Andalusia leads Spain’s aeronautical exports in the first four months of 2022, with almost half of sales, 429 million euros, and growth of 6.8%
Extenda-Andalucía Exportación e Inversión Extranjera promotes the internationalization of the Andalusian aerospace industry in its main markets and the diversification of the destination of its sales through two strategic events, the ILA-ISC Berlin fair in Germany, and the ADM Querétaro fair in Mexico.
It is a sector considered strategic by the Andalusian Government, which is beginning to recover from the pandemic stoppage, and in which Andalusia is the national leader in exports, adding 429 million euros in the first quarter of 2022, almost half of the international sales of all of Spain, with a growth of 6.8%.
In this way, Extenda has organized the grouped participation of three Andalusian companies in the ILA-ISC 2022 Fair, held from June 22 to 26 at the Messe Berlin fairgrounds in the German capital, one of the most innovative commercial meetings in the industry aerospace in Europe, which brings together both the main international manufacturers and highly specialized SMEs in the sector. The ILA exhibition is one of the essential events for the aeronautical industry in Europe, the main Andalusian aerospace market.
On the other hand, and with the aim of continuing to advance in the market diversification strategy that further strengthens the Andalusian industry, Extenda has facilitated the participation of four Andalusian firms in the Aerospace and Defense Meetings-ADM Querétaro 2022, which has held its third edition between June 22 and 23.
According to data from Extenda, the aerospace sector in the Mexican market has grown in recent years, supported by the increased demand for air travel and technological advances. Currently, Mexico has more than 350 industrial facilities dedicated to this industry, which generate 60,000 direct jobs, which places the country in twelfth place in the global aerospace industry and, therefore, a business niche of great interest to Andalusian companies.
The CEO of Extenda, Arturo Bernal, highlighted the importance of “continuing to consolidate the Andalusian aerospace business in Europe, destination of 90% of Andalusian exports, through the main European events such as ILA Berlin, and promote the diversification of its markets in new continents such as the American one, with the assistance to exhibitions such as ADM Querétaro”.
In this sense, he indicated that “both actions are a sign of the Andalusian Government’s commitment to this strategic sector, which has a powerful and innovative auxiliary industry, capable of competing in the world, and which makes Andalusia a preferred partner for large aerospace tractors worldwide.
“It should be noted that ILA Berlin is one of the most relevant trade fairs on the international circuit, since it has more than 72,000 visitors, figures that show its potential as a business forum; and at ADM Querétaro, Andalusian firms have been able to establish contacts with the Mexican aerospace industry, which has sustained growth of 14% in the last 15 years”, Bernal finally stressed.
Andalusian technology at ILA
Within the framework of ILA Berlin, the ISC (International Supplier Center) fair has also been developed, dedicated exclusively to supplier companies in the aerospace sector, a platform that represents an interesting opportunity for suppliers to contact potential customers and partners through sessions networking, conferences, workshops and seminars.
Advances in unmanned aviation, technology for vertical takeoffs, space flights or climate-neutral ships are some of the challenges that have been the subject of debate within the ILA-ISC, areas of the industry in which Andalusia has demonstrated its potential.
The companies participating with Extenda in the aforementioned fair in Berlin are Aerotecnic Metallic, the sociación de Empresas del Sector Aeroespacial de Andalucía and Compañía Española de Sistemas Aeronáuticos, all of them from the province of Seville.
ADM Querétaro: A door to the American continent
ADM Querétaro is a professional event organized by the French company BCI Aerospace, a world leader in organizing meetings for the aerospace sector, which has brought together the entire Mexican supply chain in this forum, in which B2B meetings with matchmaking with high-level aerospace sector players have been schedule, offering a great opportunity for Andalusian companies to increase and optimize their knowledge of the Mexican and American market in general.
The participating Andalusian companies have found the ideal context to establish quality contacts with institutions and companies in the industry on this continent and, especially in Mexico, where Andalusia has doubled its exports in the first four months of 2022 over the same period in 2021, but It still has a significant margin of growth, being the nineteenth market for its exports, with 589,000 euros between January and April 2022.
Four Andalusian companies have participated in this edition of ADM Querétaro with the help of Extenda, all from Seville: Andalucía Aerospace, Ayesa Air Control Aeronautical Engineering, GAZC Sevilla Mecanizados and Lamaignere Cargo.
The organization of the Andalusian participation in ILA Berlin and ADM Querétaro, by Extenda, will be co-financed with funds from the European Union through the P.O. ERDF of Andalusia 2014-2020, endowed with a community contribution of 80%, or any other European Program likely to co-finance this action.
Andalusia: European aerospace pole
Andalusia is one of the main aerospace hubs in Europe. Together with Toulouse and Hamburg, it is one of the only ones that have a final assembly plant for a large aircraft, the Airbus A400M, as well as a world leader model in its segment, such as the C295. Its strength is also based on the innovation and dimension of the projects of the companies in its auxiliary industry and the Airbus OEM, the largest European manufacturer.
Thus, the Andalusian aerospace industry is the second in Spain in terms of turnover, employment and exports, according to the latest data published by Andalucía Aerospace, the Andalusian aerospace cluster. In this way, it has 141 companies, which in 2020 generated 12,177 direct jobs, more than 2,400 million euros invoiced. 92% of these companies are located in the provinces of Seville and Cádiz, although other provinces such as Málaga, Jaén, Huelva and Córdoba have been joining the aerospace business in recent years.
In terms of foreign turnover, according to data from Extenda, Andalusia was the second largest exporting community in Spain in 2021, with 1,538 million euros, despite the break due to the pandemic, a figure that represents an increase of 47% in the last decade. In this way, Andalusia shows its solidity, by exporting four out of every ten euros sold by Spain and contributing a positive balance of 686 million to Andalusia’s trade balance.
Andalusian leadership in 2022
These positive figures maintain an upward trend in the first quarter of 2022, a period in which Andalusia is the national leader in exports with 429 million euros in sales, 42% of the total, thanks to an increase of 6.8% compared to the same interval of the previous year.
It is an industry that provides great diversification to Andalusian sales, reaching three continents with its first 12 markets. Specifically, the first Andalusian aeronautical market in this period has been Belgium, with 131 million and a decrease of 1.6%; Turkey, second market, with 125 million, 29.2% and an increase of 1,630%, multiplying by 17; followed by France, with 61 million and a drop of 68%.
In fourth position is the United States, with 27.5 million and an increase of 87%; followed by the Czech Republic, with 24 million euros, multiplying its data by 45 with a growth of 3,353%. Among the greatest growths, the United Arab Emirates also stand out, in eleventh position, with 1.7 million, six-fold their sales with a rise of 538%.
By provinces, the province of Seville leads, with 423 million euros, practically with the total of the export bill (99%) and a rise of 7.1%; followed by Cádiz, with 2.8 million and an increase of 81%. Sales have been mainly of aircraft and space vehicles, which have accounted for 100% of exports, with 429 million euros and a rise of 6.8% compared to the data for the same period of the previous year.
