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BIZCHINA / Center
European aviation suppliers set sights on China
By Lu Haoting (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-18 09:46
The Airbus booth at Aeromart Beijing. More than 150 aviation suppliers,
most of them SMEs, attended the two-day convention yesterday, hosted by
China for the first time. Aeromart has been held for 12 years in
Toulouse, France. [China Daily]?
European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are trying to get a
share of China's aviation and aerospace industry, as the world's
second-largest air transport market becomes a battleground for large
multinationals.
More than 150 aviation suppliers, mostly small and medium-sized
enterprises, attended yesterday's Aeromart Beijing. It was the first time
the convention, which has been held for 12 years in Toulouse, France, was
hosted in China. The two-day event was sponsored by Airbus, China
Aviation Industry Corp I (AVIC I) and AVIC II.
"Airbus wants to help Tianjin develop its aeronautical activities not
only with the A320 final assembly line, but also by bringing good
companies to Tianjin for development," said Marc Bertiaux, Airbus
vice-president for industrial cooperation and partnership with China.
As China's fleet numbers increase, there is also a growing after-sales
market for foreign companies to support Chinese airlines by providing
maintenance, repair and consulting services in the country, said Bertiaux.
About 60 percent of the foreign companies attending the event are
suppliers to Airbus.
Some of them will visit the Airbus A320 final assembly line site in
Tianjin on Thursday. The final assembly line, Airbus' first outside
Europe, is now under construction. It will start assembling the A320
family jet next summer and will deliver the first aircraft in the first
half of 2009.
Around 70 Chinese companies, mostly subsidiaries of AVIC I and AVIC II,
also attended the event.
"Having established stable partnerships with large companies such as
Airbus and Boeing, we want to promote cooperation between our
subsidiaries and SMEs in Europe," said Chen Guanjun, vice-president of
AVIC I's department of marketing and international cooperation.
LATecis, a French supplier to Airbus, plans to manufacture jigs and tools
for the Tianjin A320 final assembly line in the northern coastal city,
said Jacques Smeyers, LATecis chairman, at the event.
The company will sign a contract on Wednesday with Chinese manufacturer
Tianjin Saixiang Technology (TST) Co Ltd. TST will manufacture the jigs
and tools designed by LATecis.
"There is a possibility for us to increase our presence in China, maybe
by starting a joint venture. But as an SME we have to wait so that we can
better understand how things work in China. We are in the observation
phase," Smeyers said.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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