Economy Secretary Celebrates Wales’ Thriving Aerospace Sector At Farnborough

Economy and Infrastructure Secretary, Ken Skates was at Farnborough Air Show this week celebrating Wales’ thriving aerospace sector. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Economy Secretary met senior executives from Boeing Defence UK and DECA to discuss the future of the aerospace sector in Wales. He also jointly hosted a lunch with Raytheon UK and welcomed some of the UK’s most high profile aerospace figures including Richard Daniels, the Chief Executive of Raytheon UK, Paul Khan the UK President of Airbus, Peter Ruddock of Lockheed Martin, Mark McDonald, President of the Triumph Group and senior representatives from GE. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

At the Air show, the Economy Secretary took the opportunity to meet the seven successful aerospace companies that had been selected to exhibit on the Wales stand at Farnborough. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

These included Wrexham based Air Covers and Tritech Group, Triumph Integrated Systems and Merlin Circuit Technology from Deeside, Denis Ferranti Group, with a base in Bangor and South Wales based Cardiff Aviation Limited and Tri-Wall. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Ken Skates said: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Our presence at a high profile air show such as Farnborough, which is one of best and most prestigious shows in terms of generating business and aerospace trade, is crucial in helping us to stimulate business growth, explore export and inward investment opportunities and show potential investors why we are a serious contender in this marketplace. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The aerospace industry is a priority sector for Wales and we really are a centre of excellence for aerospace manufacturing and Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) related activities with over 160 companies active in the sector. Some of the biggest names in aerospace and defence are already located here employing in excess of 23,000 people, with collective sales of £5billion representing 20% of total UK sales. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Events such as Farnborough help us to further build Wales’ profile internationally and give us direct access to significant numbers of key customers and investors. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“They help foster relationships that lead to business and repeat business. We have an array of world leading aerospace companies in Wales and I am delighted to learn that the seven companies that have been exhibiting at our stand have already secured millions of pounds worth of orders as a result of their presence here this week.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​