From nearly five billion passengers in 2024, air traffic volume is expected to grow to around nine billion passengers a year in the next 20 years! Such predictions do not fall into the empire of the imagination, but demand a whole industry to cope with the enormous demand for aircraft. Regionality is becoming increasingly in question for production, as the FACC knows.
Thanks to US President Donald Trump, it is now known that rates not only change the supply chains radically, but can also shake the entire markets. Regardless of this, a revolution that is nevertheless used – especially in the aviation industry. The CEO of FACC Robert Machtlinger calls it “sorting again”.
What does the head of the supplier of the Innviertel aircraft mean? The US and Europe try to reduce their dependencies from China and sometimes even remove even entire products from Asia. “We have also succeeded in getting one or the other mandate in the past two years,” says Machtlinger, who at the same time also realizes that China is reducing the dependence on the West.
In particular, this must be noted in the Chinese Comac 919 model, which is comparable to an Airbus A320 or a Boeing 737. This aircraft has around 1000 suppliers. So far, three -quarters from Western countries, a quarter from China. “This relationship is currently being tried in China – especially when it comes to important technologies you need,” says Machtlinger.
The Innviertler produces the ends of the wing and interference flaps for the Comac 919, but also rests the passenger cabin. The production for this has also been moved to China with a view to logistics costs, is now located in Zhenjiang, where the company has had work since 2013.
Regionality, which the economy calls ‘local for local’ and becomes increasingly important, is nothing new for the FACC. “We have been located in India since 2010 – with our own location in Pune and a production partner in Bangalore,” said Machtlinger. You have been on site in China since 2004. “We were already working before we became Avic as a shareholder,” explains the CEO. Avic stands for Aviation Industry Corporation in China and is a group that has had the majority of the FACC since 2009.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
