Laval, May 8, 2017 – Aéro Montréal, Québec’s aerospace cluster, reported positive results for the year 2016 at its annual general meeting, held at the Cosmodome in Laval and attended by more than 150 senior executives, industry representatives and cluster partners.
“Aéro Montréal celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2016. We achieved very positive results from our actions, which are enabling our sector to be better equipped to face the challenges of the future and remain among the international leaders,” said Suzanne M. Benoît, President of Aéro Montréal. “Over the past decade, we have been able to deploy many impactful projects for our industry, such as the MACH Initiative and the SA2GE greener aircraft mobilization project, which is starting Phase 2. We are focusing on collaboration and the development of a supply chain that is better integrated and capable of transforming its way of doing things through digital technologies.”
In 2016, many industry members, actively involved in the six Aéro Montréal working groups, helped to advance business priorities. “I am particularly proud of Aéro Montréal’s achievements in 2016. All the projects undertaken in each of the working groups have produced excellent results in terms of business spin-offs, mobilization and visibility,” said Ms. Benoît.
Citing the most recent export forecasts released on May 2 by the EDC, which indicate that Québec’s aerospace industry is expected to see a 4% increase in exports in 2017 and 17% in 2018, Aéro Montréal is looking to the future with optimism. Several niches in the aerospace industry will act as key levers to boost the local and global economy. Aéro Montréal intends to continue playing a pivotal role in leveraging these opportunities to optimize the benefits, especially within our SMEs.
To this end, many projects have been developed with the help of our industrial partners and both levels of government, and are demonstrating good success. These projects include:
THE MACH INITIATIVE - 612 projects completed or ongoing
We currently have four active cohorts representing 47 suppliers and 28 local and international mentors. In 2016, new SMEs joined the MACH Initiative through the launch of the recruitment of a fifth cohort, which is expected to increase the number of active SMEs to 70.
GREENER AIRCRAFT MOBILIZATION PROJECT (SA2GE)
At a press conference held last October at CAE, Minister Dominique Anglade announced that after a tender launched at the end of 2015, five projects have been selected for SA2GE Phase 2.
The Government of Québec has allocated $40 million over five years for this second phase, including subsequent calls for projects from 2018-2019.
THE 2nd EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL AEROSPACE WEEK – MONTRÉAL
This Week offered an opportunity to hold the 5th edition of the Aerospace Innovation Forum, Aéro Montréal’s flagship event, which brought together over 1,000 participants from a dozen countries and generated 1,400 B2B meetings.
The Forum reaffirmed the world leadership of aerospace in terms of innovation.
THE DIGITAL SHIFT IN AEROSPACE
In 2016, Aéro Montréal published a White Paper entitled “Propelling the talents of aerospace towards Industry 4.0,” which focused on meeting companies’ workforce needs by developing 4.0 skills.
In line with the Québec Aerospace Strategy and the Government of Québec’s Digital Strategy and Export Strategy, Aéro Montréal has put in place programs and activities that will enable companies – prime contractors and small businesses alike – to improve their productivity and competitiveness in national and global value chains.
About Aéro Montréal
Created in 2006, Aéro Montréal is a strategic think tank that groups all major decision makers in Québec’s aerospace sector, including companies, educational and research institutions, as well as associations and unions. Aéro Montréal’s mission is to engage Québec's aerospace cluster with a view to increasing its growth and expansion on the global scene. Its vision is to become a benchmark in global aerospace. To this end, it champions the following values: excellence, engagement, collaboration, versatility and innovation. For more visit https://www.aeromontreal.ca/
