How have you seen the evolution of the AED as an association and its reflection on the AED Days?
This one is my fourth participation on the AED Days. I must say that the aeronautical, defense and space sector in Portugal is growing a lot. This is good news! It is a very dynamic sector. Regarding Airbus, it is a fact that, compared to the past, the company is very present and is considered a strategic partner in Portugal. In these last two to three years, we have significantly developed our presence in Portugal.
How is this presence being reinforced?
Over the past two to three years, we have developed a footprint in Portugal. On one hand, there are the facilities near Porto, for Airbus Atlantic, a one hundred per cent subsidiary of Airbus Commercial. There we produce significant parts for our supply chain of commercial aircraft. We also have in Parque das Nações, in Lisbon, Airbus GBS, with the global business service center, a strategic investment of our group done in Portugal. From Airbus GBS we work with all divisions of And from Portugal we have the intention to work with other divisions of Airbus in other geographies in several internal services. Finance, Procurement, Human Resources, among others. On top of that we have a strong interest, through Airbus Commercial, in airlines. TAP is one example, but there are many others in Portugal. Also related to helicopters, both military and commercial. Firefighting is a classical area. In the Summer almost all the helicopters dedicated do firefighting that are rented or in leasing are Airbus Helicopters. And last but not least, we have Airbus Defense and Space that has a long tradition in Portugal, first of all with the EADS C-295, that is the backbone of the Portuguese Air Force. Other sectors that we are interested at are space and cybersecurity.
Airbus has become a main sponsor of the AED Days. What was the reason behind this decision?
The rationale behind is very clear. Today Portugal is for Airbus, in Europe, the Airbus the second country in the EU excluding our home-countries in terms of headcount and has a potential to become the first in the future after France, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom provided our strategic relationship develops further. Today we count with around 800 Airbus employees in Portugal and the idea is to keep going. What is important to highlight here is that our industry, of aerospace and defense, is an industry of multiplicators. More then any other industry in the world.
What would you highlight from the AED Days 2023 edition?
The level in the AED Days is very high. It is the most relevant aerospace defense event of the country. I think the people and the professionals that attend the event are the most respected professionals in Portugal. It is an opportunity to meet with everybody that has something to say in aerospace and defense. We are talking about industries, but not only. We are talking about authorities, political, civil and military and the complete ecosystem, including international participants. For example, from Airbus we have seven to ten people participating, coming from Spain, France, Germany. All here working together with Portuguese partners.
There was a record participation this year, with a strong emphasis on defense. Would you say it is the war effect?
I can not be sure about that. But something I can sure say. With the pass of the years, I have seen how AED as an association, and the event itself, is growing both in volume and in importance. We in Airbus GBS being present in Portugal for many years have added new members to the Association. We are present with Airbus Portugal but also with Airbus Commercial. This is just an example of how AED is growing. Why do we see a growing participation this year? I do not think it is driven by the conflict, but because of the development of Portugal in aerospace and not only on the military, but also commercial. And in Airbus we have both. We have military assets and even more commercial. And we are growing on that. So it not related to the war. It is first of all about the values and the quality of the ecosystem and also about the partnerships that both the cluster and the country is pushing with major groups. Airbus being the biggest company present and investing in Portugal, but there are many more.