Coventry & Warwickshire firms move on up

At Farnborough Airshow, a team of engineering and manufacturing firms from across Coventry and Warwickshire united to launch a new initiative that will combine their expertise and facilitate joint company tenders for major aircraft programmes.

The Coventry & Warwickshire Aerospace Forum (CWAF) fuses more than 300 years of engineering and manufacturing expertise from companies working in the West Midlands aerospace sector. Together they will to develop solutions and tender for business in the demanding aerospace and defence sectors – in particular with mechanical and electrical/electronic sub assemblies for in-flight and on-ground applications.

Pete Everitt of Coventry-based Powerkut and chairman of CWAF, said: “The group will work collaboratively to ensure that clients need only one point of contact; whether it is a single enquiry for a make to print precision machined component or a more complex engineered solution, the group will maintain a focus on the key drivers of quality, cost and delivery. This collaborative approach further strengthens our region's world-renowned aerospace sector, moving CWAF's members higher up the supply chain and creating opportunities to make a significant contribution to the next generation of aircraft.”

Endorsing the launch of CWAF on the stand of the Midlands Aerospace Alliance at Farnborough was Simon Burr, chief executive of Aero Engine Controls – a joint-venture between Rolls Royce and the Goodrich Corporation. He said: “In today's economic climate larger companies are looking to simplify their supply chain interfaces. This type of partnering, with a single point of customer contact, is a bold move that will put smaller Midlands companies in contention for new business which would ordinarily be out of their reach.”

CWAF has also secured backing from Regional Development Agency Advantage West Midlands as well as local MP Bob Ainsworth, who officially launched the group.

“Maintaining the manufacturing skill base in the West Midlands is enormously important and the companies that make up the West Midlands aerospace cluster are a vital part of that,” said Ainsworth. “All of us should therefore be doing all that we can to support their continued success and development. Britain has to pay its way in the world and high skilled top end manufacturing capability can play an enormously important part.”

www.cw-aero-forum.co.uk