British GKN Aerospace official website reported on November 7 that during the recent Zhuhai Air Show, the company signed with Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (SAMC) and AVIC, which are subordinate to COMAC. The tripartite framework agreement establishes a joint venture company in China, specializing in the production and operation of aviation structural parts. The three companies signed a memorandum of cooperation as early as September 2017. The signing of this formal agreement has a landmark significance in the history of trilateral cooperation.
It is reported that the joint venture company is expected to be put into production in the fourth quarter of 2021, mainly for the civil aviation market, and the plant site is still in the selection stage. The partnership formed by the three parties will be conducive to occupying a favorable position in the Asian aviation market, and for GKN Aerospace, it will also open a new market for aerospace components.
The joint venture company mainly produces high-quality metal aviation structural parts and composite aviation structural parts. After the production and operation activities have stabilized, they will also assume the functions of product design and technology research and development.
For GKN Aerospace, the expansion in the Asian market is in line with the company's long-term development strategy and global operating model. This summer, GKN Aerospace announced that it will set up a new plant in Pune, India to produce line systems. In October, the aero engine repair and R & D plant in Johor, Malaysia was officially opened. So far, GKN Aerospace has a total of 7 factories in Asia, providing products and services to many countries including China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey.
The company established with the Chinese side will become the first joint venture company of GKN Aerospace in the Asia-Pacific region to engage in aviation structural components. The smooth progress of the plan is inseparable from the support and approval of government departments on both sides.
John Pritchard, president of GKN Aerospace's aerospace structure and systems business in Europe and Asia, said: "We are very pleased to have reached this cooperation with COMAC, SAIC and AVIC to promote the company's business development in China. With the joint efforts of both teams, we will have more market opportunities and get better market returns. This will be the first aviation structural joint venture established by GKN Aerospace in China, which will further deepen GKN Aviation and China We need to work closely with our customers to make a contribution to the prosperity and development of China's aviation industry. "