ADS member Aeromet International recently announced it has secured the largest set of orders in its 40 year history, from Boeing.

Aeromet has been awarded an extension to its existing long-term agreements covering the supply of parts for the Boeing 737, 767 and 777 aeroplanes. In addition to the extension of existing contracts, Aeromet has secured a new contract to supply parts for the 777X, Boeing’s next generation aeroplane which is due to enter service in 2020.

Aeromet, covered in the ADS #SMEsuccess campaign, is engaged in a number of Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) initiatives; benefiting from working with the Sharing in Growth programme; the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP); and the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI).

The company attributes its success with Boeing to the capability improvements achieved through the AGP initiatives.

Business Minister Jesse Norman said:

“These new orders from Boeing bear testimony to Aeromet’s commitment to investment in R&D. This is a great example of how industry and government, through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, are working together to tackle barriers to growth, boost exports and create high value jobs.”

The Aeromet deal was cemented following a UK suppliers’ trip hosted at Boeing’s Seattle base in 2016 which was supported by ADS, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Department for International Trade (DIT).

Harriet Wollerton, Business Development Manager in the Aerospace sector team at ADS, works with BEIS and DIT to ensure Member capabilities meet with the opportunities identified by the departments.

Harriet was able to support the attendance of a number of ADS Members to attend the visit, which saw UK suppliers take part in:

  • A business conference examining the UK-Boeing partnership, market demand and dynamics that inform the future supplier relationship, a briefing on the Boeing acquisition process and discussions on enhancing competitiveness
  • One-to-one business development meetings
  • Boeing factory tour.

Harriet Wollerton said:

“This visit demonstrates the resulting success that can come from ADS relationships with BEIS and DIT for excellent companies such as Aeromet. ADS is continuing to work with the DIT to identify opportunities and UK companies with the necessary capabilities at Tier 1s in the US, as well as other worldwide opportunities.”

Subsequently, the event at Boeing has led to several other companies entering further discussions. Harriet and the DIT have been able to gather feedback from Members to ensure that they are able to gain the most out of their interactions, resulting in bid-writing workshops to be held in the UK and a Technology Symposium scheduled this month in Seattle, for UK suppliers to meet directly with Boeing engineers.