Uniting the supply chain

Aerospace Manufacturing and BCI Aerospace together profile world-class aerospace industry suppliers of note. BCI Aerospace has announced a new event in the aerospace calendar: Aerospace & Defence Meetings (ADM) Seattle from 12-14 March 2012. During the last few years, BCI Aerospace has held aerospace business-to-business meeting events in France, Tunisia, Canada, Malaysia, China and Mexico and has achieved notable success. Indeed, many international suppliers have developed their businesses in these countries through contacts they've made during BCI events.

Tasked with the objective of bringing together, under one roof, Boeing's tier one suppliers and their sub-supplier networks throughout the world, BCI Aerospace's latest business adventure will see it travel to Seattle, to be in one of the world's aerospace manufacturing hotspots and the home of the Boeing Company.

“As the first of its kind in the United States, Aerospace & Defence Meetings Seattle is an opportunity for leaders in the aerospace industry to meet with potential industry partners,” begins Boeing Commercial Airplanes' vice-president and general manager of supplier management, Stan Deal. “The industry is facing significant growth in the coming years, and we need to be prepared to meet the demand. Aerospace & Defence Meetings will enable companies throughout the global supply chain to come together, make connections and identify new business partners.

“Boeing endorses and supports this initiative. As we assess the future of our industry, it is increasingly clear that a dynamic, engaged global supply chain is going to be more critical than ever. Aerospace & Defence Meetings will provide an invaluable opportunity to step up the industry's preparation for the airplane manufacturing needs facing us over the next 20 years.”

The original idea to hold Aerospace & Defence Meetings in Seattle first gathered momentum when BCI Aerospace identified a vacuum in the US aerospace show calendar for a general aerospace B2B meeting event.

“There are many specialised events throughout the year, but nothing that brings together all the major players within aerospace & defence manufacturing,” observes BCI Aerospace's CEO, Stephane Castet. “We hosted a delegation from Washington at Aeromart Toulouse last year and they were asking themselves why similar events weren't being held in the United States. Boeing has been attending our events for 10 years now, so we approached them to see if they would be interested in endorsing an event in Seattle. There's a real appetite for BCI's type of event and this is recognition of the good work we do in helping build partnerships within the aerospace manufacturing industry.

“There's a real opportunity for Boeing's partners and suppliers to meet their sub-suppliers. Coordinating an entire event like this is part of our expertise, and if you look at our events in Toulouse, Turin, China and Mexico for example, then I believe it's the success of these events that convinced Boeing to endorse it because it could see the benefits of holding such an event.”
In addition to endorsing the event with all its suppliers, Boeing is actively recruiting its top tier supplier partners to participate and engage in the meetings, making connections and participating in discussions that will create greater capacity and capability in the supply chain. Boeing's Deal goes on to explain what interested parties stand to gain from attending the event.
“Participants will have the chance to find new partners who will help them grow their businesses as the demand for manufacturing climbs in the next few years,” he claims. “This business-to-business event is about increasing capacity, expanding the business footprint and identifying new paths for business and industry success.

“Industrial networking is key to successful business development in the 21st century, so the purpose of the Aerospace & Defence Meetings is to bring OEMs and suppliers together through pre-arranged and business focused meetings and conferences. The format enables potential partners to discuss partnership opportunities and assess new and innovative ways to expand their work.”

Working alongside Boeing and BCI Aerospace, the Washington State Department of Commerce is committed to developing the region's workforce and supports the continued growth of aerospace manufacturers in the region. With aerospace being one of its target industry strategies for economic development - and in addition to supporting Boeing, its Department of Commerce's senior managing director, Mark Calhoon feels the ADM Seattle event will prove invaluable for the wide variety of smaller companies in the State.

“Our involvement with BCI Aerospace first gained momentum when we met at Aeromart Toulouse to explore the possibility of holding an event like this in Washington State,” he explains. “We currently have around 650 Washington companies working in the aerospace sector, so bringing leading tier one and tier two companies from around the world to the state and showcasing the broad array of companies we have here is vital. We feel it's a very positive development for the overall benefit of the aerospace industry in our state.

“The added exposure of holding the event here is significant and we expect many companies to become active participants. Holding an event like this in our own backyard will provide an excellent opportunity for our aerospace companies to participate and I expect many of them to become fully engaged. Bringing an event of this stature to Washington State is a real ‘win' and will have a positive outcome for our industry.”

BCI Aerospace says a host of companies have already confirmed their participation in the event and estimates that around 600 companies from 30 countries will be participating. It also predicts that it will reach 7,000 pre-arranged B2B meetings in addition to the various conferences it will hold over two days.

“Boeing knows exactly who it wants to meet during the event,” states BCI's Castet. “BCI will be in direct contact with these companies to ensure the entire B2B meeting process works efficiently for them because if it does, then it will become efficient for the entire Boeing supply chain as well.

“This is a proud achievement for BCI Aerospace and we are extremely happy to be supported by Boeing, as there aren't many event organisers that can boast having such an endorsement. If Boeing and its suppliers reap tangible benefits from this event - which I know they will - then there is no reason why this event cannot become a long-term venture.”

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