Big 3 prepare for soft landing

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/05/2012 (5229 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KEN Webb, the new executive director of the Manitoba Aerospace Association, refers to the large players in the provincial industry as the Big Three.

For many years, there were four of them, but this year’s difficult collapse of Aveos Fleet Performance knocked one of the majors out of the market.

But rather than dwell on the past during Manitoba Aerospace Week, Webb is focusing on the depth and breadth of the sector.

Among other things, he said there is a group of about 20 other companies that are doing a lot to climb to the next level.

Companies such as Cormer Industries, the Cadorath group, MicroPilot and Canadian Propeller are all veteran players who are engaged in a focused program to install systems that would make then eligible to supply to the rigorous standards of the international aerospace industry.

And while that group of secondary suppliers puts the pieces in place, there has been close to $100 million invested in another potential pillar for the industry — cold weather aircraft-engine testing.

It may not yet make up for the loss of employment and total economic development value of Aveos, but it is an undeniable strategic bonus for the sector.

Manitoba is now home to two such centres with the opening this year of the $50-million General Electric/StandardAreo aircraft engine testing, research and development centre in Winnipeg.

As well as icing certification testing on GE’s jet engines, it will also develop advanced testing methodologies and equipment for GE Aviation’s commercial and military aircraft engines.

That followed the winter 2010 opening of the Global Aerospace Centre for Icing and Environmental Research Inc. (GLACIER) in Thompson. That $40-million facility is a joint venture between Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce. It’s operated by MDS Aero Test, a division of Ottawa-based MDS Aero Support.

What it means is the three largest aircraft engine manufacturers in the world now rely on facilities in Manitoba to undertake crucial cold-weather testing certification.

“We are building that centre of excellence,” Webb said. “All new engines have to be tested and certified and a lot of what drives new technology in the aerospace industry is engine technology.”

Despite economic uncertainties that swirl around the global economy, Webb said there are reasons to be optimistic about the fortunes of the aerospace industry.

“The long-term prospect is robust,” Webb said. “Air travel is growing two to four per cent in the developed countries and five to seven per cent in emerging nations. There is demand for 30,000 aircraft over the next 20 years.”

There are at least two engines on each of those planes and not many other cold-weather test sites in the world. So, weather permitting, Manitoba will remain on the ice-cold cutting edge of the aerospace industry.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca