Interview to Joaquín Rodríguez Grau, manager of Aerópolis
Endowed of a line of final setting of aircraft,
With which infrastructures and services explains Aerópolis?
With services advanced for the companies like telecommunications advanced on optical fibre; information on access to sources of financials; information and advice on lines of helps of R&D; transfer of the knowledge and technology; event organisation and meetings of divulging of the science and the innovation in general, and in concrete of interest for the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing sector; business cooperation; support to the internationalisation of companies and communication and diffusion for our companies.
What more?
As I complement to the wallet of services that offers to our companies, in the technological park situates the Centre Advanced of Aerospace Technologies (Catec), that has turned into one of the main agents of reference in the field of the R&D and the new technologies for the international aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing sector, to the avant-garde in the areas with greater projection, as it already commented previously. And of course we have other general services like hygiene 24 hours, the 365 days of the year, with camera of enclosed circuit of television (CCTV); surveillance, collected of waste, childish educational centre for the boys of the workers, restaurant, café, bus of line, taxis, etc. Finally and no thus less important, Aerópolis receives the Line of Final Assembling (FAL) of the To400M.
In what consists?
Is one of the most ambitious projects that has received Seville, Andalucia and Spain. We are speaking of the third line of final setting of aeroplanes that exists in Europe, by which Seville-Andalucia considers today the third aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing pole to European level. These installations have supposed an investment of almost 400 million euros and a direct outsourcing to the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing auxiliary industry valued in 180 million euros and in 260 places of direct work. The plant of Airbus in Aerópolis receives besides the line of setting of the light and average aeroplanes of the ancient Eads-House, the models C295, CN235 and C212.
Speak us of the activities that organises Aerópolis for the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing sector.
One of the aims of Aerópolis is to offer activities and services of support that contribute to the development of the installed aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing companies in the park and of the sector in general, and for this receive and celebrate numerous events that serve to boost the industrial and technological collaboration and establish commercial contacts between our signatures with other of the national and international field. These activities cover from informative days on the announcements of helps for projects of R&D, seminars of innovation, business meetings, institutional visits of companies, centres of investigation, agencies and entities of international development, until big congresses and conventions that gather to the main actors and agents of the European aerospace industry.
For example?
In 2013 house the World-wide Meeting of Providers of the To400M, that gathered to more than 250 professionals of the international industry involved in the new aeroplane of Airbus, or the day ‘Space: an active of the Humanity', in which they gave quotes some 200 directors and scientists of the aerospace sector, between them the representatives of the big multinationals of this industry to world-wide level and the managers of the entities and space agencies more important of Europe.
What have foreseen for this year?
In 2014 also will receive events of big interest for the sector, between them the Convention Aerospace and Defense Meetings ADM Seville, that celebrates his second edition. To the equal that in 2012, our park will receive part of this interesting meeting, with technical conferences to charge of the big aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing companies of the national and international field and a program of visits to the companies and installations of the park by part of the participants to the event. This type of performances come to consolidate Aerópolis like the place in which they happen the things in aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing in Spain.
Who can benefit of the services of the Centre Advanced of Aerospace Technologies (Catec)?
Catec Is a centre of excellence that is cream with the end to boost and attend the demand of R&D of the companies of the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing industrial fabric of Andalucia and to the rest of national and international companies. Today day, is one of the technology centres with greater growth in the activity of R&D in Europe in the aerospace field, leading pioneering projects in cooperation with other entities and organisms of investigation.
In what centres his investigations?
In those areas that present a greater projection in the future of the aerospace industry, like the aeroplanes no tripulados (UAV), the automation and robotic; the new materials and processes of aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing manufacture and the simulation. It stands out of special way his investigations in the field of the UAV, where leads several European projects and develops pioneering works headed to the realisation of tasks like the environingingmental surveillance, the automation and improvement of the hygiene of the airports, cooperation between several systems no tripulados, or support in situations of emergency and rescue.
What more offers?
A series of technological services to disposal of the companies of the sector, that engloban in three areas: platform of systems no tripulados, essays of structural components on a large scale, and management of the knowledge, transfer and technological surveillance. His location in Aerópolis awards him a favourable climate for the promotion of synergies with companies and entities of the aerospace sector, what constitutes is one of the main keys of his success.
Which is the profile of the companies that receives in his breast the technological park?
In the actuality, the Aerópolis concentrates to some 75 companies involved in the main programs and projects of the international aerospace sector, as they are the aeroplanes To400M, To350 or To380, of the European manufacturer Airbus, as well as of other important programs of constructors of the world-wide size of Boeing, Embraer, Bombardier, Eurofighter or Agusta Westland. Between the installed signatures in Aerópolis stands out the big European manufacturer Airbus Defence and Space, pertaining to the group Airbus, and two of the three providers of first level for the aerospace sector in Spain, Alestis Aerospace and Aernnova (designated commonly in the sector Tier 1). Although they are backed by the nourished presence of more than 70 companies of the Andalusian auxiliary industry, many of them with a big experience and a remarkable growth in the last years, as well as by new companies that arise of the university and that contribute knowledges very skilled.
Which type of services and products offer these companies?
Agglutinate a wide fan of technologies, capacities and services that cover the different fields of the aerospace sector. These sectors divide fundamentally in engineering and quality consultancy; setting; compound materials; electrical and electronic material; essays; mechanics and tooling; general aviation; and services. Nevertheless, this wallet is more extensive according to the different subsectores that engloban each one of these technological areas, and that include among others, manufacture of mechanisms and structures; mechanised of pieces in all type of materials; prototyping fast; setting of aeroestructuras, equipment and systems; mechanical transformations; final processes; superficial treatments; shot peening; calibration; learning; maintenance (MRO); logistics; etc.
To who direct these services and products?
Fundamentally, to the big manufacturers and companies of the aerospace sector to world-wide level, but also to other companies involved in the chain of supply of the different programs of the aerospace industry, as it can be the case of the big contractors and international providers, the Tier 1. These last obtain agreements with integral packages of production and work of the constructors that later suppose the outsourcing of tasks to skilled auxiliary companies. In the case of Aerópolis, stands out the weight of Airbus like customer, although our companies are deeply diversified in other programs (that is to say, in the models of aeroplanes for which work). Still like this in the last years the companies of the park have known to increase his customers and diversify to aspire to the opportunities of business of other stood out manufacturers like Embraer, Bombardier or Boeing.
By what explains, seems that we are competitive in our country in aerospace matter…
Yes, am convinced. The aerospace sector is, without place to doubts, one of the main motors of the productive and economic fabric of Seville, Andalucia and Spain. We do not forget that this sector supposes 50% of the industrial GDP of Seville, and 27% of the of Cádiz, 17% of the industrial GDP of Andalucia and 1,3% of the total GDP of the region or, perhaps more important, because it is an indicator of the health of the sector in moments like this: the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing exports in Andalucia rise to 1.150 million euros, what supposes 8% of the exports of Andalucia. The sector in our region, that is the second pole of Spain after Madrid, gives employment to more than 11.000 very qualified professionals, and bill almost 2.000 million euros with growths in the auxiliary companies that are exponential from 30 years ago in both magnitudes. But this activity in the sector is not something new.
In which sense?
Spain, through productive focuses like Andalucia or Madrid, has a big aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing tradition, from does more than one hundred years, and our companies have been always very linked to the activities of manufacture of aeroplanes. The aim of the Spanish industry has to be keep growing by road of the diversification of customers and products, the internationalisation and a greater technological capacity and industrial, that only purchases through the innovation, that allow us position us of advantageous and competitive way in the new international markets, like the emergent countries and defend a posture of technological leadership in front of countries with hand-held costs of inferior work. But we do not forget it, the technological leadership only preserves with the reinversión in innovation.
Which image thinks that offers the mark Spain, the Spanish stamp, in the outside in aerospace matter?
Think that the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing mark Spaniard in the international field has a good image, that comes supported, as it said before, by the big path and experience that ours industry has accumulated in his almost one hundred years of history. The products and services of the Spanish companies enjoy of some levels of quality very high, and in the European and international market recognises the competitiveness and good work of our industry and engineering in matters in which we are true specialists, like the manufacture and setting of aeroplanes of mission, the aeroestructuras, the new materials and the fibre of carbon or the integration of determinate systems.
It put an example of this recognition.
The aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing exports Spaniards keep growing every year of way sustained, and this is because of the good commercial work that does to sell the products of the sector abroad but especially to the quality and industrial and technological capacity of our companies.
What support receive the companies of the sector by part of the administrations?
The aerospace sector is a sector with a remarkable weight inside the Spanish industry in general, that receives a stood out support by part of the public servicys, especially when treating of projects of big envergadura and with processes of production with a long cadence, that require investments to long terms and whose returns also are long. In some regions, as in the case of Andalucia, the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing has converted besides in a strategic sector for the Board of Andalucia and is one of the motors of the economy and the autonomic productive fabric current. They are known the helps to the financials by part of the Andalusian and national administration to facilitate the investment in new industrial plants and technological infrastructures that give support to the agreements and load of work of the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing projects in which they participate the Spanish companies.
And they are sufficient these helps?
The companies feel the need of a greater impulse and backrest of the general administration in the politics and strategies of R&D in aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing matter, that have seen affected by the economic crisis of the last years. From the main agents of the sector in the national field aims that it is something essential to continue improving the competitiveness and technological development of our industry and strengthen like this the position that keeps at present in front of other countries where the costs of production and hand of work are lower. I am convinced that we only will be able to follow competing through the investment in innovation.
The investment in investigation
In spite of the coyuntura adverse of the last years, as it ensures Rodríguez Grau, has kept “an important level of public support” to the productive fabric. “Invest in R&D is to invest in knowledge and in new technologies, in more value added for our activity; in definite, in competitiveness, that is the future of the sector”, sustains. Regarding the private investment, that is “the important investment, the one who pretends movilizar the public effort”, the Spanish aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing companies and Andalusians also have done “an important effort” in these years of financial difficulty to follow allocating resources in innovation and technological development, of special way in the case of the auxiliary industry, that is conscious of the need to invest in this section. “Aerópolis Is an example of this: in 2012 the signatures of the park invested 72 million euros in R&D, so much for the development of projects as for new scientific infrastructures-technological. This supposed a growth of more than 150% regarding the previous year, figures that speak by himself alone”, explains the manager of the technological park.
To which challenges confronts the aerospace sector in our country?
There are several opportunities to improve our position and take advantage of our advantages. In the first place, and without any doubt, invest in innovation and grow in activities of R&D and of greater value added, like the engineering, the aviónica, the systems, or the space sector. Second, diversifying no only by programs (something normal in aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing, since there are few big customers), but very especially in international customers what, therefore, involves the internationalisation. Finally through the size, create important that the companies win greater financial dimension, technological and industrial by means of processes of alliances, collaboration or business concentration for like this opt to the new agreements of the big manufacturers.
Aerópolis, a referent in aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing
The 75 companies concentrated in Aerópolis invoiceed 689,78 million euros in 2012. It stands out in this sense a growth in the turnover of 5,88% with regard to 2011, agglutinating 37,12% of the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing turnover of Andalucia. In the case of the employment, this growth was still greater, of 16,25% with regard to 2011, what represents 35,36% of the employment in the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing sector of Andalucia; that is to say, one of each three professionals of the sector works in the technological park. Besides, with a high professional profile, since 40% of the workers of Aerópolis has a high qualification (graduates, doctors and workers in R&D).
Another notable indicator of the activity of Aerópolis, aims Rodríguez Grau, is the productivity, that reaches 173.000 €/employed, upper in 5% to the half productivity of the aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing sector Andalusian. “More stood out still are his numbers in R&D, since in the last year conceded 55 projects of R&D to the companies of Aerópolis (23 in regional announcements; 24 in national and 8 in international), and the investment in R&D by part of the installed signatures arrived until the 72 million euros”, explains the manager. Equally, it is necessary to underline that in Aerópolis have constituted two companies of technological base, spin-off of the University of Seville: Equipment, that at present is Tier One of Airbus, and Skylife Engineering, centred in the aviónica and the systems shipped. Recently, it has installed a third Spin-off of the University of Seville, WinInertia.
Aerópolis Is “a space of excellence and investigation”, with a technological centre that offers to the companies the possibility to obtain collaboration in R&D ‘ace to service' with more than 60 expert researchers in automation and robotic, aviónica and systems no tripulados, material and processes and simulation and software.
Rodríguez Grau also stands out that the installed companies in Aerópolis have aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing specific learning available in the own technological park, a fundamental appearance for the contracting of new employees and the improvement of the qualification of the professionals of the sector. Between these courses and initiatives include courses of design and programmer of Catia, mechanical design and mechanised by numerical control; máster in aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing design; calculation of structures by the method of finite elements; design and manufacture of compound materials; programs of expert in Read and expert in processes; verificador and montador aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing; máster in management and steering aeroportuaria and aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing, and technical German, among others.
