EADS signs licensing agreement

PARIS, July 14 (UPI) -- EADS, the European aerospace and defense group, has signed technology licensing agreements with new industrial partners in India and Europe.

The accords were signed during last month's Paris Air Show and involve a contract with Germany's Grenzebach Automation GmbH for metallic production technologies based on the friction stir welding solid-state joining process along with four Letters of Intent with one German and three Indian companies for metallic and composite manufacturing processes.

The agreements were arranged by the EADS Technology Licensing initiative, which is managed by EADS' Corporate Technology Office and has the company's top management support in offering a full range of leading-edge technologies that are proven, mature and available now.

EADS said several of the agreements will benefit from engineering and application studies organized by the EADS Technology Licensing initiative, which provides assistance to industry partners in identifying business cases and tailoring a technology offer that is best adapted to customers' specific needs.

"Our new agreements underscore EADS' ability to provide highly valuable technologies in both metallic and composites production, which will be applied to the aerospace industry as well as other sectors such as automotive and industrial equipment," said Wulf Hoeflich, who leads the EADS Technology Licensing initiative.

The licensing contract provides Grenzebach Automation GmbH with access to EADS Innovation Works' technologies for the friction stir welding solid-state joining process, including utilization of EADS patented tools that provide a high-quality weld surface and eliminate the requirement for post-weld machining.

The Letters of Intent with India underscore the country's ambition to evolve as a strong aerospace player, which has become a priority after the Indian government's step to privatize the aerospace sector, EADS said.

"We now see a buildup in the Indian supply chain, which wants to become more capable and innovative -- not only in supporting Indian aircraft programs, but in the export market as well," Hoeflich said.

The Letters of Intent are with India's Dynamatic Technologies Limited, for metallic manufacturing processes such as friction stir welding, as well as EADS patented composites production technologies; Maini Precision Products Pvt. Ltd. for metallic and composites technologies, backed by an EADS engineering services package; Tata Advanced Materials Limited, covering a broad range of composites and related manufacturing processes; and Broetje Automation GmbH of Germany, for light metal alloys, friction stir welding and automation in composites manufacturing.