Taiwanese Aerospace Suppliers Report International Success

Companies in Taiwan's aerospace industry have been striving hard to develop internationally and break away from the constraints of the very limited domestic market. Some have broken into the supply chains of international aircraft manufacturers and, if first-half results are an accurate indication, are doing very well.

The state-run Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC), the island's largest aerospace manufacturer, has reported winning a three-year contract to supply main landing gear doors for the Boeing B-737 and main doors for the B-747. The company has also won an order to make fuselage parts for the Airbus A321.

In addition, AIDC confirmed that it has won orders from Japan's Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) for the supply, in 2013, of slats, flaps, belly fairings, rudders, horizontal stabilizers, and rotating blades. This order calls for a volume of supply several times that of 2011 and 2012.

The MRJ is scheduled to enter service by early 2014 and will come in 70- and 90-seat variants. The launch customer is All Nippon Airways, which has ordered 15 of the 90-seaters.

The Chiao Fu Enterprise Co., a leading Taiwanese sponge maker, recently won orders from four major airlines in Taiwan--China Airlines, EVA Airways, TransAsia Airways, and Uni Air--for aircraft seat sponge replacement. The Taiwanese company also won a chance to develop and supply seat sponge for the C919 100-seat jetliner developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), making it the first local supplier to tap into COMAC's supply chain.

Chiao Fu's sales manager, K.C. Tang, reported that his company's seat sponge will be matched with seat-cover fabric supplied by the local Fuchi Textile Co. and fire-resistant fabric supplied by the Taiwan K.K. Corp. in replacing old seats for the four air carriers. Chiao Fu is scheduled to replace the seats of 10 jetliners this year, Tang said, as part of a replacement agreement lasting four to five years.

F.Y. Kuo, Chiao Fu's chairman, claimed that his company's aerospace sponge is at least 30% less expensive than the original product, and that its quality is even better. The company expects to win Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) from the East China Regional Administration of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), becoming a qualified supplier to other airlines on the other side of the Taiwan Straits.

The SuperAlloy Industrial Co. (SAI), a leading Taiwanese metal-forging manufacturer and supplier of forged wheel rims to international automakers, has successfully expanded its technical capability to include the production of aircraft seat frames.

C.T. Shih, SAI's president, reported that his company has tied up with an American aerospace-seat maker to tap into American business-jet maker Gulfstream's supply chain with seat frames for the G650 jet.

The Topkey Corp., a leading maker of composite products, has won original equipment manufacturing (OEM) orders from a foreign aerospace seating company to supply seats for the A380 jumbo jet. Topkey has delivered seats for 11 of the aircraft, out of orders for a total of 19 due to be supplied by the end of the year.

The Committee for Aviation and Space Industry Development (CASID) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) is striving to integrate local aerospace manufacturers so that they can better leverage the island's existing resources and develop the aerospace industry more rapidly.