BANGALORE: Zetwerk Manufacturing, a contract manufacturer of capital and consumer goods, on Thursday said it has forayed into aerospace and defence sectors to develop and build products and technology for Indian and global customers.

Zetwerk Kinetix Technologies Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company, will develop and build niche technology products such as unmanned aerial vehicles, protection systems, rocket motor transportation systems, and defence systems for Indian defence infrastructure.

Zetwerk Kinetix has also set up a manufacturing facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. It will invest in tapping the capabilities and capacities of other small and medium enterprises suppliers in the production ecosystem.

Zetwerk Aerosystems Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Zetwerk Manufacturing, will focus on the aerospace, defence and space domain and will primarily manufacture satellites, composite products, and rocket casings required by the defence ministry.

In the aerospace category, Zetwerk Aerosystems plans to manufacture aircraft parts for international original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aircraft manufacturers. It will pursue orders from both state-run defence and space units and target international OEMsin this domain.

“Indian aerospace and defence manufacturing ecosystem are at the cusp of massive transformation for the next two decades. Enabled by a strong push for Make in India, Zetwerk is thrilled to partner with the key stakeholders to catalyse a strong shift in the manufacturing footprint from other countries to India. We will collaboratively pursue technology partnerships with Indian and foreign OEMs to address the growing demands of clients in the aerospace and defence sectors," said Srinath Ramakkrushnan, co-founder and COO, Zetwerk Manufacturing.

The company will continuously invest in engineering and manufacturing capabilities strongly in the coming years, Ramakkrushnan added.

In February, the Bangalore-based start-up, founded in 2017, raised $120 million in a Series D funding led by US-based Greenoaks Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

In March, Zetwerk said it completed three rounds of share buybacks worth $8.3 million (around ₹60.92 crore) from its employees and early investors. The company has around 400 employees and a large section of them participated in the employee stock options liquidation process to augment their wealth, the company said. It also enabled exits for early-stage investors.

Founded in 2017 by IIT alumni Amrit Acharya, Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Rahul Sharma and Vishal Chaudhary, Zetwerk helps enterprises translate their digital designs into physical products and operates in over 25 industry segments.