FEA


FEAT RE MILIIT ATURE


TARY/A


TARY/AEROSPACE & D


E & DEFENC E


Celebrating sixty years of innova tio n in themil/aerospace supplymarket


Celebrating sixty years of innovation in the mil/aerospace supply market


Six decades of i dustry servi e


n 1952Duncan SandysMP,minister of supply said: "During the next fewyears, theUK has an opportunity,whichmay not recur, of developing aircraftmanufacture as one of ourmain export industries.On whetherwe grasp this opportunity and so establish firmly an industry of the utmost strategic and economic importance, our future as a great nationmay depend." Aerc


I , rcomanaging director, Rob Laughton


reflects: I’mnot sure ifmy fatherwas aware of theseword


rds at the time, but hewas


working in the aviation radio industry and in 1956 decided to formAerco in support of the manufacture


re and upgrade of civil aircraft


centred onwhatwas thenGatwick Airf Throughout the ensuing 60 years, UK aircraft manufacturing has certainly roprovided gre value to the British economy and remains an important supplier to theworldwide aircraft manufacturing industry


rfield. reat ry.However, Laughton suspects thatMr Sandyswould be


disappointed to see howthe ownership and control of that industry has been allowed to move almost completely offs hore. As the appetite for flying freight and gers continues to soar, the rate of rcra


passenge productionof airc has tw two airc


andmanufacture ke


decades. “I findit astonishing t rafthas accel


keepupwiththe gro success story


ra


hatAirbusnow ver the


era ratedove ow


rcraft a day rolling out of itshangers rers are actually struggling to row


owthindemand–a ry for thewhole of the industry


worldwide that isnot featured muchas Iwouldexpect”, high


Aerco specialises in the distr ibution o f


electro-mechanical components for operation in harsh environments that pro re


including temperature,moisture shock, vibra


reliability under severe environmental stress, re, chemicals,


rovide high- re


ration and electromagnetic fields.


The defence and aircraft industries account for themaj


industry


The continual drive in the civil airc ry is for cost andweight reduction,


re optics and carbon, and the


ajority of the company’s throughput. rcraft


whichis largely achieved throughchanging to plastics, fibre re


replacement ofmechanical an dhydraulics controlswithelectro


ronics and electricalmotors.


Supplying into this industry can involve some surprisingly high volumes. Take the Airbus two aircraft a day,multiply that by the number of seats and it becomes appare that 500 entertainment units, completewith pow


rent ower supply and connectors, have to be 16 16 SEP EMBER 201 SEPTEMBER 2016 | ELEC RO ELECTRONICS CS


lights Laughton. inthemedia as ry


supplied each day. At a different level of complexity, consider the organisation and space re


and connector set required to


undercarriages of those aircra In contra


ge


produce 40wiring loom s aweek for the raft.


manufacturing industry, the defencemarket (so far as it affectsAerc


rastwiththe burgeoning civil aircra ke


rco) can be chara ycles and very slowra ry rates of raft


as small volume but highvalue,withproducts having long lifecyc


obsolescence. In fact, the company still supply some components thatwere first launched into themarket in the 1960s.


Suppliers to the defence industry have


experienced a very difficult time over the past couple of decadeswith delays and reductions in funding leading to constant re-pricing and much lower demand for istributors in the suppl y


product. For the d re-planningwith


chain, stock-holding decisions have been difficult tomakewith any degree of confidence plusmaintenance and repairs activities have been c rturtailed, further reducing the demand on Aerco’s stock.


racterised ro


Figure 1: Figure 1: Hypertac HBB Hyper ac H


connectors from Aerco ideal for unmanned vehicles


connectors from Aerco ideal for unmanned vehicles


Six decades of industry service iis certain y a m stone to be proud of Here Aerco, managin director, Rob Laughton, reflects on the past 60 years supplying to the m tary and aerospace market


certainlly a milestone to be proud of.. Here Aerco, m ing director, Rob Laughton, reflects on the past 60 years supplyi g to the military and aerospace m rket


For a stockist distributor, holding stock is an absolute necessity for continued surv and iswhy the company is in business. It is nowonder that consolidation is so active in themarketwithmanymiddle-tier


ajor tra rvival


distribution companies being acquired by the maj


June 23 Laughton bas been reflecting on the potential implications of the Bre


rexit decision


forUKmil-aeromanufacturing and for the business. Looking at the civil airc


rcraft-


manufacturing sector theUK is an important member of the supply chains of Airbus , Boeing, Embraer and Bombardier, all of which are nj


re enjoying significant grow owth.


Many of themost active first-tier suppliers to thesemanufacture mainland Euro


rope and itwill be import ready EUtariffs havemany


rers are headquartered in rtant to


re


ensure that theUKremains able to supply to the EUat competitive priceswithout stifling tariffs. Alre


exceptions for civil aircraft components and Laughton is confident that the company’s European customerswill lobby for these to continue. There UKin this rega


refore he has no fears for the gard and he thinks the Brexit


decisionwill have no negative impact on the place of theUKin the supply chain to those rers outside of the EU


civil aircraftmanufacture so he remains optimistic.


Regarding the defence industry, historically the nations around theworld have tended to look after their ow


own lo


newopportunities ari s exceptions. Personally Eurofighter being one


he cannot seemany of the fewnotable cal industries,with


ing forUK industry ry Figure 2:


Rob Laug Figure 2:


fromthe requirements for classicalmilitary systems in the next decade or two other than those stimulated locally fromthe decisions surrounding airc


rcraft carriers and submarines. Rob Laughton MD Aerco hton MD Aerco


Much of the production for conventional established designs has beenmoving overseas, particularly to India.


Today, a newfocus of defence technologies has been on combating the thre


reats from


international terrorismand Laughton advises hewould like to think that the British traditional flair for engineering an d


innovation remainswith us and can produce newtechnologies that can serv communities around theworld.


rve Aerco


www.aerco.co.uk T: 01403 260 206


www.aerco.co.uk / ELECTRONICS ELECTRONICS


rans-nationals.Not surprisingly, since


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