COLUMBUS, OH – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Airbus Vice President of Procurement David Williams, and Lisa Novelli, President of the National Composite Center (NCC) today announced an agreement to further strengthen the Ohio manufacturing and material supply chain for Airbus. Airbus Americas, NCC, and the Dayton Development Coalition will work together to identify and develop aerospace suppliers that may perform competitively bid work contract work for Airbus, ultimately leading to the creation of a centralized Ohio Materials Manufacturing Technology Hub that will focus on state-of-the-art materials processing, business analytics, supply chain development, and workforce training and development. The agreement aims to promote new growth and business opportunities throughout Ohio’s and the United States’ aerospace supply chain.

“Ohio’s not just a leading auto supply state; it’s also a leading aerospace supply state. Airbus buys more parts and equipment in Ohio than any other state, and today’s agreement means that more Ohio companies will be able to join the supply chain. Ohio is one of the leading aerospace supply states due to our combined cutting-edge businesses, skilled workforce, and top-notch universities,” Brown said. “Collaborative work between Airbus Americas, the National Composite Center, the Dayton Development Coalition, and many other partners and businesses will only further strengthen our state’s reputation as an aerospace manufacturing leader.”

“For many years we have benefitted from the wealth of top-notch suppliers in Ohio, using quality made-in-America materials to enhance our aircraft,” said Allan McArtor, Airbus Americas Chairman. “We look forward to further growing those working relationships and welcoming into our supply chain even more great Ohio companies.”

“The Materials Manufacturing Technology Hub concept will be focused on building upon current invested resources in supply chain and work force development.  The uniqueness of its success encompasses the use of the industry, amplifying technological capabilities and work force skill-set, bringing our supply chain to a new level in world-class manufacturing,” NCC President Lisa Novelli said.

“This announcement and commitment to the region by Airbus Americas is a testament to the concentrated Aerospace supply chain that has been cultivated in the Dayton Region and across the state of Ohio. The impact of this partnership between EADS, Airbus, NCC and our community of manufacturers could be one of the region’s most significant economic development collaborations and will have lasting effects,” said Jeff Hoagland, President & CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition.

Brown, Williams, and Novelli were also joined by Richard Koczera and David Miller from ADISCO, Inc. and Jim Kosmala, VP of Engineering and Technology for Okuma America. ADISCO is a leader in the industry of computer numerical control (CNC) machining of plastic, and Okuma America Corporation is the U.S.-based sales and service affiliate of Okuma Corporation, a leader in CNC machine tools. Erica Clayton Wright of Kennametal Inc. also attended. Kennametal provides innovative and custom wear-resistant solutions for the aerospace and defense industries, among others, and has approximately 1,000 employees at four Ohio facilities—in Solon, Cleveland, Whitehouse, and Orwell.

Today’s announcement is the latest development stemming from efforts between Sen. Brown’s office and Airbus Americas to foster increased business between the company and Ohio aerospace suppliers. In January 2012, Brown joined Airbus Americas and the NCC to announce the establishment of a new Ohio’s Materials consortium for next-generation aircraft. The five-year agreement is aimed at strengthening Ohio’s aerospace industry and boosting economic development throughout the state. Airbus is working through the NCC with a consortium of Ohio aerospace suppliers, incubators, and universities to develop next-generation products for use in Airbus’ new fleet. Ohio businesses will receive technical and financial support for developing and demonstrating new technologies to produce high-tech component parts for Airbus.

In 2009 and 2010, Sen. Brown and Airbus Americas worked with the Ohio Edison Technology Centers and the Ohio Aerospace Institute to organize three procurement conferences that connected more than 800 Ohio businesses and participants with opportunities to break into the Airbus supply chain. The summits were designed to identify new contract opportunities, educate Ohio aerospace suppliers about the procurement process, and enable Ohio companies to meet one-on-one with representatives from Airbus and its Tier 1 suppliers. The first Airbus Supplier Summit was held in December 2009 at Cleveland’s Ohio Aerospace Institute, the second summit was held in Kettering at the National Composite Center in April 2010, and the third summit was held at The Ohio State University in November 2010.  The summits were unique because they directly connected suppliers to potential contracting opportunities. In October 2009, Brown and McArtor announced the formalization of the partnership between Airbus and Ohio suppliers aimed at growing Ohio’s aerospace industry.

According to the Ohio Aerospace Institute, there are more than 1,200 companies that support more than 120,000 jobs in Ohio’s aerospace industry. With an estimated $4.9 billion in direct Airbus procurement in 2011, Ohio ranks first in Airbus spending in the United States.  Since 1990, Airbus has invested more than $127 billion in the United States—including $60 billion in the last six years and $12 billion in 2011—working with hundreds of suppliers and supporting more than 210,000 jobs. 

Below is a list of direct suppliers to Airbus in Ohio:

COMPANY  

CITY

GE (largest supplier)

Evendale        

Alcoa              

Newburgh Heights

Goodrich

Troy, Cleveland, Uniontown

Voss Industries          

Cleveland

Honeywell      

Urbana

Nelson Manufacturing           

Ottawa

RTI Titanium 

Niles

Aerocontrolex

Richmond Heights

Avtron Manufacturing           

Independence

Aircraft Braking Systems

Akron

AIRBUS-OHIO PARTNERSHIP TIMELINE:

June 2, 2009 - Meeting between Airbus Americas Chairman Allan McArtor and Sen. Sherrod Brown in Washington, D.C.

Oct 28, 2009 - News conference to announce a formal partnership between Airbus and Ohio suppliers; Brown and McArtor also announced they would be co-hosting regional procurement conferences around Ohio.

Dec 7, 2009 - First Airbus Procurement Summit

  • Ohio Aerospace Institute, Cleveland, Ohio
  • Sponsor: Parker Aerospace
  • Lead Organizer: OAI
  • 214 registered participants
  • National Composite Center, Kettering, Ohio
  • Sponsor: GE Aviation
  • Lead Organizer: TechSolve
  • 341 registered participants
  • The OSU Fawcett Center, Columbus, Ohio
  • Sponsors: GE Aviation and RTI International
  • Lead Organizer: EWI
  • 254 registered participants

April 6, 2010 - Second Airbus Procurement Summit

Nov. 15, 2010 - Third Airbus Procurement Summit

Jan. 20, 2012 - Airbus-NCC R&D Consortium Announced

·         New Ohio Materials Consortium

  • Five-year agreement in which NCC, Ohio aerospace suppliers, incubators, and universities will develop and commercialize advanced materials for next-generation Airbus aircraft

Oct. 24, 2012 – Airbus and NCC Announce New Supply Chain Development Agreement

  • New agreement established to identify and develop aerospace suppliers that may perform competitively bid work contract work for Airbus
  • The parties will investigate the creation of a centralized Ohio Materials Manufacturing Technology Hub 

 

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