Make3d, a Gujarat based 3D Printing Technology startup is aiming to take Additive Manufacturing to a wider industry and customer base in India. Understanding the potential offered by Additive Manufacturing, Tejas Diyori and Jatin Goti initiated their entrepreneurial journey in 2014, to enable every individual to get the experience and advantage of 3D printing technology.
With buoyant demand in aircraft manufacturing in the country, Indian Aviation facilitates aircraft manufacturing which meets global standards at fifty per cent lower cost. Even with the high degree of skilled workforce and cost-viability, Indian aviation figures high production cost and import-margin. This is hindering the private sector’s ownership over aviation and aerospace components manufacturing.
Addressing this dichotomy, the recently formed Gujarat-based Aero Freyr Inc is offering indigenously manufactured small and mid-size private aircraft along with aerospace components. Envisioning ‘Wings of Freedom’ in the Indian aviation industry, the company is supplying private aviation components, both locally and globally with the same quality norms, at almost 10 times lower cost of production globally available now.
Palkit Sudani, CMD, Aero Freyr Inc in an exclusive interaction with Machine Maker, spoke on his journey with the Aircraft manufacturing unit in Amreli, Amreli Airpot, Gujarat. The unit has been set up for the manufacturing of two-seater and four-seater high wing metal aircraft, along with high-speed aircraft for defence training. With an investment of ₹150 crores, the company has established the aircraft manufacturing unit with MRO (Maintenance and Repair operation facility) and flight testing facility. It has been set up under MoU signed with Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited (GUJSAIL).
“Targeting the commercial aviation segment in India, Aero Freyr plans to manufacture aeroplanes, taking Aero-mobility to a new level”, said Palkit Sudani. Recognized as the very first private aircraft manufacturing company, the company foresees to invest around 600 crores in next year for scaling its industry and service equipment supply facilities.
Empowering the Indian Aviation sector
Indian civil aviation industry has untapped potential due to the large growing middle-class population and rapidly growing infrastructure, which is meaningful as per the market perspectives. Palkit realized that the civilians in Europe were equipped with aircraft and ample aero-sports activities which were not in India. Thus, the feasible production cost and manpower inspired Palkit to set up the private aviation manufacturing facility in India.
This, would not only fulfil the aspirations of the civilians and middle class to own aircraft for the aero-sports activities but also foster the indigenous manufacturing of the aviation and aerospace components. “Strengthening the regional airline’s connectivity through schemes such as UDAAN has been appreciable which emphasize on importing the aircraft and aerospace components. But, if we can make those aircraft in India itself, India can be the world’s second-largest market in aviation for aero-sports activities, aerial survey, and medical transportation, after America,” Palkit remarks on the potential of the Indian aviation industry.
Aero Freyr’s manufacturing unit at Amreli is equipped with supportive factors such as low air traffic and less interruption in civil activities. The firm aims to work as an OEM vendor for the European and US Aviation firms which have high production in the aviation industry. Due to the tremendous allocation of Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) facilities in aviation, Aero Freyr Inc is further planning to expand its facilities across India to strengthen the Indian Aviation Industry.
Aero-mobility: A Big Market of Future
Building roads and railways for transportation has been appreciable! But, they too, have limitations for they cannot be built amid large infrastructure across the city. Therefore, in the upcoming years, aero-mobility will escalate with the concept of flying taxis and air-ambulance. A lot of R&D work is also going on in aviation technology to develop multipurpose aircraft which can be used for purpose of emergency spraying, air taxi, and medical delivery. They are foretold to be far better than the foreign aircraft and other aviation equipment, which being purpose-specific have operational limitations.
Multitasking aircraft have fast recovery rates and higher investment scopes. Not only this, they have employment opportunities in ground support and handling, drone support handling, air traffic control system, configuration. This opens up various opportunities in the Indian aviation market in the nearby future. “Through setting up such aviation units we will not only be able to supply aircraft globally but, also supplement the domestic aviation needs in defence, sporting, aerial surveys, agriculture and medical field, which are forecast to witness a huge demand in nearby future,” tells Palkit on future prospectives of India’s aviation market.
The growing competence of Indian aviation industries can bring Europe and the US to invest in India to set up manufacturing units in India. This will further extend the market reach of Indian aviation industries across the globe. “Seed funding for the prototypes of the flying taxi, aviation design and defence system concepts which are better than European countries will further encourage the young minds in aviation industries,” Palkit added on the scope in the Aviation industry.
Excelling Standards with Global Collaborations
Civil aviation requirement such as the Airworthiness Standard of Aircraft Engines under which the safety oversight is required needs to be exercised on the engineering activities. Environmental consideration such as humidity, wind flow, rainfall, and moisture which are factors of the feasibility study and the safety and design norms needs some pre-requisite approvals. For example, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency(EASA) for Europe, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US, and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) in India.
“With our European partners of Slovenia and Serbia, and effective support we are getting from the government, we believe not to face off many barriers in terms of standards in Aviation industries,” adds Palkit on meeting the quality effectiveness in the aviation industry. Aero Freyr is having the agreement of supplying 30 aircrafts a year to Italian firms and 20 aircrafts a year for Serbian companies, showcasing the company’s quality norms and standards in aircraft manufacturing and aerospace equipment.
Speaking on Pandemic’s impact on the Aviation Industry, Palkit tells that owing to pandemic protocols, people in pharmaceuticals, real estate, textiles, are preferring private airlines to public airlines. “The pandemic outbreak has been a boon for the aviation sector, which is evident from around 120 inquiries we received in the last one and half years. They included inquiries from Europe and US, regarding the private aircraft particularly due to the production and assembling delays of public airlines,” added Palkit on the pandemic impact on the Aviation sector which came out as a positive factor the industrial growth.
Like the electric vehicle which is witnessing huge growth, Palkit feels that there are possibilities of electric-aircrafts in the future with the hybrid concept. Notably, Aero Freyr’s first phase 50 projects across major cities in Gujarat are estimated worth ₹1 crore per airfield. The company, with R&D and in-house manufacturing of aircraft in the next 1 year aims to bring design, imaginative engineering to Indian Aviation Industry.
“Aero Freyr’s aviation plans transpire India’s major advancement in the big aviation market. This is possible with the company’s relentless efforts with the timely support of the Government of Gujarat and Ministry of Civil Aviation,” concludes Palkit on Aero Freyr’s big move in the aviation leap.
