From electric cars to aerospace, Mainis make big leap of faith

With Aero India on the horizon, Maini group of companies is one of the many Indian companies which are taking part in the air show. The group’s flagship company Maini Precision Products has tied up with a number of niche aerospace companies such as Marshall Aerospace (UK). Gautam, MD, and Sandeep Kumar Maini, Chairman, engage with DC in an interaction to discuss their future plans for Maini Precision Products and their appearance at Aero India 2017.

The Maini group has interests in aerospace. From the road, to the air is a quantum leap, what are your goals and expectations?
Sandeep Maini: Our company was started in 1973. My father started Maini Precision Products which was the flagship company. We have spent almost three decades in the automotive, industrial and hydraulic areas of interest. We learnt and built our processes and got it settled. We also went out geographically - To the US and Europe etc. That gave us a massive exposure as how the world works and also a view on how precision machining business and also the assembly business. We also gained exposure on how the overseas customers work. Once those fundamentals were in place, around 2004-2005 we decided that now is the time to step into the aerospace industry. We felt our expertise in precision machining would help us in the aerospace domain. Our aerospace perspective is a long term perspective. We cannot enter the industry and say we can turn things around in a short time. Our perspective is for 7 to 8 years.

What are the biggest challenges faced in the Aerospace domain?
Sandeep Maini: The biggest challenge we face is the massive variety of parts and components that got into a plane. There are thousands of different parts that go into an aircraft. Volumes are smaller and parts are more precise. When my father started this company, he had clear ideas. We follow the zero philosophy, something that we are really proud off. Zero philosophy ensures zero defects, zero delays, zero compromises, zero wastage, zero pollution etc.

What exactly are you focusing on in the aerospace domain?
Gautam Maini: In the aerospace domain we are focusing on the mechanical side. We are concentrating on the whole product. When you look at an airplane's wing, the exterior is sheet structure. But when you open up the wing you will find that most of the parts inside are machine parts. It is the complete machining that we are concentrating on.

Tell us about your view on setting up design and development centres for all your companies?
Sandeep Maini: Our aim of setting up design and development centres was to optimise what was available. Our mantra is to optimise what we want from the pool available on the market. For example if there were two sorts of motors required for the task - one 4 kilo watt and the other kilo 8 watt, we will aim to optimise the 4 kilo watt motor to suit our requirement. All are companies are certified by the CSIR department of the government.

Tell us about you participation at Aero India 2017?
We are taking part for the third time at the air show. We will be showcasing our components in aero structures, engines, systems and precision parts.