MONTREAL, 2 Dec. 2013. More than 1,000 aerospace professionals are meeting in Montreal at the fourth Aerospace Innovation Forum, which opened this morning.
Each and every company needs to innovate, such as in the areas of fuel efficiency, and to minimize the overall environmental footprint of the entire aircraft life cycle, says Suzanne M. Benoit, president of Aero Montreal. This year’s forum focuses on international best practices in the design, manufacturing, and end-of-life management of aerospace products.
Quebec’s aerospace industry accounts for 70 percent of Canadian R&D expenditures and 50 percent of employment, equating to roughly 42,000 jobs and more than $12 billion.
Innovation is among top of priorities for the aerospace community, says Patrick Champagne, vice president, cockpits and systems integration at Esterline CMC Electronics and president, Innovation Working Group at Aero Montreal. He stressed the importance of international industry collaboration in moving aerospace forward, with cockpit innovations that promise to increase performance and reduce aircraft weight.
Speaking on green aircraft technologies, explains Clement Fortin, president and chief Executive officer at CRIAQ. “We have to balance performance, costs, and the long term –it’s a delicate balance and we need a lot more work to reach this.” It requires a deep understanding of various factors, he adds, noting that research and development is important to bring green technologies to market.
Our future success and growth depends on innovation, admits Maria Della Posta, senior vice president, sales and marketing at Pratt & Whitney Canada and chair of the board at Aero Montreal.
The U.S. is the country of honor for this year’s forum.
