Home truths

By the end of this year, Finmeccanica's AgustaWestland brand will be delivering the first of its AW159 multi-role helicopters to the UK armed forces. Procured for the Army and Royal Navy, the AW159 is the latest twin-engine multi-role, maritime and utility aircraft developed from AgustaWestland's Lynx family of helicopters. Named the Lynx Wildcat by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) this national military aviation programme has still got 132 suppliers worldwide.

But 20 of them, almost a fifth, are local to AgustaWestland in the South West of England. They will benefit from the £500 million expected to flow into the supply chain from a 30-year programme that is worth £1 billion. For David Hillcoat, AgustaWestland's head of Lynx Wildcat, the value of local suppliers is that they can routinely visit the factory, because it “is about communication, flexibility and suppliers understanding AgustaWestland better.”

Way out West

That supply chain is represented by the West of England Aerospace Forum (WEAF). It has about 150 members including first tier suppliers such as GKN Aerospace and small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), universities, Newquay Cornwall Airport and non-manufacturing companies. WEAF member David Hart Aerospace Pipes' chief executive, Nick Reeves says: “A benefit of being part of a regional aerospace cluster is the dissemination of information. We are kept abreast of new and ongoing events, initiatives, seminars, trade meets etc.”

WEAF's university members have a range of roles. They offer research and development services with specialities in composites at the universities of Bristol and Plymouth, metrology at the University of Bath and additive layer manufacturing at the University of Exeter. They provide graduates for the knowledge transfer partnerships scheme. This involves companies large and small getting a graduate for up to 24 months to carry out a project with the possibility of a job at the end.

Universities also have a key role in innovation programmes, which the European Union (EU) partly funds. WEAF chief executive Barry Warburton explains that over three years the region has been given over £1.2 million. Of this support for research and development 25% came from industry, 22% came from the now defunct regional development agencies and the rest from the EU.

Warburton sees his organisation's role as “helping secure work because nothing is guaranteed.” He has plenty of companies wanting help. “We are the biggest aero cluster in the UK,” he adds. Its members offer a wide range of services from tool making, to composite production, pumps, motors, electronics, polymers and design services.

Dorset-based precision engineering company, WG Jones, is a supplier to AW159. “Being part of an organisation like WEAF means we have been able to participate with customers at the front end of ‘up and coming' projects,” Peter Evans, WG Jones' factory manager, explains: “This has allowed us to be at the forefront as projects move from the drawing board.”

Warburton explains that a role WEAF has is to help local companies learn about the procurement strategies of the MoD and AgustaWestland, which has an international outlook because of its Finmeccanica mother company.

Being at the forefront with AW159 led SMEs to buy specialist work stations that can interact with AgustaWestland's 3D computer design network. This network allows AgustaWestland to seamlessly talk to the likes of GKN, which is producing the AW159's airframes. It in turn talks to its suppliers. With the Internet, the computer design network allows any company anywhere in the world to be a part of the design process. But Hillcoat can't stress enough the importance of having engineers co-located when need be. “When you have suppliers here with the helicopter there are quick turnaround times.”

The move to improve

Through WEAF, that close relationship can become a partnership for improvement. WEAF works with companies on the nationwide SC21 initiative to improve suppliers' quality, cost and delivery. “It's a continuous improvement programme,” says Warburton. WEAF member WG Jones is an AgustaWestland supplier of the year and SC21 Bronze award winner. The Bronze award is for achieving customer satisfaction in quality, cost and delivery. Hillcoat notes that SC21 has “interacted” with AW159 and other programmes where the helicopter manufacturer and its suppliers work jointly.

This is particularly important for AgustaWestland when it needs common parts and tools, which it refers to as commodities, across its range of helicopters. According to Hillcoat, SC21 has helped companies become the “commodity suppliers” AgustaWestland needs for its procurement.

Part of that commitment to quality is the adherence to quality systems. Warburton explains how an ongoing WEAF initiative was helping companies get acquainted with the AS9100 revision C quality standard. “We are helping companies get through the bureaucracy,” he says. Having the regional cluster organisation there as a body of expertise is viewed as a key selling point for membership. “One of the advantages of being a member of WEAF is we can call upon their expertise and advice,” adds Reeves.

The global financial crisis has presented companies in all industry sectors with challenges in getting finance. Hillcoat says AgustaWestland did not have problems with suppliers facing bankruptcy as AW159 progressed, but financing is a top priority for WEAF. “We started three months ago and we're working together to see how we can inform both about their needs. We're also working with banks to gain access to financing. You can't sit back and moan about the banks,” explains Warburton. Evans says of WEAF: “It has kept us up to date with what is happening in the industry and has facilitated events that allow us to get closer to people and companies.”

In a globalised industry like aerospace, local suppliers in their regional clusters clearly still have value despite aviation programmes being truly international affairs because even in the age of the Internet, geography still means something. “There is a definite advantage to being geographically close to a major customer,” Reeves concludes. “We can put an engineer onsite to offer technical support within a few hours if needed.”

www.weaf.co.uk