News Archive

28/11/2006 - Piper Group opens Centre of Excellence in India

Piper Group plc, the Bristol, UK-based aerospace technical documentation company, has gained a major strategic advantage in the multi-million pound global technical documentation business with the launch, in Bangalore, of its new offshore Centre of Excellence (CoE) with Indian company BAeHAL Software Limited.

The Piper Group, a £12m turnover subsidiary of aerospace and defence giant BAE Systems, is a tier-1 supplier to Airbus Industrie, Rolls-Royce plc and other global aerospace companies. BAeHAL is an established joint venture between BAe Systems and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). In support of the new CoE, Piper Group will provide training in data-management skills and marketing support to gain new orders.

As well as being a key strategic objective for the Piper Group, the Bangalore-based facility, the first of its kind in India, will add to the company's wealth of experience and help its future access to expanding markets in South East Asia.

Launched formally on 3 November with 30 aerospace specialists, the centre, initially compiling technical documentation across all Airbus variants, will eventually employ up to 120 technical author-engineers and illustrators. The Piper Group has already been training the Bangalore team for several months.

Substantial orders for the Airbus A-380 airliner, as well as significant cost advantages and BAeHAL's experience on Airbus projects, worked in India's favour when the location of the Centre of Excellence was being planned.  The Piper Group's partner, BAeHAL, has previously worked on several defence projects including HAL's Jaguar aircraft and the MiG 27 as well as working on the Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC) software for the A-380.

Piper Group Managing director, Andy Keefe said: 'With the launch of the new Centre of Excellence,  Piper Group plc has achieved a key strategic objective – the opening of a managed technical documentation service in India. The venture, with its strong growth prospects in the maintenance, repair and overhaul sector, gives us a valuable head start over other UK technical documentation businesses. '