Aerospace manufacturer

An Airbus A321 on final assembly line 3 in the Airbus plant at Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport

NASA's AIM (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere) satellite, assembled in clean room

Construction of the Harmony Module of the International Space Station

An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft.^{[citation needed]} Aerospace is a high technology industry.^{[according to whom?]}

The aircraft industry is the industry supporting aviation by building aircraft and manufacturing aircraft parts for their maintenance. This includes aircraft and parts used for civil aviation and military aviation. Most production is done pursuant to type certificates and Defense Standards issued by a government body, this term has been largely subsumed by the more encompassing term: "aerospace industry".

In 2015 the Aircraft Production was worth $180.3 Billion: 61% airliners, 14% business and general aviation, 12% Military aircraft, 10% military rotary wing and 3% civil rotary wing; while their MRO was worth $135.1 Bn or $315.4 Bn combined.^[1]

Largest Companies[edit]

Geography[edit]

In the European Union, aerospace companies such as Airbus, BAE Systems, Thales, Dassault, Saab AB, Terma A/S and Leonardo are participants in the global aerospace industry and research effort.

In Russia, large aerospace companies like Oboronprom and the United Aircraft Corporation (encompassing Mikoyan, Sukhoi, Ilyushin, Tupolev, Yakovlev, and Irkut, which includes Beriev) are among the major global players in this industry.

In the United States, the Department of Defense and NASA are the two biggest consumers of aerospace technology and products.^{[citation needed]} The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States reported that the aerospace industry employed 444,000 wage and salary jobs in 2004, many of which were in Washington and California,^{[citation needed]} this marked a steep decline from the peak years during the Reagan Administration when total employment exceeded 1,000,000 aerospace industry workers.^[4]

During that period of recovery a special program to restore U.S. competitiveness across all U.S. industries, Project Socrates, contributed to employment growth as the U.S. aerospace industry captured 72 percent of world aerospace market. By 1999 U.S. share of the world market fell to 52 percent.

Cities[edit]

Important locations of the civil aerospace industry worldwide include Seattle, Wichita, Kansas, Dayton, Ohio and St. Louis in the United States (Boeing), Montreal and Toronto in Canada (Bombardier, Pratt & Whitney Canada), Toulouse in France and Hamburg in Germany (Airbus, EADS), the North-West of England and Bristol in Britain (BAE Systems, Airbus and AgustaWestland), Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Irkutsk in Russia (Sukhoi, Beriev), Kiev and Kharkiv in Ukraine (Antonov), Nagoya in Japan (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Aerospace and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Aerospace), as well as São José dos Campos in Brazil where Embraer is based.

Consolidation[edit]

Several consolidations took place in the aerospace and defense industries over the last few decades. Between 1988 and 2010, more than 5,452 mergers & acquisitions with a total known-value of US$579 billion were announced worldwide.^[5]

The largest transactions include the merger of Boeing with McDonnell Douglas valued at US$13.3 billion in 1996.^[6] Marconi Electronic Systems, a subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, was acquired by British Aerospace for US$12.3 billion in 1999 merger,^[7] to form BAE Systems. Raytheon acquired Hughes Aircraft Company for $9.5 billion in 1997.^[8]

On September 4, 2017, United Technologies acquired Rockwell Collins in cash and stock for $23 billion, $30 billion including Rockwell Collins' net debt, for $500+ million of synergies expected by year four.^[9]

Suppliers[edit]

The largest aerospace suppliers are United Technologies with $28.2 Billion of revenue, followed by GE Aviation with $24.7 Billion, Safran with $22.5 Billion, Rolls-Royce Holdings with $16.9 Billion, Honeywell Aerospace with $15.2 Billion and Rockwell Collins including B/E Aerospace with $8.1 Billion.^[11]

Supply chain[edit]

Before the 1980s/1990s, aircraft and aeroengine manufacturers were vertically integrated. Then Douglas aircraft outsourced large aerostructures and the Bombardier Global Express pioneered the “Tier 1” supply chain model inspired by automotive industry, with 10-12 risk-sharing limited partnerss funding around half of the development costs. The Embraer E-Jet followed in the late 1990s with fewer than 40 primary suppliers. Tier 1 suppliers were led by Honeywell, Safran, Goodrich Corporation and Hamilton Sundstrand.^[12]

In the 2000s Rolls-Royce reduced its supplier count after bringing in automotive supply chain executives, on the Airbus A380, less than 100 major suppliers outsource 60% of its value, even 80% on the A350XWB. Boeing embraced an aggressive Tier 1 model for the B787 but with its difficulties began to question why it was earning lower margins than its suppliers while it seemed to take all the risk, ensuing its 2011 Partnering for Success initiative, as Airbus initiated its own Scope+ initiative for the A320. Tier 1 consolidation also affects engine manufacturers : GE Aviation acquired Avio in 2013 and Rolls-Royce plc is taking control of Industria de Turbo Propulsores.^[12]

See also[edit]

• Aerospace
• Aviation accidents and incidents
• List of aircraft manufacturers
• List of spacecraft manufacturers
• Military-industrial complex
• Aircraft parts industry
• List of aircraft manufacturers
• Aerospace industry of Russia
• Aviation

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

• "U.S. Aerospace Industries Association". 
• "Aerospace, Defense & Government Services – Mergers & Acquisitions (January 1993 - December 2016)" (PDF). Grundman Advisory. 6 Apr 2017.