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Copyright © 2000 WAA.News Business News : Tuesday September 14, 2000 WAA member news Farnborough 2000: This was the first time for Farnborough to be held in late July. Supposedly, it will be moving to June to do a strict alteration with the Paris Airshow, but everyone was looking forward to the better weather of a summer Airshow this year. But, not so fast! The English weather patterns didn't always accommodate the promoters' interests. We went from hot and sunny to gray and overcast to monsoon rains. The public days were packed with people and so-so weather, but the show itself was grand. Being a fly-boy, I'll comment first on the flying show. You always see the new stuff on the cover of Aviation Week, but Farnborough really takes advantage of it's historic roots. Remember that Farnborough is an old RAF base and home to much of the British aerospace research and development over the years - including Dr. Whittle's work on the first jet engine. The result of this historic bent is an aerial program that starts with the earliest aircraft and words its way forward. It is really fun to watch the Lancasters and Spitfires followed by classic British jets (Vampires, Meteors, etc.) and capped with the current generation of Eurofighters, Hornets, Sukhois, and Saabs. They even made way for flight exhibitions of the C-17 and A340. One of the most interesting sights to me was the formation flight of the entire Embraer family of regional jets. The oldest was less than five years old as a design. All three are operational aircraft with literally thousands of the family flying or on order. This really emphasized how new the RJ phenomenon is! WAA and the State of Washington had a very good presence. Of the 700+ exhibitors, companies from Washington State or who have major operations in the state accounted for roughly 5% of the show. Many of these firms had their own booths or participated as part of emphasis groups such as AADI's "Metals for the Millennium". We were again able to offer our shared space programs for companies wanting to "test the waters" internationally. This allowed us to offer either a half-booth sized display option or a poster and catalog display in a shared booth. Hexcel and Fatigue Technologies both made a splash with their half-booths. Hexcel displayed the winglet that they provide for installation on the Boeing Business Jet. This winglet was designed and marketed by Aviation Partners - another great Washington aerospace company! I didn't realize how big it was or how many compound curves it had - until Bill King and I tried to set it up prior to Hexcel's arrival! What an interesting piece of composites workmanship! At the same time that Fatigue Technologies arrived, word hit the media of problems with Concorde wing cracks. It was really exciting to know that our booth contained the answer to the Concorde's problem. That was overshadowed just a couple of days later by the tire-induced loss of the French Concorde and the resulting grounding of the fleet. When the problems are resolved, I'm willing too bet that FTI has a had in solving the crack propagation issues. A number of companies took advantage of our shared-space options. Participants included:
Ascendair has the international marketing rights for an extensive line of aircraft kits. As always, I learned something I didn't expect at this show. Ascendair's President, Joel Dacus, explained to me what a vibrant manufacturing base we have in this state for aircraft kits. Did you know that the Viper, a single engine, two-seat jet trainer is manufactured in Pasco? Joel told me that Viper almost moved out of the state because they couldn't find anyone to manufacture parts for them! Cascade Gasket was probably the oldest and least known company in our booth. They have been manufacturing seals and gaskets for Boeing since 1947 - but all their marketing has been word of mouth. This was their first attempt at looking to the non-Boeing world for future growth. GAC is a joint venture located here in Bellevue. It offers the manufacturing services of the aircraft facility in Tblisi, Georgia No, that is not where "Deliverance" was filmed! Tblisi is the capital of the former Soviet country of Georgia. They are fervently pro-Western and have a very large facility dedicated to the manufacture of aircraft and components. This is a fully ISO'd facility with a professional aerospace labor force, but their fully burdened labor rate of around $10.00 per hour! They are looking for partnerships with Western firms. Hobart Machined Products is a small machining and assembly house located in Hobart, WA. Most of you know Rosemary and Larry Brester of Hobart. They won the award for most dramatic arrival. Their English partner (a product of last fall's WIAA-SBAC networking luncheon) helicoptered Rosemary and Larry to the show site - No traffic for them! Olympic Tool is located in Shelton, WA. Many of you know them from my frequent use of Olympic Tool as an "out-of-the-box-thinking" example. Yes, they do sell submarines! But Mike Laffey was at Farnborough to sell their machining and fabrication services. Mike tried to out-network Rosemary on his first international Airshow. I don't know if he made it or not, but he took maximum advantage of the Dept of Commerce Export Assistance people and CTED to make contacts and set up advance meetings. We hardly saw him at the booth! Good job, Mike! Pentar Avionics was very much in demand at the show. They were working throughout the show with IBM and Boeing on a new BBJ integration. It sounds like they have a key piece of equipment for the integration of advanced computer and communications systems on business jets. The hardest part of the communications puzzle was trying to track them down and tell potential customers where to look for their personnel. Spaceport Washington and Washington Trade and Economic Development get major kudos for Farnborough 2000. Bill King arranged the logistics and recruitment for WAA and the State. He arranged for the State to "front" the necessary money so that our participants did not have to pay months in advance. Bill's purposes as Director of Aerospace and European Programs were two-fold. First, he was trying to promote our State as a potential supplier for any and all aerospace programs. In this he was aided by CTED's Paris office. Gabrielle is a full-time Washington State employee located in Paris. She can be enormously helpful if you are looking for contacts and in for there. Contact Bill King for more info. Bill's other purpose was to increase visibility for "Spaceport Washington". This is our state's effort to recruit potential spacecraft launch facilities to Moses Lake. Moses Lake has some interesting advantages, and the reluctant industry could make us a leader in space as well as aircraft. Everyone had a very successful show. Once again we proceed that just getting together results in better understanding and visibility within the state. At least two deals were struck on the stand between the Washington exhibitors. When we walk to each other, we find ways to learn and promote each other. That is what WAA is all about! << Return To Archives Page |
