Pattonair, the leading global supply chain provider to the aerospace industry, has been selected as one of the first group of UK companies to participate in the Access India Programme (AIP). Sponsored by the Government of India, the programme is the first of its kind to facilitate investments and market entry by small and medium scale companies in the UK into India.

As the latest stage in Pattonair's global expansion, the Derby, UK headquartered company is establishing a wholly owned subsidiary and support facility in Bangalore, scheduled to become operational by January 2019. Pattonair's strategy is to support customers where they operate, which speeds up supply and allows it to tailor services to each customer's specific needs and performance goals.

Pattonair has serviced UTC in India since 2014 supplying C class parts to UTC's Actuation Systems and Sensors & Integrated Systems (SIS) sites in Bangalore for major programmes such as 787, A350 and A320 neo. Bangalore is the hub of India's rapidly growing civil and military aerospace industry, which has attracted major companies including Airbus, Rolls-Royce and UTC. India boasts the world's third largest aircraft order book of over 1000 aircraft after the USA and China.

"Pattonair will not only bring its world class supply chain services and solutions to India's OEM and MRO sectors, but offer India's component manufacturers access to its global aerospace and defence customers who include Rolls-Royce, Safran and Boeing. Pattonair's strategic procurement team is currently meeting with India based suppliers to provide parts to customers in India and to the rest of the world," said Mark Ness, Commercial Director for India, Pattonair.

AIP is part of the `Make it in India` programme, announced by the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, to encourage international companies to base their operations in India. The aim is for UK small to medium enterprises to both benefit from the huge Indian market and export products from India to the rest of the world.

His Excellency H. E. Mr Y. K. Sinha, High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom said "The Government of India is committed and focussed to improving India's ranking in ease of doing business. Through AIP, we aim to take forward the Make in India programme. I hope that by implementing this programme, we can highlight the latest developments in India in ease of doing business, facilitate initiatives by SMEs and enhance bilateral investment between the two countries".

Contributed by Pattonair