Sept. 16 – Aeronautics, Space and Defense: Italian products expand in the world economy and are now ready to take off. And Piedmont companies refuse to be left behind, as they engage in missions, international events and workshops to strengthen, consolidate and increase their competitiveness abroad. “Piedmont’s aerospace basin Piedmont has more than €2.6 billion of average annual turnover and more than 12,500 employees. It is an undisputed excellence of our region, and we need to strengthen its presence in the world, encouraging our companies to consolidate their international turnover. At the same time, we must continue to create opportunities to attract major investments directed towards Piedmont. This mission will be an important opportunity to do as much.” Says the President of the Piedmont Region, Roberto Cota. The mission to which he refers is the one that will see a delegation of eight aerospace firms from Piedmont travel to China between September 23 and September 28. The China Aviation Expo – a biennial event of the aviation industry now in its 30th edition and scheduled at the China International Exhibition Centre in Beijing – will offer a promotional stand dedicated to supply capacity and innovation of companies participating in the project “Torino Piemonte Aerospace.” Every two years, the exhibition takes a complete look at the aviation industry, including command tools, communication and radar systems, support equipment accessories, and air defense. The fair is a dominant event in the field of air transport in China, and will therefore focus on global aircrafts. But the fair is above all a moment for promotion: the Piedmont companies will participate in a program of bilateral meetings with leading Chinese companies. The initiative is part of “Torino Piemonte Aerospace,” a project managed by the Foreign Centre for Internationalization (Piemonte Agency) on behalf of the Piedmont Region and the Turin Chamber of Commerce, which, since 2007 and until last year, promoted the internationalization of Piedmont companies in the sectors of aeronautics, space and defense. “China is a strategic market for the international growth of Piedmont SMEs, not surprisingly as the country is at the center of many Torino Piemonte Aerospace activities. In 2012, the Piedmont – China trade exchange in the aerospace sector, attributable in its entirety to the province of Turin, amounted to €1.98 billion, in line with the values recorded in the previous year – said Alessandro Barberis, President of the Turin Chamber of Commerce – our aerospace industry can grasp important export opportunities and strengthen and consolidate its position in this market. The mission – he added – also gives us the opportunity to engage with Chinese operators in Aerospace & Defense Meetings, the only Italy-based international business convention for aerospace organized in Turin for the fourth time, between October 25 and 27.” The Aviation Expo China also scheduled a workshop for the promotion of activities and innovative techniques developed by single teams, with a particular focus on new products and processes that emerged from the joint work between companies. The presentation will be structured as a roundtable, animated by the Piedmont companies in Beijing, to which both Chinese companies and foreign players with offices in China are invited to participate.
