Aerospace Excellence across Northern Ireland
Six companies from across Northern Ireland received prestigious national awards in Aerospace Business Excellence at the 21st Century Supply Chains (SC21) event, which took place on November 19th in Bristol.
The awards are presented to companies who have reached demanding target levels in service delivery and manufacturing quality. Since the awards were launched in 2006, twelve Northern Ireland companies have achieved the level of excellence. Importantly, year after year the companies maintained the standard, proving the region’s strength within the economically important aerospace sector.
Aerospace primes such as Bombardier champion the awards by continuing to lead clusters of suppliers through the programme. In Northern Ireland, Bombardier has now been joined by Kilkeel-based B/E Aerospace, Inc., who are leading their first cluster of suppliers to gain awards.
Paul Everitt, CEO of ADS Group said: “Northern Ireland’s aerospace sector makes a significant contribution to the economy, providing thousands of high-skill, high-value jobs.
“My congratulations to all those who have won SC21 awards or been recertified. The SC21 scheme has become a recognised hallmark for efficiency and is something that will enable more firms to compete competitive successfully within the international marketplace.”
David Quin, Supply Chain Director at B/E Aerospace, Inc. said: “B/E Aerospace, the leading global manufacturer of Commercial Aircraft seats, is very supportive of the SC21 programme which is about developing strong supply chains. We are very pleased to see the first companies in our supply cluster receiving SC21 Awards. We commend the companies on their awards today, their strategic partnership with B/E Aerospace and for their commitment to improving their competitiveness and developing their capabilities”
Companies receiving awards for the first time were:
IPC Mouldings from Carrickfergus - SC21 Bronze
Bradfor from Rostrevor – SC21 Bronze
Companies receiving recertification awards were:
Denroy Plastics from Bangor – SC21 Silver
Dontaur Precision Engineering from Ballymena– SC21 Silver
RTA Ireland from Kilkeel - SC21 Bronze
SpringCo from Portadown - SC21 Bronze.
Commenting on the awards, Niall Casey, Invest NI’s Director of Skills and Strategy, said: “The SC21 supply chain excellence programme delivers a structured approach to improvement and a focus on an open and honest relationship between customer and supplier which is creating the necessary conditions for further growth in the sector. B/E Aerospace (UK) Ltd’s involvement as an SC21 champion will not only help them to develop skills and capacity, it will also improve the competitiveness of the local supply chain. Receiving their Bronze awards is an important achievement for IPC and Bradfor and is an accolade which gives these businesses the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities and competence on a national scale.”
The SC21 Awards programme is organised by ADS, the national trade association for Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space industries, and regionally is supported by Invest Northern Ireland. The programme aims to increase the competitiveness of the UK aerospace and defence industries and is recognised as being the standard of excellence in these industries.