Common engineering facility coming up in Coimbatore for MSMEs in aero space, defence sectors

A Common Engineering Facility Centre (CEFC) coming up on the Anna University Regional Campus, Coimbatore, for the benefit of the Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) is expected to be inaugurated in about four months.

M. Saravana Kumar, dean of the campus, told The Hindu on Friday (June 27, 2025) that the project, a joint initiative of the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), Anna University Regional Campus, and Tata Technologies, will see an investment of ₹300 crores by Tata Technologies as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility activity.

The Centre will come up in two phases on five acres of the Anna University campus in Coimbatore. The first phase will have a total built up area of 20,000 sq.ft and will house laboratories and machines for MSMEs that want access to common facilities to develop prototypes, consultancy, test components, design or train manpower at nominal costs as MSMEs may not have the financial resources to invest in high end machinery for testing or to develop prototypes.

The focus will be on aerospace sector and the facility will also have machinery for startups and industries that are into the broader Defence sector. The facility will also be used by research scholars and faculty of the University.

Tata Technologies will handhold the stakeholders for two years to maintain and operate the Centre, he said.

“Coimbatore is part of the Tamil Nadu Defence corridor and hence it was identified for this project. It is a unique initiative and startups and MSMEs can use the centre for job works, inspection and validation, develop prototypes, etc. It will have three dimensional printing, simulation, prototyping and testing equipment,” he said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin laid foundation for the project virtually last year and works are on to erect a pre-fabricated structure, he added.