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October 30, 2024

Airbus CEO courts Connecticut supply chain companies

Harriet Jones Airbus North America CEO Robin Hayes addresses potential suppliers at the offices of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, Weds Oct 30, 2024.
By Harriet Jones

The CEO of Airbus in North America, Robin Hayes, met with representatives from 60 Connecticut aerospace supply chain companies in Hartford Wednesday, looking to deepen relationships in the state.

“Commercial aviation in the world will double in the next 20 years, and so there's a huge future need,” Hayes said.

He noted that Airbus is building fewer planes than it had targeted this year because of supply chain constraints. 

“The first issue is ramping up the supply chain so we can meet the current demand,” he said.

Hayes was accompanied by a team of executives from Airbus who briefed attendees on the plane maker’s changing procurement needs across its commercial and military platforms, and conducted one-on-one meetings with local companies.

“A lot of these manufacturing businesses, they're very capital intensive,” Hayes said. “And so people need to have a high level of comfort that if they make those investments the business will follow.”

Connecticut is the top supplier state to Airbus in the U.S. The company spent $5 billion with Connecticut-based companies in 2023, with procurement of Pratt & Whitney engines the biggest slice of that spending.

Airbus says there are Connecticut-made parts on every commercial plane it makes, but its helicopter, and space and defense divisions are both looking to expand their supplier network in the state.

Jonal Laboratories based in Meriden was one of the suppliers in attendance. The company employs 105 people designing and making rubber seals for aerospace applications. Administrative officer Haley Nemeth said they are already suppliers to Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky and Boeing, but have yet to make a deal with Airbus.

“It's invaluable for us to be in rooms like this with the biggest OEMs in the world,” Nemeth said. “It takes a very long time to get to the top aerospace companies in the world. You don't just knock on the door and start a business transaction. You build a relationship.”

Connecticut’s Chief Manufacturing Officer Paul Lavoie said that the attending companies were all vetted to make sure they have the capability to meet Airbus’ future needs.

“When Airbus approached us and said ‘we want to come to Connecticut and tap into your ecosystem’ it was exactly what we were looking for,” he said. “It’s a business development opportunity.”

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