JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #44 - October 2008 - Special Asia - 17

more and more ground in the years to come to the benefit of composites, especially in structural components (fuselage, wings, nacelle), interior parts (seatbacks, armrests, etc.) and floor panels. Table 2: Airline passenger traffic is growing steadily, this trend is expected to continue (Passenger traffic between 1985 and 2014) (1) Revenue-Passenger Kilometres: Number of passenger x the kilometres they fly; (2) Commonwealth of Independent States (former USSR) Source: Boeing outlook Asia is expected to account for 18% of airplane passenger traffic growth over the 2004-2015 period (see Table 2). AsiaPacific, and especially China, will be a key future market, a source of low-cost supply and home countries of new competitors for the aerospace industry and its suppliers. With market growth forecasts at 8% to 9% a year (Revenue Passenger Kilometres, RPK), China will be the fastest growing market and the largest one outside the USA. The airplane fleet is expected to triple in size by 2025, reaching 3,900 planes. China should spend $280 billion in aeronautics over the next 20 years. China is also a low-cost-factor country, developing its technical know-how in all industrial segments. China is also trying to develop its own aircraft industry. For example, AVIC Commercial Aircraft is moving forward on the production of a local regional jet, the 80-seat ARJ-21, with a $600-million government investment. In this context, Airbus and Boeing are investing in China to secure these contracts and reducing their costs to face the competition. Both companies are trying to develop industrial cooperation, ventures and facilities, support to civil aviation, training, technical assistance and support services. Both manufacturers are intensifying their sourcing policy in China. Airbus announced a $120-million yearly procurement budget in China starting in 2010. Boeing has signed active supplier contracts with the Chinese aviation industry, valued at $1.6 over the lifetime of the programmes. The main suppliers are: - BHA (Tianjin), 200 different parts and composite structures; - Southwest Aluminium (Chongqing), aluminium forgings; - HYFC (Sanyu), titanium forgings; - Hafei (Harbin), single source provider. Airbus and Boeing are also encouraging their suppliers to expand in China. Several of Boeing’s suppliers, including BHA, Goodrich, Fisher Aerospace, KAI, and Gurit, followed the manufacturer’s implantation in Tianjin. To address this market, aircraft manufacturers are also establishing production sites in China, mainly in the Tianjin region. Airbus and Hexcel installed new capacity there, and some of their suppliers, notably Gurit, are following the trend. Old 747s are being converted into 747-400 BCF in China. The engineering work is implemented by Boeing (US), subcontracting labour to TAECO (Xiamen), and final testing and certification also take place in China. Tianjin (the fourth biggest Chinese town) is becoming an assembly centre for the A 320. The first A 320 will be finished in 2008. Tianjin aims at becoming China’s leading aerospace centre with the construction of a new university mostly dedicated to aerospace and the presence of BHA (a joint venture between Boeing, Hexcel and a local plane manufacturer (AVIC)) and Airbus. More information: www.jeccomposites.com RPK(1) (billions) No44 October 2008 / JEC Composites Magazine

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JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #44 - October 2008 - Special Asia

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #44 - October 2008 - Special Asia