Tata
Industries and Boeing announce India joint venture
February
14, 2008
Tata Industries Limited of India and
the Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] have agreed on a plan to
form a joint-venture company that will initially include
more than US$500 million of defence-related aerospace
component work in India for export to Boeing and its international
customers.
Under the memorandum of agreement signed by Boeing
and Tata, it is contemplated that the joint-venture
company will be established by June 2008, and shortly
thereafter will begin work building Boeing aerospace
components.
"This joint venture between Tata and Boeing is
an important part of our strategy to build capabilities
in defence and aerospace," said Mr. Ratan Tata,
Chairman of the Tata Group. "I look forward to
the joint-venture becoming a worldclass facility in
India."
"I am very excited to announce this agreement,"
said Jim Albaugh, President and CEO of Boeing Integrated
Defense Systems. "It represents another step in
our commitment to India, in this case by linking the
capabilities and heritages of these two companies, in
order to bring real and lasting value to India's aerospace
industry, while making Boeing products more globally
competitive."
It is the intent of Boeing and Tata to utilise not
only the existing Tata manufacturing capability but
to develop new supply sources throughout Indian manufacturing
and engineering communities for both commercial and
defense applications.
Manufacturing capabilities established within the joint-venture
company would in later phases be leveraged across multiple
Boeing programs including the Medium Multi-Role Combat
Aircraft (MMRCA) competition.
In the first phase of the agreement, Boeing would potentially
issue contracts for work packages to the joint-venture
company involving defence-related component manufacturing
on Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet for the U.S. Navy and
Royal Australian Air Force, CH-47 Chinook and/or P-8
Maritime Patrol Aircraft. A research and development
centre for advanced manufacturing technologies is also
contemplated.
"Boeing is strengthening and deepening its partnerships
with Indian industry through a wide range of new joint
opportunities," said Ian Thomas, President of Boeing
India. "Our joint venture with Tata marks a significant
milestone in our ongoing journey to build a worldclass
aerospace and defence manufacturing capability in India."
Boeing's history in India reaches back more than 60
years, marked by success in working with airline customers,
parts suppliers, research institutes and others to provide
products and services. In December 2003, Boeing established
a wholly-owned subsidiary, Boeing International Corporation
India Private Limited (BICIPL), to support the growing
demands of India's aviation, aerospace and defense industries.
The Tata Group is one of India's largest and most respected
business conglomerates, with revenues in 2006-07 of
$28.8 billion (Rs129,994 crore), the equivalent of about
3.2 per cent of the country's GDP, and a market capitalisation
of $65 billion (as on Feb 8, 2008). Tata companies together
employ over 300,000 people.
The Boeing Company is the world's largest aerospace
and defence business specialising in innovative and
capabilities-driven customer solutions. Headquartered
in Chicago, The Boeing Company is a $66.4 billion business
with 159,000 employees worldwide.
Notes to editors
Certain statements in this report may constitute "forward-looking"
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expects,"
"intends," "plans," "projects,"
"believes," "estimates," and similar
expressions are used to identify these forward-looking
statements. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions
that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements
in this press release include, among others, statements
regarding future results as a result of our growth and
productivity initiatives, our 2007 and 2008 financial
outlook and the benefits of the IDS structure. Forward-looking
statements are based upon assumptions as to future events
that may not prove to be accurate. Actual outcomes and
results may differ materially from what is expressed
or forecasted in these forward-looking statements. As
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Our actual results and future trends may differ materially
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operation, viability and growth of major airline customers
and non-airline customers (such as the U.S. Government);
adverse developments in the value of collateral securing
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successful execution of internal performance plans including
our company-wide growth and productivity initiatives,
production rate increases and decreases (including any
reduction in or termination of an aircraft product),
availability of raw materials, acquisition and divestiture
plans, and other cost-reduction and productivity efforts;
charges from any future SFAS No. 142 review; ability
to meet development, production and certification schedules
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risks and uncertainties. Additional information regarding
these factors is contained in our SEC filings, including,
without limitation, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2006 and our Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2007,
June 30, 2007 and September 30, 2007.

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