AEROSPACE & DEFENCE ROUNDTABLE
PRESENT:
Richard Slater, Lancashire Business View (chair) Graeme Bond, FDM Digital Richard Craddock, AG Precision Pat Garth, Graham Engineering Will Getty, PDS Engineering Paula Gill, North West Aerospace Mick Hull, BAE Systems Dave Jones, University of Lancashire David Lord, Burnley College
STRENGTHENING THE CHAIN
We brought our panel, including business owners and industry experts, to the University of Lancashire’s Altitude facility in Warton to examine challenges and opportunities in the aerospace and defence sectors
How are businesses investing in automation, digital transformation, or smart manufacturing and what challenges are there in adopting new tech?
Paula G: There are businesses adopting new technology and they’re finding that it’s working for them, but there are others that are still very nervous about it. There are a lot of large-ish companies that aren’t adopting technology at the same rate as smaller businesses. The challenge is around the skilled people that are going to be required to help people to get through it.
Sometimes, the bigger the business, the more difficult the transition, but it’s also funds. Let’s face it, there is a cost behind adopting any of this technology and, at this moment in time, there’s nothing to support businesses. It’s all about self-funding and that makes it a really difficult landscape to be in.
RC: It’s an enormous challenge and we are working closely with the North West Aerospace Alliance to get on board with an IT supplier that
has done great things for us. But the pressure from the OEMs is massive.
The progress we’re making is unbelievable. We’re into the next stage now where we’re getting into robotic control. The volumes that are in the sector at the minute are providing us with that opportunity but it’s got to be long-term orders from the OEMs.
to be there, new technology is going to be a complementary part of traditional manufacturing, it’s just how you marry it up.
MH: Being able to adapt and change with the pace of technology is really important. There is so much innovation and skill beyond BAE Systems, we have to find ways to work together and draw on solutions that may already exist.
Let’s face it, there is a cost behind adopting
any of this technology and, at this moment in time, there’s nothing to support businesses
That long-term view gives you a comfort blanket around your investment.
GB: Our sector is not big; there are only 10 companies in the UK that do what we do. We find it a tough challenge to get into the big OEMs. It’s finding the right person in the room really, with these big companies.
Traditional engineering is always going
That’s the approach we took in the development of ‘Factory of the Future’ where we are working with about 50 SMEs to develop new and innovative solutions for next generation aircraft manufacturing. However, it’s not just the manufacturing side. We need to consider how we develop and deliver complete systems.
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