SEVILLA, 26 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Junta de Andalucía has organized a commercial mission from October 17 to 21 in Florida (United States), in which eight Andalusian companies in the aerospace sector have presented their capabilities to the main global contractors, such as the OEMs Boeing and Gulfstream, and entities public like NASA.
This meeting, carried out by Extenda, a public company integrated in Trade, has been aimed at “strengthening synergies” between the Andalusian aerospace cluster and these large contractors in the US, in order to “generate new business opportunities for the sector and diversify its portfolio”, at a key moment for the reactivation of the industry worldwide, and when Andalusian aeronautical exports grow by 22.2% and reach 912 million euros, in the first eight months of the year, according to data provided this Wednesday by the Ministry of Economy.
The mission coincided with the celebration of the NBAA, the world’s largest trade fair for corporate and business aviation, held annually in the United States and which took place at the Orange County Convention Center in
Orlando, from October 18 to 20. At this convention, aerospace firms
Andalusians have been able to conduct business interviews with large OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) such as Boeing, Embraer, Gulfstream, Cirrus, Honda, Pilatus or PWC; and also with Tier 1 firms and maintenance and aftermarket MRO companies such as Kaman and Collins Aerospace.
Likewise, Extenda has also organized a visit to the ecosystem of companies
Cape Canaveral with the support of Space Florida, the organization of
aerospace economic development of the State of Florida, and a round of business meetings at the Space Florida headquarters with representatives from Blue Origin, Oneweb, Sidus, Boeing Space, L3 Harris.
In these appointments with the ecosystem of North American space companies and agencies, Andalucia Aerospace Cluster and Extenda have highlighted the candidacy of Seville as the headquarters of the Spanish Space Agency. Finally, within the framework of the day in Cape Canaveral, a visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center was also organized.
The NBAA fair, which has been visited by more than 15,000 professionals and executives from the corporate aviation industry, brings together OEMs, Tier 1, operators, airlines, corporate clients, jet rental companies and suppliers of all kinds to build these aircraft and equipment –rotor aerostructures, software, jet interiors, MRO, components, avionics, Fuel operators, etc.–.
ANDALUSIAN COMPANIES
A large representation of the Andalusian sector has participated in this mission with the North American aerospace industry, with companies from Seville –Aerosm, Aerotecnic Metallic, Alestis Aerospace, Association of Andalusian Aerospace Sector Companies and Sofitec Aero–; Cádiz –M&M Profiles and Subsets and Machining and Aeronautical Assembly–; and Malaga –Málaga Aerospace Defense & Electronics Systems–.
According to Extenda data, the United States is the world leader in the sector
aerospace, constituting a key pillar of the country’s industry. It is a highly internationalized sector, with a globalized and complex value chain that covers all production segments: it develops and manufactures airplanes, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, spacecraft and rockets. In addition, it has one of the two world leaders in commercial aviation, Boeing, and the largest purchaser of defense products, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and the largest contractor, Lockheed Martin.
Likewise, demand is expected to gain strength driven by orders for
large civil aircraft and the increase in military spending, linked in part to the drone niche, which represent great opportunities for Andalusian firms, to which are added those linked to the new trend assimilated to the new space.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sector “is set to become a key industry in the new generation of high-tech equipment,” the press release underlined. Primarily associated in recent years with military operations, the commercial drone market is now expected to reach a value of $17 billion by 2024; according to a research report by Global Market Insights, Inc.
ANDALUSIAN AERONAUTICAL “EXPONENTIAL GROWTH”
Likewise, the Ministry has highlighted that the Andalusian aeronautical industry experienced a strong increase in its exports in the first eight months of 2022, of 22.2% compared to the same period of the previous year, to a turnover of 912 million euros, a figure that places it as the second exporting community, with practically a third of Spain’s sales (31% of 2,994 million), only behind C. Madrid (39%).
Within the Andalusian aeronautical industry, the first chapter in sales is that of other aircraft (eg: helicopters, planes, etc.); space vehicles (satellites) and their launch vehicles and suborbital vehicles, with 636 million, 70% and a growth of 34%. On the other hand, Seville concentrates 99% of sales with 899 million in the first eight months of 2022, with an increase of 23.4% year-on-year; while Malaga invoiced 5.7 million, which doubles its figure with a rise of 178%.
Currently, the progress of the Andalusian industry in North America, Asia and
Africa. Specifically, the first market is Belgium, with 262 million, 28.7%, which
almost doubles its figure with an increase of 92%; followed by France, with 237 million, 26% and a slight decrease of 2.5%; and Turkey, with 128 million, 14.1%, which multiplies its data by fourteen.
USA, DOUBLE YOUR PURCHASES
The fourth market is the United States, a key destination for aeronautics outside Europe, where sales almost doubled, 81%, to 53 million euros, 5.7% of the total. In this period, the community is in second position in aeronautical exports from Spain to the United States, concentrating almost a third (32%) of total national sales (161 million).
