ASG Aerospace joins panel at launch of Flightpath to Growth
Mandy Ridyard, Director of Marketing and Communications at ASG Aerospace, joined the panel discussion at the launch of Flightpath to Growth, the Aerospace Growth Partnership's review of the sector one year on from the Industrial Strategy. The event took place at Farnborough International Airshow, with keynote speeches from Sir Michael Ryan CBE, AGP Industry Co-Chair, and Graham Zebedee CMG, Director of Advanced Manufacturing at the Department for Business and Trade.
The report sets out a sustained global opportunity for UK aerospace, particularly in single-aisle aircraft, propulsion, wings and systems. The next generation single-aisle programme, expected to launch at the end of the decade, is described as a generational prize, with the potential to grow annual UK market value from $10bn today to $41bn by 2050.
The report confirms £2.3bn of government investment in research and development through the Aerospace Technology Institute to 2035, with the aim of doubling the UK's share of the global aerospace market by 2035. It also sets out measures to help suppliers grow, including a £100m+ Aerospace Supply Chain Fund with the British Business Bank, energy cost relief for eligible manufacturers through the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme from April 2027, and work to close the funding gap companies face when moving from proven technology to full rate production.
Speaking as Chair of the ADS Aerospace Supplier Forum, Mandy contributed the supply chain perspective to the panel, Converting Aerospace Opportunity into UK Growth, alongside representatives from Airbus, Safran, Rolls-Royce, the Aerospace Technology Institute, the British Business Bank and the Department for Business and Trade. The discussion focused on how UK suppliers scale up to meet rising production rates, covering access to finance for companies investing ahead of revenue, the cost pressures facing UK manufacturers, and the skills the sector needs. The report identifies skills availability as one of the most significant constraints on growth, with aerospace employment forecast to rise from 100,000 today to 120,000 by 2035.
Mandy said: "The opportunity for UK aerospace is real, but converting it into growth depends on the supply chain. Suppliers are being asked to invest ahead of revenue in facilities, automation and people, and the measures in this report, from the Aerospace Supply Chain Fund to energy cost relief, are a practical step towards making that investment possible."
These themes reflect the path ASG Aerospace is on. Operating from seven sites across the UK and Germany, ASG Aerospace combines complementary precision engineering capabilities to offer customers scale, resilience and breadth. The group continues to invest in facilities, automation and people across its sites, including apprenticeship programmes developing the next generation of engineers.
