ThyssenKrupp Services is relaunching Apollo Metals, which it acquired in January, as ThyssenKrupp Aerospace, in a bid to cater to the increasingly global supply chains operated by airframers.
As a provider of aluminium, stainless steel and non-ferrous metals, Apollo Metals has built a customer list that includes Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier Aerospace. Its chief executive Stuart Wilkins will head ThyssenKrupp Aerospace, in which Apollo's largely European and Far Eastern businesses have been integrated with ThyssenKrupp Services' largely US-based operations.
The resultant company has 30 locations in 13 countries, 1,000 employees and a turnover in excess of $700 million. "There aren't too many international material suppliers or service providers most of them are nationally based," says Clive Orford, ThyssenKrupp Aerospace's vice-president marketing. "As the primes decide that they want to manufacture in [say] 10 different countries, companies have got to restructure to provide that service. That's what we've done."
In addition to global coverage, airframers increasingly require flexible product ranges. Rolls-Royce, for example, contracted Apollo to supply its Indianapolis factory with fully kitted components, while Boeing's embrace of a moving-line production philosophy created a requirement for just-in-time delivery throughout its supply chain.
Further illustrating the airframers' power to dictate change, Airbus's decision to outsource A320 final assembly to China led Apollo to establish a presence in the country, from which it now serves both Airbus and GE Aviation. Previously China had no aerospace-approved metals manufacturers or service providers.
ThyssenKrupp Aerospace intends to further grow its network, most likely through green-field start-ups.
Source: Flight International
