragmented right now. “A lot of small companies and a few large companies are into the machining section. In the OEM stage, there are a lot of firms and a lot of things are happening. With the Make in India on expansion mode, the eco-system is also slowly falling into space. We need that to survive and it is just a matter of time as everything will surely fall in place, he said.
While there are learning from the auto components area that needs to be implemented in aerospace segment, Advik has a lot to learn from this sector too. “Auto components has one ppm level, while the aerospace and defence should have zero ppm level. As the components industry is maturing, and the zero-ppm level will be coming in due course. Working on this will help us a lot,” Bhartia said.
Going on into the future, Advik plans to play a huge rule in the manufacturing of aerospace components. At first, the components makers are concentrating on the machining segments and wants to learn more about it. “We need to understand and wanted to be pragmatic and sure of what we want to do. We do not want to be in hurry to reach a stage. Our main focus is on getting our education right,” he said.
In the auto space, Advik Group manufacturers components like lifter tensioner, oil pump assembly, combi brake system, water pump assembly, fuel pumps, fuel feed pumps, fuel cock assembly, decompression units, drum gear shifter, starter gear reduction, kick shaft assembly, gear shifter assembly and precise machined components like pinions, screws, nuts and control shafts for leading automotive OEMs in the two-wheeler, three-wheeler, four-wheeler, LCV, M&HCV and stationary engines space.