West of England Aerospace Forum conference, Weston Super Mare

Introduction

It is great to be here today. As well as being a welcome chance to taste the sea air of Weston Super Mare, it is an opportunity for me to compare notes with leading experts in the aerospace and defence sectors.

This is an industry that is particularly close to my heart and to that of my Wrexham constituents. And this is a region with a tremendous history in the sector. Not far from here, after all, the world's largest dedicated helicopter museum offers us a powerful reminder of the industry’s illustrious industrial past.

But the point I wish to make today is that this region also has enormous future potential. Potential I saw when I visited Airbus and Augusta Westland recently.

Potential

And potential is really my subject today. What should we be doing – Government, WEAF and everyone here in this room – to ensure this sector achieves its potential?

It is something that really matters because – as the theme of this conference indicates – we are looking to build for the future. And, while none of us can be entirely certain about what will happen in 10 or 20 years’ time we do know things will not stay the same. We are shifting from a high to low carbon revolution when everything – including the way we fuel our cars, light our homes and power our factories – will change.

Our success in this new era will depend on having, enhancing and developing our capability in certain areas where we can have a comparative advantage – whether that is in advanced manufacturing, bio-sciences, or aerospace and defence. And, the reality is, we can’t do that without first recognising the strengths our industries already possess.

Now this year marks 100 years since Sir George White set up the first aircraft factory in Filton and, in the process, helped launch the aerospace industry in the UK. So, it is the ideal time to reflect on the qualities that have made the aerospace and defence sectors great. Today I would like to focus on three of those qualities in particular.

Expertise

Firstly, there is your expertise – an expertise that has a particularly South West pedigree. From the Bristol Boxkite of 1910 and the Beaufighter of World War 2 right the way through to Concorde in the 70s this region has a great tradition of building marvellous machines. Today you will find nearly 150,000 aerospace and defence jobs in the South West and more than 900 companies including Airbus, Rolls-Royce, GKN, Agusta Westland, GE Aviation, MBDA, Messier Dowty, Cobham and Honeywell. Together they account for more than a quarter of the UK industry turnover

But that is not all. We are one of the few nations in the world involved in the design, manufacture, marketing and maintenance and support of the full range of aircraft products. Whether it is complex composite aero-structures or aero-engines. Whether it is aircraft systems or avionics. Whether we are talking rotorcraft or maintenance, repair and overhaul services. We are regarded across the world as a centre of excellence and we need to build on that strength.

Innovation

The second quality we possess is, in a sense, a corollary of the first – our capacity for innovation. One of the perks of being a Minister for Business is that, not so long ago, I got to fly the A350XWB, the A400M and the AW159 Wildcat– without a pilot’s licence. You will be relieved to know they were only simulators! These vehicles are pioneering. The A350, for example, is powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest, most advanced engine with better operating economics and environmental benefits through reduced emissions.

Nurturing new talent

And the third strength I want to mention today is your ability to recognise and nurture new talent. This has long been a tradition in the South West ever since the venerable Sir George formed a famous flying school which, for a time, was regarded as one of the best in the world. The only way a workforce can grow is through continuous professional development. WEAF (West of England Aerospace Forum) knows that better than anyone which is why you are working with Government on a whole range of areas including leadership and management, productivity and competitiveness, technical workforce development and manpower planning and recruitment.

Government action

Now these qualities – expertise, innovation and capacity to nurture new talent – mean that the aerospace and defence industries have clear potential. But we know that sometimes these qualities are not enough. Sometimes there are barriers that get in the way of achieving our potential whether it is lack of investment or lack of adequate skills. Last month my Department launched its Growth Strategy which sets out how Government will act to remove these barriers and support the strengths of your industry. So what exactly are we going to do?

Investment

Well, investment is important. We have put more than half a billion pounds for advanced composite wing development work at Airbus – and GKN here in the South West – for the A350 Extra Wide Body and at Bombardier Aerospace in Belfast for the Cseries. And we have given £45million of Grants for Business Investment to Rolls-Royce to build four new manufacturing facilities in the UK, which will deliver 800 high value added jobs including many new jobs in high unemployment areas.

Supply chains

However, investment alone will not get us to where we need to be. For that we also have to build up our supply chains. Many firms, for example, now operate very successfully as part of a supply chain and do not produce the final consumer product. So improving the supply chain is critical. That’s why we are backing programmes like SC21 (Supply Chain 21) to accelerate the competitiveness of the aerospace and defence industry.

Research

Another key element of our Growth Strategy is about backing research. For example, to address the considerable environmental challenges we face we have put an additional £95 million into research into advanced composite wings and low carbon aeroengine development.

And, over the past five years we – along with the South West Regional Development Agencies and other RDAs – have invested around £300m in the National Aerospace Technology Strategy programmes. These collaborative projects are helping to position the UK for future programmes, and many are aimed at addressing the environmental challenge we face to produce more efficient and environmentally friendly engines.

Turning great innovations into great products

Now this country has a great history of innovation. We have never had any difficulty coming up with world beating ideas but the challenge has often been turning those ideas into world beating products. So Government is also working to bridge this gap. As a result, we have launched the National Composites Centre here in the South West. Centres such as this bring together business investors and inventors, entrepreneurs and academics from a number of sectors giving them time and space to work together on practical exploitations issues. I hope that if you are involved in composite technology you will look to make use of the Centre.

Inspiring the next generation

So far today I have spoken about our work to develop potential within the industry but there is another side to this. We need to inspire a new generation to come into the business. Now, it might seem strange to people in this room, but many young people do not share our fascination and interest in the industry. For many the sector has not lost its association with grim factories and dark satanic mills.

We have set up Manufacturing Insight to change those perceptions and we are also backing the Blood Hound project which aims to inspire young engineers and scientists in this region to create an incredible car capable of speeds of 1000mph.

Ultimately, of course, all this work will hinge on your support. Your members work in an industry that is unimaginably diverse and creative. You are at the cutting edge of the high-tech world and in the perfect position to convince young people that – when it comes to advanced manufacturing - the sky is not the limit.

Conclusion

So the aerospace and defence industry has huge potential. It has great strengths – wide ranging expertise, a capacity for innovation, and an ability to bring on new talent – which have resulted in many significant achievements over the past 100 years. Our challenge now is to work together – Government, WEAF (West of England Aerospace Forum), RDAs and all the people in this room – to harness these strengths and ensure the industry makes the most of its potential in the next 100 years.

Thank you.

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