PANDEMIC FLIES AEROSPACE SUPPLY CHAIN CLOSE TO THE FLAME

The pandemic has hit the aerospace supply chain hard. Because consumers aren’t flying, airlines can’t afford to buy the aircraft they have ordered.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), total losses for the industry last year were $118 billion with demand down more than 65 per cent on 2019. Aerospace primes like Rolls-Royce and Airbus halved – or more – production, and the supply chain cut costs and workforces.

The Midlands Aerospace Alliance, which represents more than 300 aerospace companies, is now helping companies uncover new opportunities. Some aerospace suppliers are in a better position than others. Those that make parts for aircraft programmes, and supply sectors such as rail, and particularly defence and space which are driven by government spending, are in a stronger position than those dependent on the production of longhaul civil aircraft.

However, new opportunities are beginning to arise in aerospace, and in other sectors which see benefits in using the advanced manufacturing capabilities of aerospace companies, for example in medical and rail. One Midlands aerospace company even deployed its precision manufacturing into architectural fittings.

At the beginning of the pandemic, more than 40 aerospace companies from across the region helped in the manufacture of thousands of ventilators for the NHS. Without the inventiveness of the aerospace supply chain, this would have been impossible because these companies made a large proportion of the components.

The Midlands Aerospace Alliance has now partnered with Nottingham University to create Aerospace UP, a £20 million project supported by the European Regional Development Fund to support the sector’s supply chain.

Aerospace UP is offering SMEs grants of between £1,000 to £100,000 over 18 months. 2021 will be a critical year for aerospace. Revised forecasts for when full recovery to pre-pandemic levels predicts from 2023 – 2024 but the level of uncertainty seems to be increasing, not decreasing.