The Belgian-British teenager will clock 51,000 kilometres in the worlds fastest, Shark ultralight plane, hoping to pave the way for girls and women to follow their dreams in STEM.

Coimbatore, India/Belgium, Europe, December 30, 2021: Elgi Equipments, one of the world's leading air compressor manufacturers, is proud to sponsor 19-year-old Zara Rutherford's record-breaking attempt to circle the globe. Following Guinness World record requirements, Zara, who left Belgium on the 18th of August 2021, plans to complete her journey across 52 countries and five continents by the middle of January making her the youngest person to fly, solo, a microlight around the world and the youngest woman to fly solo around the globe. Zara Rutherford hopes her journey will help highlight the gender gap in aviation and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related careers.

 Sharing his views, Dr Jairam Varadaraj, Managing Director, Elgi Equipments Limited, said, "Zara Rutherford is an amazing young woman. We are excited to be a part of her journey. Women are largely underrepresented in the manufacturing industry, and at ELGi, we firmly believe that diversity adds new perspectives, stimulates innovation, raises overall standards of work, and improves results."

 Chris Ringlstetter, President, ELGi Europe, added, "I am excited about sponsoring Zara's mission to fly around the world solo, as well as the fact that she is raising awareness about gender equality and is motivating girls and women to get involved in STEM."

 Over the course of her 51,000-km route, during which she will cross the equator twice, at Jakarta, Indonesia, Zara has been meeting with local youth to bring more visibility to aviation and STEM, specifically for young girls.  While the estimated total fuel for her trip is equivalent to the amount used by a Boeing in about 10 minutes of runway taxiing, Zara is investing her own funds on tree-planting projects to offset her carbon footprint.

 ELGi, is a pioneer in cutting-edge compressed air technology present across over 120 countries, offering a complete range of compressed air solutions from oil-lubricated and oil-free rotary screw compressors, oil-lubricated and oil-free reciprocating compressors, and centrifugal compressors to dryers, filters, and downstream accessories. With state-of-the-art manufacturing units and a product portfolio of 400+ compressed air systems, ELGi redefines reliability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness across 2+ million installations worldwide.