JULIUS BAUMANN |
AIRCRAFT group Airbus has signed several new contracts with South African aerospace companies to design and manufacture key components for its A320 and A350 aircraft, in orders worth R4bn over the next decade.
Simon Ward, vice-president of international co-operation, said Airbus was committed to SA and considered the country a strategic industrial partner for its range of commercial aircraft and the A400M military transport aircraft.
“We believe that SA has some unique skills and we will continue to explore how we can expand our industrial partnerships in the country.” South African aerospace had developed strong capabilities to innovate during the apartheid years, which now gave it the edge over many other countries, he said.
Mr Ward was particularly excited about technology being developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which would allow titanium products to be produced directly from the raw material, bypassing expensive and energy-demanding refining .
“If the CSIR succeeds, that will be a major leap forward in technology, which will have major implications in terms of logistic costs and design of titanium products for the aerospace industry,” said Mr Ward.
The latest contracts include the renewal of existing contracts on the A320 and for components on the A350, Airbus’s new-generation airliner, which on their own come to R500m over the next 10 years.
The A350 work orders, contracted through primary supplier Spirit AeroSystems, include the design and making of track cans (which house various aircraft systems in the wing) and frame clips that will require Aerosud to establish new production facilities and techniques.
At the same time, Airbus has renewed a contract with Aerosud for the making of track cans and a range of parts for the A320 for a further five years. The companies are finalising the renewal of a contract to build anionic racks for the A320 Model Aircraft.
Mr Ward said the R4bn in orders included work packages with Denel Saab Aerostructures for the A400m, and with Cobham Satcom in Cape Town, which provides satellite communication equipment.
Responding to the announcement earlier in the year that Airbus had pulled several work packages from Denel Saab after the government cancelled its order for eight A400M aircraft, Mr Ward said not all was lost for the local company.
“All we have done is to take the work packages, which were part of the off-set programme, and put them up for tender. This simply means that Denel Saab will now have to bid for the contracts along with various other companies around the world, which I believe they are capable of winning back.”
Mr Ward said Airbus would continue to engage with companies in SA to see if they were able to become Airbus suppliers. “We believe there are many companies with the right capabilities, but are not sure how to market themselves.”
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