Spain gains ground

Aerospace Manufacturing and BCI Aerospace together profile world-class aerospace industry suppliers of note.

Sevilla 2012 event. Mike Richardson reports.

BCI Aerospace has announced a new event in the aerospace calendar. To be held every two years, Aerospace & Defense Meetings (ADM) Sevilla will take place on the 14th May 2012. Over the last few years, BCI Aerospace has held many aerospace business-to-business meeting events around the world and has achieved notable success. Many international suppliers have developed their businesses in these countries through contacts they've made during BCI events.

Tasked with the objective of bringing EADS' tier one suppliers and their sub-supplier networks throughout the world together under one roof, BCI Aerospace's latest business venture sees it travel to Spain for the first time to be in one of the region's aerospace manufacturing hotspots, Sevilla - the home of Airbus' A400M final assembly line.

Figures provided by regional Government indicate that the Andalusian aerospace cluster represented 17% of the area's industrial GDP in 2010. With 123 companies directly related to aerospace and a total workforce of 10,278 employees, the cluster reached a turnover figure of €1,983 million in 2010 - an increase of 26% compared to 2009.

According to BCI Aerospace's Advanced Business Events event director, Vianney Thomas, Spain is the third biggest market for civil and military aircraft manufacturing in Europe.

“And yet at present, there is no major event to unite Spain's aerospace industry,” he begins. “Many of our clients work with Spanish companies and for some time have been asking why BCI hasn't launched a B2B event in Spain. Knowing that the Spanish aerospace sector is divided into the three major geographic areas of Madrid, Basque Country and Andalusia, we decided that Sevilla was the most suitable location to host the event and join the entire Spanish industry.”

Thomas confirms that many major stakeholders in Spain's aerospace industry have decided to support BCI Aerospace. Extenda and the Andalusian Government have attended BCI events - such as Aeromart Toulouse, Montreal and Guadalajara - and understand the added value of its concept for the supply chain.

“Their deep involvement in the project will help us create huge interest around the event and attract suppliers and contractors around the world,” Thomas continues. “As manufacturers and tier one suppliers, they will use their international network to make this event a huge international success.

“BCI has also been working very closely with all the Spanish aerospace clusters and associations for some time. They have welcomed the event very positively and they will all attend the event with their members. Their help will be valuable in involving all their members in the project.”

Tasked with the objective of enabling companies to come together, make connections and identify new business partners, it's important to know how BCI will achieve this ambitious target.
“Many companies from different countries have already expressed their interest in attending so we are quite confident,” says Thomas. “To make connections between the right people has been our job for many years and we know how to do it properly.” So what can visitors expect to gain from this event? “They can expect to have a clear picture of the Spanish aerospace market and realise how competitive Spanish suppliers are.”

Thomas summarises the Andalusian region's aerospace objectives: “The wish is to provide more visibility to the region and to make this event a reference for all Spanish aerospace companies,” he concludes. “We have huge ambitions for ADM Sevilla 2012, and with 300 companies exhibiting, 6,000 B2B meetings planned and 20 countries represented, all the indications are that this event will be a great success.”

On an international stage

Arturo de Vicente is EADS' head of political affairs in Spain - Sevilla office and represents EADS' Airbus Military involvement on BCI Aerospace's ADM Sevilla steering committee. It's his belief that the event is designed primarily as an international occasion dedicated to aeronautics and space matters and a platform to stimulate the aerospace sector.

“These meetings will bring together worldwide companies working in the aerospace industry, across the whole supply chain up to the manufacturer,” he explains. “ADM Sevilla will provide a business environment that will hopefully be very fruitful from different technical, industrial and economical views. By its nature, one of the key objectives of the event is to identify new potential business partners.

“As part of EADS, Airbus Military has supported previous BCI events and workshops, which is why we want to contribute to the flow of information on aerospace matters - as well as enrich the local and national network of aerospace companies. BCI has a well-known reputation and experience in organising these events and offers an ideal platform for these kinds of exchanges. Therefore, because of our industrial presence in Sevilla, Airbus Military will be sponsoring and participating in ADM Sevilla 2012.”

Together with the city of Sevilla, the regional Government of Junta de Andalusia and all the institutions and companies supporting this event, de Vicente says that EADS aims to make this an effective exchange of ideas and a great networking opportunity.

“We want to promote global public, private and institutional interest in aerospace activities and companies,” he outlines. “The event should result in the establishment of a solid channel to exchange information, meet potential clients and interact with the suppliers - both existing and potential.

“Our aim in the aerospace industry is to be one step ahead. Networking with other companies in the industry stimulates debate and ideas and will ultimately contribute to an increased competitiveness. These meetings will allow us all to do this by attracting an international community to Sevilla. This is good for the international aerospace community, but it will also put Sevilla on the map as an aerospace location. Attendees can meet leading companies in the sector, get a real chance to enter into business, consolidate their presence and interact with everyone in a comfortable environment. It's an opportunity to widen their contact network and obtain new ones too.”

De Vicente ends by saying that EADS looks forward to ADM Sevilla 2012 next year with the hope that it will meet many players in the industry: “We're particularly eager to meet our suppliers and potentially new companies as well, so please come and join us in Sevilla.”

Organiser of leading industry events, BCI Aerospace is the advanced business meetings – abe's specialised division for the aeronautics, space and defence sectors.

www.bciaerospace.com