Belagavi, as soon as a metropolis on the fringes of India’s industrial panorama in Karnataka, has remodeled right into a pivotal hub within the world provide chain. This exceptional shift is being pushed by firms like Aequs, which have strategically established their manufacturing vegetation in Tier 2 cities like Belagavi. Aequs operates India’s first precision manufacturing SEZ within the aerospace sector from Belagavi.
By way of visionary investments and long-term planning, these firms are shaping the way forward for manufacturing in India whereas proving that smaller cities can play an important position within the world manufacturing ecosystem.
At Karnataka Make investments 2025, Aravind Melligeri, chairman and CEO of Aequs, dispelled a fable: Manufacturing doesn’t occur on the earth’s glittering capitals, as many believed. “It doesn’t occur in Western international locations, in New York, Paris, or London,” Melligeri stated. “It occurs in Wichita, Kansas, Toulouse, France, Birmingham, Wolverhampton…”
He added that India’s technique needed to be totally different to compete at this degree. As an alternative of specializing in already overcrowded cities like Bengaluru, the corporate made a daring determination to construct in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
“If I’ve to do it at scale, I’ll want 2,000 engineers or manufacturing CNC machinists, and so they’re not out there wherever within the nation,” Melligeri defined.
Aequs in its Belagavi Journey
Melligeri recollects that when the corporate’s journey started in Belagavi, the land was barren, and the infrastructure practically nonexistent. There have been no flights or lodges, and a ten-hour drive was the one solution to attain the positioning. “If you happen to requested a buyer to drive 12 hours and are available, they’d by no means do it,” he stated, reflecting on the struggles of the early days. But, he stated that the imaginative and prescient was clear—vertical integration, self-sufficiency, and world-class infrastructure.
The corporate has laid out a 15-20 yr roadmap. Initially, solely 20% of the value-add was occurring in India, however the purpose was 100%. “At this time, we’re in a position to say that after 15 years, we’re ready to do that 100% out of India on a number of of the merchandise, ” he highlighted.
To make this doable, a particular financial zone (SEZ) was established, spanning 250 acres in Belagavi. The SEZ gave them management over uncooked materials imports, customs clearances, and seamless world deliveries.
Melligeri claimed that “At this time, virtually each plane has a component going from Belagavi.” The corporate had turn out to be the only supply for a lot of important aerospace elements, which suggests in the event that they stopped delivering, world plane manufacturing would really feel the impression.
The Position of Expertise
Nevertheless, success was not nearly location—it was about expertise, as Melligeri highlighted, stating that the idea that Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities lacked expert staff was challenged head-on. “There may be expertise in all places in India. The query is whether or not we’re in a position to prepare them to go well with our necessities,” he stated.
The corporate introduced in world specialists to coach native engineers, machinists, and technicians to fulfill the stringent high quality requirements of aerospace manufacturing.
Furthermore, Melligeri defined that vertical integration performed a vital position on this transformation. The corporate began with machining after which expanded by strategic joint ventures.
It partnered with Magellan Aerospace for floor remedy, Oberndorval (owned by Safran and Airbus) for forging, and even built-in Hindalco’s aluminium mill into its provide chain.
“By doing this vertical integration, we went from 20% to about 80%,” he stated.
Now, they provide 7,500 plane wheels yearly, protecting Boeing 737s, Airbus A320s, and 100% of ATR wheels—all produced completely in India.
Different Expansions
Aerospace was solely the start for Aequs. The corporate leveraged India’s considerable unskilled labour to enter new industries, first in toys and later in client durables and electronics. It turned India’s largest toy exporter, competing instantly with China, providing costs 5-15% decrease.
“In 2008, China’s wages had been much like India’s. However right now, India’s wages are one-third of China’s, giving us an edge,” Melligeri claimed.
By 2022, the corporate had expanded into cookware manufacturing by a three way partnership with Tramontina after which moved into client electronics, capitalising on India’s push for exports. Its 5,000-strong workforce was unfold throughout 3 million sq. toes of superior manufacturing house in Belagavi and Hubballi.
But, infrastructure remained a problem for the corporate. Convincing stakeholders to put money into Belagavi wasn’t straightforward, as Melligeri defined, “It’s like sitting within the US and asking them to put money into India. Folks hesitate to put money into smaller cities as a result of they don’t perceive what it takes.”
However the perseverance paid off. At this time, Belagavi has flights, four-star lodges, and higher connectivity, all as a result of the corporate took the chance of investing within the unknown.Melligeri concluded by saying, “If we are able to create an ecosystem, we are able to scale. And right now, we’re scaling in step with China, competing with the West, and constructing a future that was as soon as unimaginable.”
The submit Belagavi Can Do What Bengaluru Can’t appeared first on Analytics India Journal.
