Jack Sergeant MS, Minister for Culture, Skills and Social
Partnership: On 2nd October 2024, I undertook a
two-day visit to Toulouse in France to attend the 25th
anniversary of the ADS Toulouse event and support the
relationship between Airbus UK and Airbus France.
I was honoured to be able to attend the annual high-profile
networking event and members' reception held by ADS Toulouse to
help UK/Welsh companies wishing to access opportunities in the
French civil aerospace market.
Aerospace is a UK success story that continues to put Wales on a
global stage. The industry is going through a period of intense,
disruptive change, moving from aluminium to composite materials,
and the transition from kerosene to sustainable aviation fuel
(SAF) and hydrogen.
Airbus is one of the largest employers in Wales with over 5,500
employees in North and South Wales and contributes an estimated
£311 million to Wales's GDP.
Demand for commercial aircraft remains very strong, and Airbus'
order backlog of 8,500 aircraft underpins the production targets
for all their programmes. However, Airbus is facing some
persistent and specific supply chain issues mainly in engines,
aerostructures and cabin equipment.
Given the challenging external geopolitical environment and the
ongoing issues in the supply chain, it is fundamental that Airbus
focusses on its core business and supply chain to stabilise their
operating environment. They are investing heavily to be able to
maintain competitiveness and increase production to meet customer
demand.
On the first day of the event, I was taken by a Welsh company
(Metrology Engineering Services) to Sogeclair's manufacturing and
test facilities. Sogeclair are a global design and engineering
services business supplying Airbus and Transport for Wales. This
informative visit gave me a greater insight into the intricacies
of the issues faced by an Airbus Tier 1 supplier.
That evening, I spoke at an event organised by ADS Toulouse to
welcome the delegations from Wales, Northern Ireland and the
Northwest of England.
On the second day, I was given a tour of the Airbus Toulouse
factory, seeing first hand the process that A321 wings go through
on their way to final assembly. I heard from the Airbus Senior
Management team about the issues they are facing and how
Government and Industry can collaborate to help ease these.
I attended an industry roundtable, arranged by ADS, jointly held
with the Minister of State Department of Energy & Net Zero
and Department of Business & Trade, , at which I heard first-hand
the biggest challenges facing aerospace supply chain companies
across the UK.
I met with Veronique Bardelman, CEO of Safran UK, to discuss the
specific issues facing their Welsh facilities as well as
opportunities to assist the growth of their UK and Welsh
footprint.
That evening, I was honoured to speak alongside Minister , Sabine Klauke CTO Airbus and
David Lockwood CEO Babcock at the ADS Toulouse Annual Reception.
