The meetings, organized by TRADE, through Extenda, have included the Boeing and Gulfstream OEMs and entities such as NASA, where they have promoted Seville’s candidacy for the Spanish Space Agency
The Junta de Andalucía has organized a commercial mission, from October 17 to 21, in Florida (United States), in which eight Andalusian aerospace companies have presented their capabilities to the main global contractors, such as the OEMs Boeing and Gulfstream, and public entities such as NASA.
This meeting, organised by Extenda, a public company integrated in TRADE, aimed at promoting 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.
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 18 to 20 October. In this convention, the Andalusian aerospace firms have been able to conduct business interviews with the large OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer) 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 organized a visit to the ecosystem of space companies in Cape Canaveral with the support of Space Florida, the aerospace economic development organization of the State of Florida, and a round of business meetings at the headquarters of Space Florida with representatives of 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 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, 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 participated in this mission with the North American aerospace industry, with companies from Seville (Aerosm, Aerotecnic Metallic, Alestis Aerospace, Association of Andalusian Aerospace Companies and Sofitec Aero); Cádiz (M&M Profiles and Subsets and Machining and Aeronautical Assembly); and Malaga (Málaga Aerospace Defense & Electronics Systems).
The organization of this action 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.
United States: demand on the rise
According to Extenda the United States is the world leader in the aerospace sector, 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 poised to become a key industry in the new generation of high-tech equipment. Associated in recent years primarily with military operations, the commercial drone market is currently expected to reach a value of $17 billion by 2024; according to a research report by Global Market Insights, Inc.
Andalusian aerospace exponential growth
The Andalusian aerospace industry experienced a strong increase in exports in the first eight months of 2022, 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 largest exporting community, with practically a third of Spain’s sales (31% of 2,994 million), only behind C. Madrid (39%).
Within the Andalusian aerospace 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 stands out. 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 drop of 2.5%; and Turkey, with 128 million, 14.1%, which multiplies its data by fourteen.
USA double its 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).
