In Coimbatore, a company famous for textile spinning machines is building parts of India’s rockets and fighter jets. LMW Limited — founded in 1962 with Swiss collaboration to make India self-reliant in spinning machinery — says it is one of only three companies in the world that can supply a complete spinning line, from blowroom to winder. Today, that same precision-engineering DNA powers an aerospace division trusted by ISRO, DRDO and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Six decades of spinning precision
LMW began life as Lakshmi Machine Works, set up with technical collaboration from Switzerland’s Rieter and promoted by the Lakshmi Group, with a single mission: manufacture textile spinning machinery indigenously. The company — renamed LMW Limited in September 2024 — says it has more than 50 million spindles installed worldwide, and its machines run in mills across Asia, Oceania and beyond.
The group is led by Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu and operates through four divisions: Textile Machinery, Machine Tools, Foundry, and the Advanced Technology Centre (ATC) — the unit behind its aerospace ambitions.
The aerospace pivot
Established in 2010, the Advanced Technology Centre took LMW’s mastery of precision manufacturing into aerospace-grade production. Its most visible achievement is for ISRO: the ATC built the 5-metre-diameter, 10.75-metre-tall carbon-composite Ogive Payload Fairing for the GSLV Mk III (LVM3), along with Equipment Bay Shrouds and interstage hardware. The centre can machine aerospace structures up to 10 metres long.
For DRDO, the ATC fabricated the complete metallic airborne dome for the Centre for Airborne Systems’ AEW&C programme — a structure of more than 4,500 parts joined by over 65,000 rivets. The work earned LMW the DRDO Defence Technology Absorption Award in 2017.
And for HAL, the centre delivered the first air-intake assembly for the Tejas Mk-1A fighter on 7 November 2024, the opening unit of a 40-aircraft order.
One of only three companies in the world that can supply a complete spinning line, LMW says — and now a proven supplier to ISRO, DRDO and HAL.
Why it matters
LMW’s trajectory is a case study in capability transfer. The precision demanded by high-speed textile machinery translates directly into what aerospace structures require. Few Indian private companies can point to flight hardware on an ISRO launch vehicle, a DRDO airborne surveillance platform and a HAL fighter programme simultaneously. A similar crossing is happening in Pune, where Sagar Defence’s crewless naval vessels recently completed a 1,500-km uncrewed voyage under the Indian Navy’s watch.
The company’s global relationships underline the point: its ATC milestones page records a Certificate of Appreciation from Lockheed Martin for “industrializing the Fighter Wing” in 2021, and LMW partnered with Boeing India in 2019 on an aerospace tool-and-design skilling programme — a partnership, not a supply contract.
Takeaway
Six decades of textile-machinery precision became the foundation for aerospace-grade manufacturing — proof that deep manufacturing capability, once built, can cross industries.
What comes next
With 40 Tejas Mk-1A intake assemblies on order and proven hardware on ISRO and DRDO programmes, the Advanced Technology Centre has moved from diversification experiment to established aerospace supplier. For India’s private manufacturing sector, LMW’s quiet pivot offers a template: master precision in one industry, and the doors to far more demanding ones open on their own. At the other end of the spectrum, startups like Bullwork Mobility — whose BEAST 9696 E claims India’s most powerful electric tractor title are trying to build hardware credibility from scratch.
Sources & further reading
- LMW Advanced Technology Centre — the company’s aerospace division
- LMW Global — corporate site and investor information
- TimesTech: LMW ATC’s contribution to ISRO’s LVM3 mission — report on the GSLV Mk-III payload fairing
Frequently Asked Questions
What is LMW Limited?
A Coimbatore-based engineering group founded in 1962 (as Lakshmi Machine Works, renamed LMW Limited in September 2024) to manufacture textile spinning machinery indigenously. It operates four divisions — Textile Machinery, Machine Tools, Foundry and the Advanced Technology Centre — under CMD Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu.
What has LMW built for ISRO?
Its Advanced Technology Centre built the 5-metre-diameter, 10.75-metre-tall carbon-composite Ogive Payload Fairing for the GSLV Mk III (LVM3), plus Equipment Bay Shrouds and interstage hardware. The centre can machine aerospace structures up to 10 metres long.
What is LMW’s connection to DRDO and HAL?
For DRDO, LMW fabricated the complete metallic airborne dome (4,500+ parts, 65,000+ rivets) for the CABS AEW&C programme, winning the DRDO Defence Technology Absorption Award in 2017. For HAL, it delivered the first Tejas Mk-1A air-intake assembly in November 2024 as part of a 40-unit order.
Does LMW supply Boeing or Lockheed Martin?
Not as a components customer. LMW partnered with Boeing India in 2019 on an aerospace tool-and-design skilling programme, and its ATC milestones page records a 2021 Certificate of Appreciation from Lockheed Martin for “industrializing the Fighter Wing.”
