Airbus and Boeing supplier Aequs plans to move into higher-value aircraft parts production as it looks to benefit from global planemakers increasing sourcing from India amid capacity constraints and supply chain issues, a top executive said.
Aequs also supplies Spirit AeroSystems and Safran and makes about 90% of its revenue from its aerospace parts business. The company launched a $102.4 million initial public offering that was fully subscribed within hours of opening on Wednesday and is eyeing a valuation of up to $923.5 million.
"Our expansion on the aerospace side to bring in other capabilities is among our key growth levers. What we are trying to do is expand into vertical integration," chief executive Aravind Melligeri said, adding that customers are requesting more deliveries to be done from Aequs' Indian plants.
Bringing more of the work in-house would allow all stages, from raw material processing to distribution, to be handled in the same country or even the same site.
Part of India's aerospace boom
Aequs is part of a group of Indian aerospace suppliers benefiting as major Western planemakers and engine makers boost sourcing from the country after strikes, production caps and parts and labour shortages since the pandemic.
"The customer always wants something you don't have for them, but they are also willing to underwrite the capacities now," Melligeri said, but added that the aerospace segment offers limited avenues for diversification "because of just the big two guys," referring to Airbus and Boeing.
To counter this, it plans to scale up its smaller consumer products segment -- including toys, cookware and mechanical parts for consumer electronics -- from which it derives only 10% of revenue.
Melligeri said Aequs is betting on the accelerating China-plus-one shift as global brands diversify sourcing. Manufacturers, long dependent on China for components and finished products, are now looking to reduce their reliance on a single supply base. The global outsourced cookware and toys market was valued at $8.05 billion and $7.05 billion as of 2024, according to consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan.
The Belagavi, Karnataka-based company's consumer division, running at about 21% capacity versus 65%–70% in aerospace, offers headroom for growth and gives it "different cycles of potential", Melligeri said. It counts Hasbro, Spin Master, known for Paw Patrol, and Indian cookware brand Wonderchef among its clients.
Revenue at Aequs rose 17% to 5.37 billion rupees in the six months to September 30, while losses narrowed 76% to 169.8 million.
