When you’re based in a country that makes one-third of all passenger aircraft seats, it's logical to demonstrate your capabilities with a seat that shows off exactly what you bring to the market. That’s exactly what a trio of Northern Ireland companies – IPC Mouldings, Bradfor and Exact CNC – did with their "exploded chair" – which opens up the sections that comprise a completed seat to illustrate the elements each company provides.
The leaders of all three companies emphasise what Northern Ireland offers as a supply chain hub. However, Joanne Liddle, managing director, IPC Mouldings says that although the three supply to the same types of customer, they have not yet worked together at the same time on the same project.
Liddle says that IPC Mouldings does not only deliver the moulded parts that go into aircraft seats – it collaborates from the beginning of a seat design, providing the finished products as well as the moulds from which they are manufactured.
Stephen Cromie is managing director of Exact CNC, which provides composite parts for first- and business-class seating as well as metal components for seats. “There are very few companies who can turn around parts in [Exact CNC's] time scales,” he says of the company’s rapid response capabilities.
Bradfor’s managing director Patricia Clements echoes Cromie’s pride in delivering rapid service to customers. “We deliver soft furnishings using leather, e-leather and fabrics for use right across the cabin. And like Exact, we offer quick turnaround.”
Liddle adds that all three companies have achieved a 99% performance rating for delivery and quality over the past five years. This has led to both IPC and Bradfor achieving Silver for SC21 (an ADS supply chain excellence programme).
“Exact CNC has just started out on the SC21 road,” Cromie says. “But for all of us, the key element is the attitude to get things done.”
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Source: Flight Daily News
