Moravian Aerospace Cluster: Czech leader in aviation (2. strana)

aerospace industry l institution l agencies MEMBERSHIP The cluster currently numbers 51 members from among large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises and universities. The majority of members are SMEs with high innovative potential. The mix is, in our opinion, highly promising in its capabilities. The comprehensiveness of available services on a relatively small territory lends the Czech aerospace industry a competitive advantage. We are still capable of developing and producing complete aircraft "in-house" (or rather, in-country) and are able to offer these capabilities to global customers. The aviation industry is currently highly consolidative with only 2 major producers remaining: AIRBUS and BOEING. Other producers include Embraer (the civil aviation section was purchased by Boeing) and Bombardier (Airbus purchased a single civil project). This narrows down the supply and value chain and shifts more production load onto strategic Tier 1 suppliers. With the current trend of growth, these suppliers have difficulties with production capacity and, therefore, focus on suppliers capable of delivering larger structural parts of aircraft. The Czech aircraft industry is one such supplier thanks to its comprehensive skills and wealth of experience. Its strong development base is supported by broad production and testing capabilities. It is safe to say that the Czech Republic possesses a complete supply chain for aviation, including special technologies and processes, from machining complex shapes, casting, heat treatment, surface finishing, to producing composites, electronics and avionics, electric drives, hydraulic systems, to final assembly. To do well in the face of global competition and to secure larger projects involves making use of a multitude of diverse skills. To that end, MAC helps companies cooperate and brings these projects to their door. ACTIVITIES The aircraft industry is a global industrial branch and Czech companies active in the sector export 80 % of their production. The cluster's main activity is, therefore, the internationalisation of its members to secure commercial contracts and find partners for joint research and innovation projects. Achieving this goal requires emphasising networking and creating an extensive system of contacts. Simply put, we have to be visible. Like any industry, there are many specialised trade fairs all over the world. The cluster works to promote the skills of its members and of the Czech aerospace industry as a whole at the majority of these fairs and also enables many member companies to attend these events, often under preferential conditions. Key trade fairs of this type include the Farnborough International Airshow and Paris Air Show, which are usually subsidised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Czech Republic presents itself at these events in the form of a joint stand. But there are many more trade fairs all around the globe. From the geographic perspective, the most interesting markets for the cluster's members are located in Europe (primarily Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain), although markets outside Europe, such as Canada, the USA, Brazil, Japan, Russia, China or the Arabian Peninsula also hold a great deal of promise. The cluster has already introduced itself in all these territories and plans to continue this endeavour into the future. Trade fairs are generally very financially demanding, which is why we try to procure discounts for our members for joint stands, or secure support in the form of subsidies. As a trade association, we can also propose trade fairs and events to be supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This allowed us to arrange for our members to participate in many trade fairs in countries such as Germany, the UK, Canada, etc. We endeavour to ensure that companies call attention to the fact we have many potential partners for projects in the Czech Republic. Our joint stands help highlight the comprehensiveness of our capabilities. TARGETED MISSION Recently, we have noticed a change in the targeted promotion of our members. Large trade fairs are becoming a very expensive affair and their duration also plays a role. The events usually last a week and with a current shortage of workers, companies do not have the capacity to send out their employees. For small and medium-sized enterprises, the added value of these fairs is debatable. The time between first contact with a client and the conclusion of a contract in the aerospace industry is usually 3 to 5 years. Such a delay is caused by quality audits, testing and verification of technologies, and checking of qualifications. Therefore, companies are logically much more interested www.technikaatrh.cz 5