Montréal, QC – Aéro Montréal announced an initiative today that will assist its SME’s (Small Medium Enterprises) members to develop their international customer base. The new program, known as Accélérateur 360°, received $5 million in financial assistance from the Ministry of the Economy, Science and Innovation and meets the objectives set by the 2016- 2026 Québec Aerospace Strategy to support SME’s in their development.
The initiative aims to help commercialization within global supply chains. As these chains shifted, SME’s had to rethink their business strategies and in particular, develop their international customer base. “To be successful in world aerospace, it’s essential to offer a more global product to foreign customers and thus win important contracts for international aircraft programs,” explained IAM Québec Coordinator David Chartrand. The IAM represents several SME’s with 15-50 employees that are part of the Québec aerospace cluster.
“Often an SME of 15 to 50 workers does not have the means to bid on certain contracts of major manufacturers like Airbus for example, even if its work is of exceptional quality,” explained Chartrand. “But if we have one company, as an example with the expertise to machine aircraft parts and another with the expertise to produce coatings for those parts, with this initiative they can get together and develop the necessary logistics to bid on contracts all over the world. In addition to promoting our expertise in aerospace, the Accélérateur 360 is the kind of initiative that will allow us to advance our working conditions and secure our jobs.”
The initiative was announced today at Aéro Montréal’s annual meeting. Aéro Montréal is a strategic forum for dialogue that brings together all the top leaders of the Québec aerospace sector from industry, educational institutions, research centers and unions including the IAM.
The IAM is the largest union in Québec’s and Canada’s aerospace sector.
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