Small really is beautiful

Adrian Moore, chair of the Isle of Man Aerospace Cluster & development manager for manufacturing, Isle of Man Government, explains the importance of engaging with an aerospace cluster. Our aerospace manufacturing industry is ‘trending' again and it's great to see the support that the UK Government is putting behind it fuelled by the boom in demand for modern, cleaner, more efficient airliners. Of course it's always been important to those trained in engineering, manufacturing and science and technology, and Britain has always been a leader in terms of the industry. I believe that as a nation we now look back on our industrial heritage with fondness. A time which epitomised Great Britain and our products and inventions were the envy of the world. The world is very different now and as an industry we've reacted to this. How do we pull together in order to keep Britain at the top of the pile for aerospace manufacturing? In my opinion, ‘clustering' has been important in helping the industry shape itself in terms of being successful in the environments we operate in. My colleagues in the office often ask me about the concept of clustering, what it really means and in particular what the Isle of Man Aerospace Cluster is all about. Having led the creation of the Isle of Man Aerospace Cluster in 2006, I've been fortunate enough to see how the concept of clustering has been applied to the aerospace sector and the success that this can bring. The Isle of Man's aerospace sector had already been going strong for over 60 years in design and manufacture for the civil and military markets. However, it had never really capitalised on the power of working together. We already knew each other but the culture of sharing ideas, contacts, expertise and even resources had not really been exploited. The Isle of Man is where the ‘small is beautiful' notion really works. It became clear that we all had something to offer such a partnership. A culture of openness and working together soon began to flourish based on the premise that if everyone brings their knowledge and experience to the table then the ultimate outcome would be benefits for all. After all, if businesses join an organisation motivated purely by ‘what's in it for me?' the pot will very soon run dry and the clustering opportunity will die on the vine. Over the last few years we've seen the UK clusters make a big difference to the way the sector works. They have created benefits on which companies of all sizes and capabilities can capitalise and this has undoubtedly supported the latest figures which show impressive growth. I continue to work with companies at a detailed level to understand their challenges and opportunities and to use engineering problem-solving techniques and continuous improvement to find sustainable solutions and build on them. Every business is different and has a different leadership style or strategy but with each one common theme emerges: the benefits of working together and sharing ideas will almost always outweigh any notion of competition or knowledge is power. You will undoubtedly receive invitations every day via e-mail and post to attend exhibitions, seminars, meet the buyer or networking events and they are easy to ignore and file as too busy, but get out there and share your knowledge with a cluster of like-minded business people and you might be surprised at what you'll receive in return. It's at this point, that I'm expected to round this all off with a paragraph that ties this up nicely, but I have to rush off to the opening of a new factory for yet another new member of the Isle of Man Aerospace Cluster. No doubt we'll meet at an aerospace event soon! www.aerospace.co.im