Aeromet has been awarded an extension to its existing long-term agreements covering the supply of parts for the Boeing 737, 767 and 777 aeroplanes. In addition, it has also secured a new contract to supply parts for the 777X – Boeing’s next generation aeroplane due to enter service in 2020.
Aeromet specialises in aluminium and magnesium cast parts and employs 260 staff at its sites in Worcester, Rochester and Sittingbourne. The move has secured the biggest set of orders in the company’s 40 year history.
Simon Holliday, Aeromet’s managing director, said: “This agreement builds upon Aeromet’s 17-year relationship with Boeing and is a natural extension of a partnership that has seen the companies operational, engineering and quality teams collaborate on projects that have developed innovative solutions for complex parts.”
The Aeromet deal was cemented following a UK suppliers’ trip hosted at Boeing’s commercial aeroplane production facilities in the Washington State in 2016.
Sir Michael Arthur, president of Boeing Europe and managing director of Boeing U.K. and Ireland, said: “In the past year we have expanded our outreach to local suppliers to better prepare them to compete and win Boeing work. Aeromet’s recent contract award is evidence that together, Boeing and UK companies continue to win the marketplace.”
Aeromet have benefitted from support from the government-backed Sharing in Growth (SiG) programme. SiG is endorsed by Boeing, and is designed to raise the productivity and competitiveness of the UK’s aerospace industry.
The productivity gains enjoyed by Aeromet by the SiG programme were a large part of the reason behind the company winning the contract extension. SiG has already helped secure over £1.6b of funding for 37 UK companies – the equivalent to about 2,600 jobs. The programme’s ultimate aim is to protect 10,000 jobs across the country.
“We are really delighted by Aeromet’s achievement,” said Andy Page, CEO of SiG. “It is without doubt proof that SiG’s four-year transformation programmes deliver and sustain improvements so that UK firms can compete for the continuing huge growth in the aerospace sector. SiG is already helping 50 companies achieve their aim of an average 50% increase in productivity.”
