Aerospace 2023

I received an invitation to the Aerospace & Defense meeting in Rzeszów and at the same time to the Aviation Forum Hamburg, 2023.

https://www.aviation-forum.com/

https://www.poland.bciaerospace.com/

Thanks to Aleš Šlechta from Galvamet in 2021 to 2022, I participated in most of these events, from Aeromixer Wroclaw 2021, through Aviation Forum Hamburg 2021, to Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney and Aerospace Ventures, Prague 2022. It was a great honour for me, but above all an experience. Meeting the people responsible for this business is not easy at all. But also, because their number is limited, we met the same group of people at practically all events.

Aeromixer 2021, Wroclaw

Aviation Forum, Hamburg, 2021

Rzeszow 2022, the first meeting between the Czech Aerospace Cluster and the Polish Aviation Valley/Dolina Lotnicza cluster

Lockheed Martin, Prague, 2022

Expectations were high, the result practically zero. Why is it?

The centre of the aviation industry became Rzessow, a city at the eastern end of Poland, near the border with Ukraine. The history of the aviation industry began here already in 1932, when it was decided to build the first factory for aviation technology. But the communists also helped to make a fundamental turn, when they invited MTU Canada in 1977 and built the first plant for aircraft engines here.

After the 1989 revolution, this tradition was continued and companies such as Pratt Whitney, Goodrich, Hamilton, Sikorsky, Agusta Westland, Safran, Rolls Royce, General Electric, Avio Polska, Collins Aerospace, Lufthansa were added.

What is hidden behind this success? In my opinion, a purposeful policy of the Polish government, strategically focused precisely on this lucrative field. At the same time, the availability of people such as Marek Darecki, the head of the aviation cluster called Aviation Valley. The name of the cluster is a bit funny; it is one big plain here, one would look for hills here in vain. But the result is that almost 90% of aircraft production in Poland is right here, in the Aviation Valley.

Aerospace manufacturers have invested almost 2 billion USD here, and the level of technology corresponds to this. What I could see is almost a miracle.

Why am I writing about this? Our goal was to expand the aerospace manufacturing clientele at Galvamet. But how is it really? Virtually zero chance. Rzeszow is fully equipped with everything needed to manufacture an aircraft engine, so if anyone from this location is looking for another supplier outside Aviation Valley, then only if the entire component is moved to another location. E.g. to the Czech Republic or Slovakia. And then, precisely and only for this component, local suppliers are being sought, e.g. heat treatment with Nadcap certificate.

And since such a move has not yet taken place, the result is a big zero. I think that a significant part of the blame for this problem must be given to our government. Her ability, or the inability to create sufficiently attractive conditions in CZ to create something similar to that in Rzeszów is quite exemplary. It cannot be expected, even with the significant support of Czech Invest or the Czech Aerospace cluster, that something will move forward with only B2B type meetings. He won’t move. It’s all about investment, negotiation and purposeful strategy. And since the initial investments in this field are completely outside the investment potential of commercial heat treaters, then we find ourselves in a situation where without direct government support we will continue to remain on the side-lines of the aviation industry.

There is a document called “COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE”.

https://www.hzscr.cz/soubor/komplexni-strategie-ki-doc.aspx

Here it says:

• critical infrastructure is a system of elements whose disruption or non-functionality would have a serious impact on the security of the state, the provision of basic life needs of the population and the economy European critical infrastructure critical infrastructure on the territory of the Czech Republic, the disruption or non-functionality of which would have a serious impact on at least two member states of the European Union union,
• an element of critical infrastructure is, in particular, a building, device, means or technical infrastructure, the disruption of which will cause the critical infrastructure to malfunction

However, since aircraft production does not belong to the strategic goals in the Czech Republic, there is basically nothing to protect. And here is the stumbling block. The previous government took a welcoming step into the future by creating and writing the National Investment Plan until 2050. But our strategists completely neglected the field of aerospace manufacturing. And even if 3D printing is included in this framework as a new, innovative technology of the future, it is somehow forgotten that the printer itself is something like buying a steak and not having an oven or a grill.

And so, I fall into depression, because I probably won’t live to see a solution. If our field of thermal processing is to establish itself in this segment of industry, we need at least one major player with aviation technology here in the Czech Republic. Then it would be more fun. But I have the impression that it is already a little late.

The Aircraft Engines market size was valued at USD 45.50 Billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 104.65 Billion by 2028. And the main players? Safran, GE, Rolls-Royce, Honeywell, MTU Aero Engines, IAE International Aero Engines AG, Textron, United Technologies, Raytheon Technologies, Extron, Boeing, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. So, if it were true, it is more than double

April 25, 2023

Jiří Stanislav