From fabrics to fighter jets: Raymond moves into fighter aircraft assembly

Raymond Ltd on Wednesday said that the company is expanding its aerospace business into aircraft structures, with its subsidiary JK Maini Global Aerospace Ltd winning a tender to assemble wing and centre-fuselage structures for an indigenous fighter aircraft programme.

The company, in a release on exchanges, said that the contract was awarded by a leading Indian aerospace and defence original equipment manufacturer (OEM). It did not disclose the name of the customer, the fighter aircraft programme or the value of the order.

The win marks Raymond's planned entry into aircraft structures, moving the group beyond precision manufacturing and aerospace components into larger aircraft assemblies.


Raymonds shares were trading at Rs 1130.25 apiece on the BSE, up 1.49% on Wednesday as of 1.50 PM.

The programme is expected to use the customer's existing infrastructure, allowing Raymond to build capabilities and execution experience without making significant upfront investments in new facilities, the company said.

“This opportunity is strategically much larger than its immediate business potential. It provides Raymond an entry into the high-value aircraft structures segment while maintaining capital efficiency. More importantly, it gives us an opportunity to establish critical execution credentials that can position Raymond’s subsidiaries for participation in larger aerospace programmes in India and globally. Our focus will be on execution excellence and building this capability into a scalable growth platform,” Rakesh Tiwary, Group CFO, Raymond Group, said.

The company said the new aircraft-structures opportunity would allow JK Maini Global Aerospace to develop capabilities in the assembly of major aircraft structures while keeping the investment model relatively capital-efficient.

The company has not disclosed the expected revenue contribution from the programme or the timeline for production.

Raymond said its aerospace and defence business serves both Indian and international customers and is part of the group's broader push into engineering-led businesses.

Wing structures and centre-fuselage structures are critical aircraft assemblies, requiring specialised manufacturing and quality-control capabilities. Raymond said the latest programme would help its subsidiary establish credentials that could be used to pursue larger aerospace programmes in India and overseas.