Face the facts with... John Ferrie

A: Firstly I would say we are facing another three years before the industry emerges from the current downturn. Certainly for the civil sector I believe we won't see a recovery until 2006.

From our perspective we have made good progress on a number of fronts. We have gained some important contracts on the A380 - actuation, landing gear systems and video switching among others. At the same time we are working with Boeing to supply the refuelling boom control actuation system on the 767 Tanker Transport. That represents another integrated system win that we are very pleased with. We are increasing our involvement on the JSF programme and we have been selected by Boeing to be one of the strategic partners they will work with on the 7E7 widebody. When you add all those things together, from a strategic point of view, we're delighted with the progress to date.

Q: The Paris airshow remains one of the most important dates in the aerospace calendar. Where will your focus be at the show?

A: We are taking a different approach this year. We won't have hardware on display, but what we are looking to do is focus on the integrated solutions we are able to offer our customers, whether that is in power distribution, landing gear actuation or whatever. We will be using audio/visual displays and what we aim to show is our expertise as an integrator and how we exploit our technology and mould it to fit specific platforms.

Q: Can you explain the importance of the balance you have achieved between civil and military programmes, given the nature of the industry at present?

A: Balance is critical to us. There are two distinct cycles for the civil and military sectors and for us not to be exposed either way is a clear benefit. The reality is that our technology often crosses the boundary between the two and is adapted to fit both. Clearly, the more applications you can find for a given piece of technology, the greater the rewards for the business. The high investment for us is in the initial research and development.

Q: How is the relationship between the primes and their suppliers changing? There appears to be a growing emphasis on longer term relationships.

A: There's no doubt about that. I think the die is cast - there will be fewer players, bigger systems and fewer platforms and that direction is definitely starting to re-shape the industry.

Traditionally, suppliers entered a relationship with the primes much later than they do now. From Smiths' point of view, we are investing in programmes from the outset and that means two things. It is certainly more expensive, but that investment is a strategic decision which allows us to build a secure relationship that will last for many years rather than the life of a single product.

It is a change that focuses the business on being very selective about its investment, which is a good thing and it changes the risk profile. It also means that as long as we perform we have the security offered by being a partner on the major programmes. The primes define it in different ways, whether it be strategic partner or something similar, but there is no question that it is vital for businesses such as ours to develop these long-term relationships.

Q: You have a strong position on programmes such as the F-35, A380, 7E7 and the 767 Tanker Transport. Does involvement in programmes on this scale give you the ability to invest in new technologies for the next 10-15 years?

A: I think our ability to invest is driven by performance now and the balance in the business we spoke about. Performance is the key word for us - whether that is for customers, investors or employees. We recognise the importance of new technologies, but what we don't forget is that for all the technology in the aerospace business, it's the people that make the difference.

Source: Flight Daily News