- Philippe Hamon speaks to ADU on Revolutionizing Aviation Logistics in India
By Sangeeta Saxena
New Delhi. 09 December 2024. In an engaging conversation at the India Airport Expo, Philippe Hamon, Sales Director of ALSTEF’s Airport Business, sheds light on the company’s extensive portfolio, its footprint in India, and plans for the future. ALSTEF, a French company with over five decades of expertise in intra-logistics, has carved a niche in the aviation sector, offering state-of-the-art baggage handling systems. In this interview, Philippe discusses ALSTEF’s journey, its Pune-based manufacturing facility, and its role in shaping the future of aviation and beyond with Aviation & Defence Universe (ADU).
ADU. Please elaborate your role and journey in ALSTEF .
Philippe Hamon. I’m the Sales Director of ALSTEF for the airport business. I’ve been with the company for 25 years, managing sales globally for our airport division. ALSTEF has been in the airport business for nearly 30 years, and this has become our core activity.
ADU. Could you tell us about ALSTEF’s global presence?
Philippe Hamon. Certainly. ALSTEF operates with permanent offices in almost 20 countries. While we are headquartered in France, we have a strong presence in Europe, North and South America, the Pacific region, and, of course, India.
ADU. How did Alstef establish its foothold in India?
Philippe Hamon. Our journey in India began four years ago when we acquired Glidepath, a New Zealand-based company with an existing branch in India. We leveraged this foundation to expand our operations, culminating in the establishment of a purpose-built manufacturing facility in Pune earlier this year.
ADU. Tell us more about the Pune facility. What does it offer?
Philippe Hamon. The Pune facility has doubled our production capacity, enabling us to manufacture the entire range of ALSTEF equipment locally. The supply chain for this facility is primarily Indian, with components like steel, motors, and belts sourced domestically. We also employ engineers in Pune to handle mechanical, electrical, and PLC design for Indian projects.
ADU. Who are your key customers in India?
Philippe Hamon. We currently work with Cochin Airport and Adani, among others. We are working for AAI for multiple sites. Our recent projects include installations at Gwalior and Jaipur airports. Beyond India, our Pune facility supplies equipment for international markets, including a large-scale baggage system project for Brisbane Airport in Australia. So we are replacing the whole baggage system. It means something like 1,500 conveyors that are made in Pune. And we have many projects ongoing in Australia, New Zealand, also in the Americas that are made from India.
ADU. Have you created a supply chain in India for your manufacturing?
Phillipe Hamon. Yes ofcourse. We have created a network of suppliers. This is everything from India, so the steel is Indian, the motors are Indian, the belts are Indian. So this is the reason why we have chosen to locate the factory in Pune, because the network of suppliers is quite important. And this is mandatory also, you know, to bid for public markets in India, to have certain local content. And with this new factory, we have absolutely no problem to be implemented. So we are doing the fabrication of the equipment, but we also hired some engineers to do the detailed design, so for the mechanical parts, for the electrical, for the PLC. So now, today, we are doing the vast majority of the engineering for Indian projects in India.
ADU. Could you elaborate on the products you offer in the aviation sector?
Philippe Hamon. Our primary offerings include baggage handling systems with conveyor belts, carousels, diverters, and innovative solutions like cross-belt sorters. Additionally, we’ve developed automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) for low-throughput systems and cargo handling. These technologies are designed to streamline operations and enhance efficiency.
ADU. And with these pictures I was seeing, the product is the baggage belt, is it the conveyor belt that is the product?
Philippe Hamon. Yes, exactly. So we are mostly delivering baggage systems that are based on the conveyor belts, but we have some carousels, some different kinds of diverters. We have recently developed a new cross belt sorter, that is a new high technology sorter for high capacity baggage loading systems. So this is something that we have developed this year. We are also supplying automatic guided vehicles, so let’s say for low throughput with a complex surface in the baggage loading system. So this is something that is quite innovative in the gauges, which is very common in the industry, but not in the baggage loading system.
We are also developing in the cargo industry, so also thanks to automatic systems like ETVs, like also conveyors for the unit load devices that transport the cargo in the planes. But we have also developed some technologies with automatic guided vehicles for cargo. So I was doing a presentation last week for the IBS forum in Bangalore for cargo.
And in addition to these, which we see, all we see here, ALSTEF as a company, does it also make products for other things like shipping lines and all, or is it just only aviation? No, no, no. So I said that the main business now was the airport, because we have been very successful in securing projects in airports, but the original business of ALSTEF is intralogistics. o we are doing that since 55 years, okay, in France. And so we are the number one in France for intralogistics system.
So we are supplying automatic storage system using sticker planes, also automatic VNAs, and we are doing order preparation. So our main customers in this field are also the food industry, the cosmetics. Ah, so you have varied customers.
ADU. Apart from aviation, does Alstef cater to other industries?
Philippe Hamon. Absolutely. While aviation is our flagship business, our roots lie in intra-logistics. We’ve been providing solutions for the food and cosmetics industries for over 55 years, with clients like Chanel and L’Oréal. Our offerings include automated storage systems, order preparation, and other logistics solutions.
ADU. What are your future plans for the Indian market?
Philippe Hamon. Aviation remains our primary focus, particularly baggage handling systems. However, as we strengthen our local presence, we aim to expand into other sectors like parcel logistics and intralogistics in India.
ADU. Anything else you’d like to add?
Philippe Hamon. Just to emphasize that ALSTEF’s commitment to India extends beyond aviation. We’re dedicated to leveraging local talent and resources to bring global standards to the Indian market while contributing to its growth and development.
Philippe Hamon’s insights highlight ALSTEF’s strategic approach to the Indian market and its emphasis on innovation and sustainability. With a robust manufacturing base in Pune and a vision to expand into diverse industries, ALSTEF is poised to make significant strides in aviation and beyond, ensuring efficiency and excellence in logistics solutions.
As told to Sangeeta Saxena
