A global focus on flight engineering

Aerospace is an important sector where UK manufacturing is still considered a world leader. It’s no surprise then that the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) is one of the most eagerly awaited events in the trade show calendar for the aviation industry. Ed Hill reports.

With major OEMs to some of the smallest contributors in the aerospace supply chain attending, the Farnborough International Airshow show is a global showcase for some of the world’s most advanced aerospace engineering.

The event attracts around 100,000 attendees pacing the 70,000m² of exhibition space over its five business days and in 2016 around 1,500 exhibitors from 52 countries attended the show with US$ 124 billion worth of orders announced by aircraft manufacturers and related industries.

Andrew Pearcey, Farnborough group’s marketing and communications director comments: “Our objective for the 2018 show is the same as other shows: to facilitate business amongst the aerospace community. As a global industry event, it’s a great opportunity for UK business to showcase its expertise to the international community.

“With Brexit high on the agenda, we believe the show will be particularly significant for industry as it seeks to establish business relationships within this new landscape. The Farnborough International Airshow has a long history of showcasing innovation and continues to be valued as such – especially today when the entire industry seems very much on the cusp of change with the development of new technologies.

“For every part of the supply chain, digital technologies are affecting working practices and new product development. The Farnborough International Airshow is more relevant than ever for the industry and the aerospace supply chain.”

New infrastructure

2018 is a significant year for Farnborough as it will be the first time the event’s new Hall 1 will be opening its doors to visitors.

“Hall 1 represents a major investment in the infrastructure of the site and the future of the airshow,” says Mr Pearcey. “The 20,000m2 development comprises a 12,000m2 exhibition hall and a further 6,000m2 of other function space. During the airshow the exhibition hall will be home to the UK Pavilion and the Space Zone alongside other exhibitors. Other function space will be used for restaurants, conference rooms and the media centre.

“Importantly, the hall will be open for the full seven days of the show giving those exhibitors the opportunity to engage with our public airshow visitors.”

As well as the exhibitors and aircraft on show, Farnborough will feature an extensive conference programme to offer valuable industry insight for attendees.

“We’ve carried out extensive research in our efforts to develop the content of the show to make it even more relevant for our audience,” explains Mr Pearcey. “As such we have created an informative conference and seminar programme for the 2018 show.

“We’ve teamed up with IATA and created a dedicated air cargo conference programme. The two-day conference will look at the future of air cargo and the impact of new technologies in this sector.

“We’ve also teamed up with Flightglobal to develop an airline chief’s strategy roundtable. Planned for the Monday of the show, with a number of high-profile airline heads participating, the focus will be aviation in 2030. They’ll be discussing what they perceive the industry will look like by 2030, talking about everything from disruption and digitalisation to big data and open skies.

“Finally, under the Farnborough International News Network (FINN) brand, we have created two theatres dedicated to providing a forum to share and discuss some of the major topics of the day – ranging from space habitation and the Mars missions to international trade and supersonic travel. These free-to-attend sessions will add real value to attendees.”

Farnborough 2018 is a truly global event, with 29 national pavilions confirmed from countries including Mexico, Turkey, the US and Japan alongside a significant European presence from Germany, France and Spain. The show will also see the largest presence yet from China with 25 participating companies. The number of international exhibitors is expected to exceed the 71% achieved in 2016.

Aerospace 4.0

Other attractions at the show include regular features such as the Innovation Zone and Space Zone. New for this year is a dedicated zone dedicated to the fourth industrial revolution and the digitisation of the aerospace industry. Entitled Aerospace 4.0 and sponsored by Deloitte, visitors will be able to explore the possibilities of these new technologies from exhibitors such as the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, SAP, 3D Systems, Skyrora and Salesforce.

In the Live Product Demo Area visitors will be able to see products from Lockheed Martin, Leonardo, Grob Aircraft, UTC Aerospace Systems, Bell and MBDA on Thursday and Friday.

“Aerospace 4.0 is a big talking point for the industry as it is for all manufacturing businesses and we have experienced a huge amount of interest at the show – not only within the dedicated exhibit but from many other exhibitors at the show. For example, GKN will be showcasing some of its additive manufacturing products with their own chalet and the subject will feature heavily in the FINN Sessions programme,” states Mr Pearcey.

Down to business

Of course, the main focus for those exhibiting and attending the show will be the opportunity to network and do business. The 2016 airshow saw the highest ever number of defence and commercial delegations. Over and above those invited by UK Department for International Trade (DIT), there were 98 military delegations from 66 countries and 29 commercial delegations from 22 countries. However, the show is just as much an event for SMEs as it is for the aircraft industry giants.

“Our ‘Meet the Buyer’ event enables suppliers to meet with global decision-making buyers,” Mr Pearcey asserts. “The MTB event at FIA16 generated £11 million worth of business for those that participated and 60% of buyers are still in contact with the suppliers they met after those initial introductions. That’s not a bad result and definitely worth the investment.

“The 2018 edition is looking just as good with 20 buying companies already confirmed and more about to sign up. As we get closer to the show, the pace is now starting to pick up. We’re also getting a lot of interest from Chinese exhibitors and are looking at putting on a mini-MTB event for those companies looking to supply to the Chinese aerospace industry.”

So, like the industry it showcases the Farnborough International Airshow is undergoing long and stable upward growth.

“I’m looking forward to what I truly believe is a pivotal moment for the airshow. The new permanent hall and our new innovative features are all markers for our intention to maintain Farnborough International as the world’s best airshow,” Mr Pearcey concludes.

Farnborough International Airshow www.farnborough.com