Kaman Aerospace Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Kaman Corporation, and Kineco Limited announced that Kaman has increased its stake in the parties’ Indian manufacturing joint venture Kineco Kaman Composites India Pvt. Ltd. (JV) from 26 percent to 49 percent. The Goa-based JV manufactures advanced composite structures for aerospace, imaging/medical, and other industries for customers including BAE Systems, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
The announcement was jointly made in Goa, India by Neal J. Keating, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Kaman Corporation and Shekhar Sardessai, executive vice chairman and managing director and promoter of Kineco.
“Our increased ownership stake reflects our commitment to this JV and confidence in the potential of the rapidly growing Indian Aerospace Industry,” said Keating. “We entered the JV to support our strategy to provide our customers with a complete aerosystem solution. The JV helps us offer customers a ‘One Stop’ full complement of seamless services including design, tooling, testing, certification, and low rate initial production through steady state high velocity production. We are proud of the significant progress that the JV has achieved in a relatively short time period, and along with our outstanding partner, Kineco, strongly support the future business plan for the JV.”
Sardessai remarked, “Kineco is glad to have a strong and supportive partner in Kaman and we thank them for reposing their faith in the JV. The very success of this collaboration over the past few years indicates how closely Kineco and Kaman have worked together in supporting the operation. Having built a strong foundation and a list of satisfied customers, the JV plans to undertake its first major expansion over the next 12 to 18 months, an investment plan that has received the approval of the Goa Investment Promotion Board. This investment reiterates our commitment to put Goa on the Indian and Global Aerospace and defense ecosystem as a result of our innovation and technology. We believe that strong governance and human capital have been the pillars of our achievements, and we will continue to invest in these resources to build on our success.”
The joint venture provides employment for more than 150 people at its composites manufacturing facility in Goa. The operation produces complex composite structures utilising the newest carbon material and autoclave curing skill. The business has brought together Kaman’s proven manufacturing knowledge and decades of aerospace composites fabrication understanding with Kineco’s knowledge of local markets and advanced composites manufacturing potential.
