AEROSPACE: STRATEGIC ALLIANCE BETWEEN QUÉBEC AND WALES

Aero Montréal signs an agreement with Aerospace Wales

Farnborough (United Kingdom), July 17, 2018 – As part of the Québec Trade Mission to the Farnborough International Airshow, Aéro Montréal, Québec’s aerospace cluster, has signed a collaboration agreement with Aerospace Wales, the aerospace cluster of Wales.

This agreement is designed to foster the development of commercial links between our two aerospace clusters. The objective is to give our respective companies easier access to prime contractors and their supply chains.

“The internationalization of our supply chain is imperative in a market where our SMEs have to constantly reduce their costs while offering ever more innovative products. We must, therefore, find solutions to encourage our companies to develop partnerships on both sides of the Atlantic so that they can offer increasingly complete subassemblies to OEMs,” explains Suzanne M. Benoît, President of Aéro Montréal. “Wales represents a very important aerospace ecosystem on the international stage. With 160 aerospace companies and 23,000 skilled workers, Aerospace Wales has naturally emerged as a partner of choice for the Québec aerospace cluster to develop the necessary synergies among our companies and facilitate market access.”

“International collaboration is a cornerstone of our global aerospace industry,” explains John Whalley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aerospace Wales. “The newly established transatlantic relationship between Bombardier and Airbus will help to build bridges and promote their respective partnerships. We are delighted to join with Aéro Montréal to facilitate the creation of new and mutually beneficial commercial and research links between our members. With over 200 aerospace companies and institutions, Québec is a global leader in the aerospace industry and the opportunity to develop the synergies with our companies in Wales is an exciting prospect.”

Aerospace Wales and Aéro Montréal will work together to identify business opportunities in their respective ecosystems that could be of interest to companies located in Wales or Québec. This collaboration will lead to the organization of trade missions and joint events to support our SMEs in building lasting relationships with Aerospace Wales companies. The goal is also to facilitate access to OEMs that are present in our respective supply chains and to better understand their needs.

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 the global aerospace reference. To this end, it champions the following values: excellence, commitment, collaboration, integrity, agility and audacity.

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Gwenaël Brisé

Manager, Communications and Media Relations

Aéro Montréal

Off: 514 987-9395|cell: 438 497-3857

gwenael.brise@aeromontreal.ca