High stakes for Welsh firms at Aerolink forum

Apr 22 2008 by Aled Blake, Western Mail

INTERNATIONAL aerospace companies with a potential spending power of £100m will be in Cardiff today.

Aerolink Wales 2008 at Sophia Gardens sees global companies heading for Wales. The event, organised by the Aerospace Wales Forum (AWF) which is part funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, also includes a conference and seminar programme.

As well as buyers, companies are sending representatives from their engineering, technical and innovation departments to look at working with universities on research projects and product development.

Aviation is one of Wales’ major employers, with tens of thousands of people employed in manufacturing a range of parts for the industry.

Around 10% of the UK aerospace workforce is in Wales with six of the world’s top 10 companies in aerospace and defence having an operation here.

Those include EADS, BAE, GE, General Dynamics, Raytheon and Thales. Annual sales are in the region of £3bn.

The event is now a crucial date in the calendar for Welsh aviation businesses, with a number of potential lucrative deals to be made.

Paul Lindsay, operations director of the AWF, said the buying power of company representatives attending Aerolink has increased significantly since its inception.

He said: “The £100m shopping list is a low estimate as I know that two companies alone have £5m to spend – the opportunities are there and if suppliers have the products they have the chance to secure that business. We are maximising these opportunities by holding pre-arranged one-to-one meetings between buyers and suppliers and have organised more than 520 meetings.”

Ieuan Wyn Jones, Minister for the Economy and Transport, said: “The aerospace industry plays a vital role in the Welsh economy with more than 180 companies employing in excess of 25,000 people.

“Aerolink Wales attracts global companies and provides a superb networking opportunity with the one-to-one business meetings providing an unrivalled opportunity to meet senior key buyers from these companies.”

Allied Aerosystems, of Treforest, which tests and repairs a huge range of sophisticated technical equipment used in aircraft maintenance, secured a substantial contract from Virgin Atlantic as a result of attending a previous Aerolink Wales event.

The contract, which started in October 2007, means that Allied Aerosystems manage the maintenance contract for ground support test equipment for Virgin Atlantic’s entire fleet operating from Heathrow and Gatwick.

Speakers include Rob Bray from Airbus, who is the deputy wing architect for the A350 composite wing that will be manufactured at Broughton in Flintshire and Tony Willenbruch, from the Society of British Aerospace Companies, who will be talking about the aerospace and defence knowledge transfer network.

Companies participating in this year’s event, which is sponsored by Doncasters, include Rolls Royce, General Dynamics, BAE Systems, EADS, GE Aircraft Engine Services, Magellan UK, Airbus UK, Bombardier, Airborne Systems, Messier Dowty, and GKN Aerospace.

A number of university research and development departments will be attending and exhibiting together with representatives from other sectors with complementary expertise in the automotive, medical, energy and environmental sectors.