Aerospace Industry News

Companies cooperated to ensure that those visitors to the Australian stand, who were seeking a general understanding of Australian aer©space capabilities, were exposed to all companies. Meanwhile, representatives from the companies themselves pursued their corporate objectives by visiting other stands or hosting particular visitors either, at the Australian stand or the Chalet.

Those who attended appeared well satisfied with the way this strategy worked. They also recognised that this was due, to a large extent, to the excellent work done by the locally engaged staff, provided by the Senior Trade Commissioner, Paris and the hostess provided by Qantas who all went about their work in a friendly, capable manner to ensure that all visitors were treated respectfully, comprehensively but efficiently at their first point of contact.

Despite the cost of renting space at the Show and the huge costs of accommodation, food and travel, attendance at the Show still proved to be a very cost effective way of meeting (or renewing contact with) a large number of people in the industry from all corners of the world. Contacts thus made (or fostered) are seen to make the dry bones of offset obligations, collaborative agreements and contracts come alive.It seems that many international program managers genuinely want to put work into Australia (for a variety of reasons) if only that they can justify their decisions to those to whom they are responsible.

International Associations Collaboration Between

From the Association’s viewpoint perhaps the most important events at Paris were peripheral to the actual show, but depended upon our presence there. These were the meetings held with industry associations of other countries.

The most significant of these was held on the initiative of the Aerospace Industries Association of America, Inc. This Association consists of 48 of the major companies in the US aerospace sector and includes such well known names as Aerojet, AlliedSignal, Boeing, E-Systems, Gates Learjet, General Dynamics, General Motors (who now own Hughes Aircraft), Grumman, Honeywell, IBM, ITT, Lear Siegler, Lockheed, LTV, Martin Marietta, McDonnell Douglas, Northrop, Raytheon, Rockwell, Singer, Sperry, Teledyne, Texton, TRW, United Technologies and Westinghouse. The Association serves as a medium for presenting to the US Government, the US public and international forums the views of member companies on the noncompetitive aspects of their business operations and prospects. In its international activities, AIA wishes to cooperate with aerospace associations in other countries.

To this end, and recognising that for aerospace industries throughout the world, offsets and joint ventures are here to stay, the Aerospace Industries Association of America approached similar associations in allied countries, including Australia, to arrange a series of bilateral meetings to explore whether there were the motivations and mechanisms for further cooperation.In Australia’s case, the first approach was made by Mr T A Campobasso, President, Rockwell International Overseas Corporation – a man well known to many in Australia because of his involvement in major Australian defence projects on behalf of Rockwell.

Tom Campobasso, who is also President of AIA’s International Council, suggested that it would be mutually beneficial if the AAAI and AIA met at the Paris Air Show. This was arranged – AMI being represented by its Chairman, Mr Tim Anderson, supported by the Executive Officer and accompanied by Mr Geoff Kelly of Austrade. After being welcomed by the US Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Mr Clarence J Brown, the Australians agreed with the US suggestion that there were issues related to cooperatives, joint ventures, market access, offsets policies, export/import control and technology collaboration and transfer where further discussions (and possibly coordinated activities by the two associations) could be mutually beneficial enough to warrant further meetings. Mr Campobasso invited an Australian delegation to be observers at the AIA meeting to be held in Philadelphia USA, 29 September -2 October 1987 and suggested that, by this time, the two associations should have proposed a short list of activities to be undertaken.

Separate meetings were also held with the Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies when the Australian delegates met with Lieutenant-General (Rtd) Dr Naotake Tateyama, Managing Director and Hiromechi Tanaka, General Manager of International Affairs. The suggestion was that a delegation from the SJAC should visit Australia, in the near future, to explore opportunities for investment and collaboration. Meetings were also held with industry groups from the Netherlands, the UK, the People’s Republic of China and Singapore to reinforce the contacts made on previous occasions.