One of Italy's foremost aerospace regions is opening its doors to the world at ILA for the first time. The Lombardy Aerospace Cluster was created last year to represent the area's small and medium-size suppliers, as well as a number of Finmeccanica subsidiaries, and has grown from nine to 70 members.
The organisation's president Giuseppe Orsi, who is also chief executive of AgustaWestland, says the cluster's objectives include promoting SMEs on the international market and identifying opportunities for regional and international collaboration. It also aims to encourage education, training and research and innovation initiatives.
"The Lombardy Aerospace Cluster was created with a core mission: to expand the excellence that has made our aerospace industry famous all over the world," he says. "We want all Lombard SMEs to be able to become a contractor of all the big aerospace companies in the world. We want them to be present on all major international programmes."
In total, Lombardy has 185 aerospace companies, employing 14,500 and with revenues of €4 billion ($4.8 billion). The region represents 38% of Italian aerospace exports.
A total of 21 members of the cluster are exhibiting at ILA in a 100m2 (1,075ft2) pavilion in hall 7.
Source: Flight Daily News
