magazin "take off" - issue 20

takeoff20

F A C C C U S T O M E R M A G A Z I N E 07.07

New Look:Optimized Cabin for the A320 Family

Investment Facility 4:Intensive Growth in the NacelleSegment Expected

Supplier Performance:FACC Assigns the “ExcellentSupplier Award”

Facility 4 for Nacelle Components is in Operation

Facility 4 for Nacelle Components is in Operation

TAKEOFF16 takeoff2 F A C C C U S T O M E R M A G A Z I N E

EDITORIAL

Dear Readers,

We did it! The largest construction project to date inthe history of FACC has been completed: the newproduction facility for engine nacelle components inReichersberg. It was recently put into operation,right on schedule. Many guests came from Austriaas well as from abroad to the opening ceremony andenjoyed the airy atmosphere of the open architectu-re of the building with all of its glass.

NIKI is now flying with components made byFACC. It is always a matter of pride and joy when ourproducts are put to use by a domestic company. Alt-hough our export rate is almost 100%, we have theAustrian low-cost airline NIKI to thank for the decisi-on to use planes with parts from FACC. Niki Lauda,the head of the airline, personally took over his firstA319 at Airbus in Hamburg and flew it home. In thisissue we report about the involvement of FACC inthe re-design of the passenger cabin of the AirbusA320 Family.

“And the winners are…,” is what could be heardwhen, for the first time, FACC awarded the “Excel-lent Supplier Award 2006” in gold, silver and bronze,distinguishing the best suppliers for their excellentperformance. In cooperating with suppliers, FACCstrives for long-term partnerships and absolute relia-bility in respect to quality and adherence to deliverydates, the basis for high-quality products and, as aresult, satisfied customers. The companies that wonthe award also contributed greatly with their commit-ment and dedication. We would like to thank thewinners and congratulate them on their achieve-ments.

And then on to a completely different topic: afterten years of the same familiar face, our magazine“take off” is getting a new “look”. Our graphic artistworked hard to come up with a new, modern, andhopefully pleasing layout. You are holding the resultin your hand. We hope you enjoy it.

Manfred Neuböck/Andrea SchachingerEditors

PS.: We welcome any of your comments and ideas.

[email protected]

CONTENTS

03 Superlatives:The brisk sales in planes

04 New Look:Optimized Cabin for the A320 Family

06 Investments:Facility 4 for Nacelle Components Is in Operation

10 Event:FACC Celebrates the Opening of Facility 4

12 Technical Colloquium:„New developments for new aircraft requirements“

13 Quality Management:Certification and Recertification Successfully Completed

14 Airbus Aerostructures Suppliers Council:„Change the way we work together“

15 Innovative Upper Austria 2010:From Research to Work. We are shaping the future.

18 Supplier Performance:FACC Assigns the “Excellent SupplierAward 2006”

19 Speed Personified:Niki Lauda

Published by: FISCHER ADVANCED COMPOSITE COMPONENTS AG, Fischerstraße 9,

A-4910 Ried/Austria. Editorial Staff: Manfred Neuböck, Walter Stephan, Andrea Schachinger.

Photos: Lang & Lang Klagenfurt, Alois Furtner Ried, Airbus Deutschland Yohan Raintung, Airbus

S.A.S. H. Goussé, NIKI Wien, FACC Ried, Land OÖ Linz, Rieder Magazin Ried, Helmut Spudich

Wien, eduhi Linz. Design and Composition: Oskar Pointecker, 4941 Mehrnbach.

takeoff 3F A C C C U S T O M E R M A G A Z I N E

SUPERLATIVES>> In the last few months both the

aviation industry and FACC have

experienced several superlatives.

The brisk sales in planes in the

first half of 2007 and especially the

large number of orders during

the Paris Airshow exceeded all

expectations analysts had expressed

six months ago. We are assuming

that the trend will continue this year

and that altogether more than a total

of 1,500 airplanes will be ordered.

With the A380 and the new A350

XWB program, Airbus presented

highlights that met enormous

acceptance with customers. The

large number of new orders for the

A350 XWB shows how well the new

long-range aircraft has been

accepted. On the other hand, Boeing,

with its introduction of the 787, can

be proud of the most successful

launch of a commercial airplane in the

history of aviation: 642 planes were

sold between the project launch

and the roll-out of the aircraft that

took place on July 8 - the significant

day of 07-08-07. For the composite

industry, the 787 without a doubt

represents a superlative. Light

composites make up 50% of the

aircraft’s materials, with the fuselage

and wings being in large part of this

advanced material. This is an abso-

lute innovation world-wide that will

start a general trend in the industry.

What is also impressive about this

project is that 70% of the aircraft is

being developed and delivered

by program partners, while Boeing

is primarily concentrating on the

integration of the delivered compo-

nents. The final assembly of the first

787 took place in a record time of

less than 25 days. When the pro-

gram is fully running, the final as-

sembly will be completed in only 3

days.

FACC came up with its own super-

latives in the past few months. The

new facility 4 is the biggest structure

ever built by the company. With a

production volume of between 70

and 100 million US dollars, it enables

us to take a great leap forward in

capacity, a production capacity

which we can offer an aviation

industry that is craving for composites.

Many guests from Austria and abroad

came to the opening ceremony, and

could check out for themselves the

high degree of automation and

excellent technology in the production

of nacelle components.

As this issue of take off is being

published, FACC is issuing its first

hybrid capital bonds with a volume

of 40 million euros. The bond is an

innovative financial instrument that

has the character of equity capital,

is listed on the stock market, is offered

to consumers as a retail item, and

thus fulfils the regulations of the

financial market authorities. The

revenues of the bonds serve above

all to finance development projects

and contribute towards maintaining

FACC’s Tier1 status at Airbus and to

help it acquire this status at Boeing

with future projects. In addition, the

increase of equity capital basis

gives FACC the potential for

acquisitions, thus guaranteeing

further growth.

Intensive growth of the company

puts an increasing demand on its

management. In order to be ready

for the challenges of tomorrow, we

are already making focused provisi-

ons today. One of these is the ”Take

Off 2010” program, in the course of

which we screen existing manage-

ment structures in cooperation with

tried and tested external advisors in

our desire to adjust these structures

to the needs of a growing industry.

In the area of engineering, FACC

is in the middle of creating new

concepts designed to ensure that

the comprehensive development

skills in new large projects can also

be successfully provided despite

the limited engineering resources in

Austria and Europe.

I am convinced that, thanks to

all these actions and measures, we

will be in a position to expand

our capabilities and capacities to

such a degree that after years of

disproportionally high strains, a

slight relief in the various depart-

ments of the company will be

noticeable, despite the continuing

rapid growth of the aircraft

industry. <<

Walter A. Stephan

Chairman of the Board

FACC AG

foto © helmut spudich

>> Fifteen years ago FACC deliver-

ed the first overhead stowage com-

partments and ceiling panels for

Airbus A320. Since its commissio-

ning in 1988, this single-aisle air-

craft has become a sales hit, and

over 5,000 orders make it one of the

world’s best-selling jet airliner. The

full order books guarantee that the

program will continue for a long ti-

me. Moreover, the lifecycle of the

cabin is much shorter than that of

the aircraft. This is reason enough

for those responsible at Airbus to

adjust the cabin to the changing de-

mands of the market and passen-

gers and to add more room and

comfort as well as to implement

technical innovations. As a long-

time partner of Airbus, FACC played

a definitive part in the redesign of

the cabin.

The “Enhanced Cabin” ofthe A320 Family:More Room – More Comfort

The new cabin effectively features

the most modern design and tech-

nological innovations. New smooth

lines not only create an ambient at-

mosphere but also give more space

at shoulder level. FACC, responsible

for the design, qualification, manu-

facture and delivery of the ceiling

panels, overhead stowage com-

partments and cove light panels,

can through an optimized design of

these components significantly im-

prove the height of the cabin and,

consequently, the comfort of the

passenger.

The wide cabin and it’s state-of-

the-art design allow the installation

of bigger overhead stowage com-

partments. FACC has developed

overhead stowage compartments for

the Airbus A320 that offer room for

five pieces of standard hand lugga-

ge, at the same time maintaining the

rigidity of the compartment and kee-

ping costs and weight at a minimum.

The increased overhead stowage of-

fers 15 per cent more volume.

Less Weight, OptimizedAcoustics, Higher Efficiency

The far-reaching innovations that

FACC applied to the cabin techno-

“Passengers at heart; Airline in mind”. This is the motto that accompanied Airbusduring the design of the cabins for its A320 Family. FACC is an important partner inthe endeavor, and overhead stowage compartments, ceiling panels and cove lightpanels come from Austria.

NEW LOOK:Optimized Cabin for the A320 Family


logy of the A320 result in significant

weight reduction and optimized

acoustic properties. This advance-

ment was achieved by improving

the lay-up process in component

production and decoupling acoustic

connections of the cabin to the pla-

ne structure.

The main focus of the design of

the individual interior components

was on an increase of efficiency in

the assembly of the cabin. A simp-

ler and faster installation in the as-

sembly line is achieved through

newly developed, flexible fastening

elements. This results in definite

time savings for the airline while

doing maintenance work and remo-

deling the cabin.

The state-of-the-art cabin design

is weight-saving, which means the

plane saves on fuel and is more en-

vironmental-friendly.

While designing the individual in-

terior components, FACC paid spe-

cial attention to increasing efficien-

cy during assembly. A simpler and

faster installation in the airplane as-

sembly line is achieved through

newly developed, flexible connec-

ting elements. These significantly

save the airlines time during main-

tenance and retrofitting of the cabin.

Time and money are also saved

through automation in the producti-

on process. In the production of the

cabin components FACC is putting

added emphasis on the use of 3D

laser projection and two mold pres-

ses, which make it possible to pro-

duce components in higher quanti-

ties in a shorter process time.

Faster Development Process

FACC has finished most of the de-

velopment work on the project that

included component design, engi-

neering, and qualification, the deve-

lopment and production of the tools

as well as the development and

qualification of new materials and

processes. The enhanced cabin

systems went into serial production

in December 2006, and in 2007

FACC is already equipping half of

the planes delivered by Airbus –

around 180 planes – with the new,

lighter cabin equipment. Due to high

demand, the current total orders for

the A320 Family amount to more

than 2,000 planes. Furthermore, Air-

bus offers the new enhanced cabins

for retrofitting in existing planes of

this model series, of which 3,091

planes are currently in use by air-

lines. This means that a high de-

mand for cabin retrofitting and with

it additional orders for FACC may

be expected.

NIKI Receives the First Airbus A319 Featuring theNew Cabin

In March the Austrian carrier NIKI

has received its first Airbus A319 at

the occasion of a delivery ceremony

in Hamburg. The A319 selected by

NIKI is the first A320 Family aircraft

worldwide delivered with the new

state-of-the-art cabin interior, mak-

ing the aircraft quieter, lighter,

brighter and more spacious. This

A319 further expands the present

NIKI Airbus fleet, which already

consists of five A320s and one

A321. NIKI will use the A319 on its

Vienna – Moscow – Vienna route

and the greater freedom of move-

ment afforded by the new cabin

gives passengers a new dimension

in comfort.

Not surprisingly, we have heard

these positive opinions about the

new cabins:


Niki LaudaPresident of NIKI

“We have chosen the A319 be-

cause we base our fleet on qua-

lity, operational economics and

comfort. The new Airbus cabin is

an extra bonus for our passen-

gers, who are used to our high

quality customer service. This

extra level of comfort guarantees

customer satisfaction and that is

our top priority.”

John Leahy Chief Operating Officer –

Customers, Airbus

“Non-stop innovation, this is

what the new cabin is all about.

We have delivered on all fronts,

space, and quietness, light, to

give NIKI and future A320 Family

passengers an even better pro-

duct. And we are proud that NIKI

proves us right with their selecti-

on of the A319. Just this little bit

more passenger comfort will add

to the A320 Family’s leading ed-

ge reputation, and make passen-

gers come back for more. “

Walter Stephan Chief Executive Officer,

FACC AG

“In addition to high passenger

comfort and roominess, reduced

weight and low operation costs

are among the deciding factors

of a passenger cabin. We strive

to fulfill these demands through

consistent research and innova-

tive, light, fuel-saving solutions.

NIKI banks on excellent service,

and as an Austrian aviation com-

pany we are especially pleased

to be able to support them in

their success.”


With the new production facility in Upper Austrian Reichersberg, FACC sets newstandards in respect to efficient component production and higher automation. Aftera sensationally short construction period, production started on schedule.

>> On April 23, 2007, FACC started

up its fourth production facility. This

is the beginning of an important fu-

ture-oriented project for the compa-

ny as well as for the region. Around

110 employees are now producing

nacelle components there for Good-

rich, Vought, Aermachi and Aircelle.

The largest single project for this

new facility is the translating sleeve

for the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Starting in 2010, FACC will also pro-

duce this system for Airbus´s future

long-range aircraft, the A350 XWB.

By then the number of employees in

the facility will exceed 300. The pro-

duction and logistic processes are

optimally geared to the customers´

needs, so that at full capacity a

monthly production of over 34 pie-

ces can be carried out for the trans-

lating sleeve alone.

Quality and Technology

FACC has invested around 40 mil-

lion euros in property, buildings, in-

formation technology and equip-

ment for production. In the course

of the construction of the 20,000 m2

building, comprehensive measures

were taken to increase the automa-

tion and efficiency of production of

top-quality composite components.

INVESTMENTS:Facility 4 for Nacelle Components Is in Operation


The most modern equipment for

testing components assure flawless

quality of the products.

Rapid Implementation

The successful cooperation of all those

involved in the project – over 350

people from 40 suppliers – lead-ma-

naged by Delta Projectconsult, a

general contractor in Wels - ensured

that the project was finished on

schedule. Construction lasted from

April 2006 to April 2007. The largest

construction project to date for

FACC could be completed from the

ground-breaking to start-up of pro-

duction in only 12 months and in

keeping with the cost objectives.

Top-quality Architecture

FACC put a lot of emphasis on top-

notch architecture that also took so-

cial well-being into consideration.

The new site is attractive in its

openness and light and friendly at-

mosphere. The large amount of

glass in the façade, unusual for in-

dustrial buildings, is particularly stri-

king. This gives the building an

“airy” appearance and offers a con-

stant view of the outside. Just by

looking from the outside in, one can

get a sense of the production flow

from the beginning to the end.

Production of nacelle components for civil aircraft

Area: 20,000 m2/ 215,278 sq.ft.

Construction period: 12 month

Investment: 40 million Euro

jobs at full capacity 350

annual turnover: 70 million Euro

materials used:

glass façade 2,240 m2/24,111 sq.ft.

steel rods 600,000 kg / 1,322,774 lbs.

concrete columns 2,296 meters / 7,532 ft.

underground passageways 400 meters/1,312 ft.

profiled sheeting roof 19,300 m2/207,743 sq.ft.

epoxy resin flooring 50.4 m3/66.0 cu.yd.

Facts and Figures FACC Facility 4 – Nacelles


TECHNICAL DATA:

Autoclave 1 Autoclave 2

Diameter: 4.5 m/13.1 ft. 6.1 m/19.7 ft.

Loading diameter: 4 m/13.1 ft. 5.5 m/16.4 ft.

Length: 12 m/40.0 ft. 12 m/40.0 ft.

Pressure: 10 bar 10 bar

Max. temperature: 250 °C 250 °C

Volume: 222,000 l 423,000 l

TECHNICAL DATA:

Linx40

CNC-controlled 5-axis milling machine

Rotation speed: 24.000 rpm

Feed rate: 65.000 mm/min

Work range axis: X-axis: 8.2 m/26.2 ft.

Y-axis: 4 m/13.1 ft.

Z-axis: 2 m/6.6 ft.

TECHNICAL DATA:

Inspection Volume:

Cylindrical parts: Diameter: max 4.5 m/13.1 ft.,

min 0.6 m/3.3 ft.; Height: max 3 m/9.8 ft.

Flat parts: max. 5.8 m/16.4 ft. x 3.0 m/9.8 ft. x 0.3 m/3.3 ft.

Minimum detectable flaw:

Monolithic parts: 4 mm/0.16 in. x 4 mm/0.16 in.

Sandwich parts: 10 mm/0.39 in. x 10 mm/0.39 in.

AUTOCLAVE

ULTRASONIC INSPECTION EQUIPMENT (C-SCAN)

MACHINING CENTERJOMACH 1137


TRANSPORT OF THE AUTOCLAVE:A logistic masterpiece

Although the super-sized autoclave was transported via water with no problems, the

100 kilometers by road became a hurdle race at a snail’s pace.

It took three days and one night of constant moving to maneuver the 212-ton

autoclave – the largest production equipment of the new facility – from the Danube

port in Aschach to the final destination in Reichersberg.

A team of 50 people completed the preparations necessary so that the 38.5 m

long and 6.6 m wide flat bed truck could navigate the roads. Bridges had to be rein-

forced with steel plates, electric and telephone wires had to be raised, streets wide-

ned and road signs, traffic lights, lampposts and fences removed. And to assure that

everything would run smoothly, both the route and procedure were meticulously plan-

ned and checked.

TAKEOFF16 takeoff10

>> On June 22, 2007, FACC cele-

brated the opening of its new na-

celle components production facility

in Reichersberg with a lavish party.

The event was attended by hun-

dreds of guests, including custo-

mers, suppliers and business part-

ners from all over the world, as well

as representatives from politics and

business. “Our strategy is clear. We

want to expand our position as one

of the leading suppliers of technolo-

gically sophisticated nacelle and

engine components in the growing

field of aviation and to be our custo-

mers’ preferred partner”, is how

Walter Stephan, CEO of FACC,

pointed out the ambitious goals of

the company. This building of this

new facility substantiates this claim.

Today we are celebrating the result

of an intensive collaboration bet-

ween FACC and different public

authorities as well as the dedicated

support of the state of Upper Au-

stria.”

The Upper Austrian provincial

governor, Dr. Josef Pühringer, gave

the building his official approval and

proudly emphasized: “Upper Au-

stria is the country’s number one

province for exports. More than

26% of Austria’s exports in the pro-

duction of real assets come from

our provincial state. FACC is one of

the domestic ‘kings of exports’ –

those companies that long ago

made the world their home market.

It is one of the local companies that

has established itself on the most

highly competitive international mar-

kets with its expertise and products,

thereby contributing to the most gra-

tifying current economic situation.”

EVENT:FACC Celebrates the Opening

of Facility 4

F A C C C U S T O M E R M A G A Z I N E

Curtis Reusser of Goodrich, Walter Stephan of FACC, Upper Austrian Governor JosefPühringer and Under Secretary Ingolf Schädler of the Ministry of Traffic, Innovation andTechnology officially dedicating the facility.

Awesome: the largest project in the new Facility 4: the translating sleeves for Boeing 787.

Presentor Karin Keglevich, a charming host throughout theprogram, welcoming the board members Bernhard Matzner,Manfred Neuböck and Walter Stephan


Bernd Roser and Fritz Holzinger ofEurocopter Donauwörth

Josef Fischer talking to CEO LudwigScharinger and Provost Werner Thanecker.

COO Manfred Neuböck (r.) explaining theproduction of nacelle components to visitors.

Alexander Puttinger, head of the supervisoryboard at FACC Florian Keiper-Knorr andLudwig Paischer and Markus Schütz

Robin Thevathasan of Singapore Technolo-gies Engineering and Prof. Günter Kappler

Curtis Reusser, Vice President & General Managerof Goodrich thanking the FACC team for their ex-cellent cooperation

E. Lichun and Cheng Yongman ofShenyang Aircraft Corporation

A new role for the autoclave: the stage forthe W4 Flying Dance Group.

Clay Lacy of Clay Lacy Aviation, Mike Dunlop,Präsident of QPM Aerospace and Joe Clark,Chairman & CEO of Aviation Partners Boeing

Nigel Wright, CEO of Onex and JamesUrso, Vice President from Spirit Aerosystems

Andy Marshall/Rolls-Royce, AleksandarVujisic/FACC, Thomas Pleli/ACT and JonathanWatson/Rolls-Royce

Governor Josef Pühringer (l.) and Upper AustrianSecretary of Commerce Victor Sigl (r.) arebeing introduced to the aircraft componentmanufacturing by CEO Walter Stephan.

High ranking guests from Austria and abroad flocked to the openingceremony of the new facility.


>> The program focused on new

material developments for nacelle

applications and new process tech-

nology aimed at reducing producti-

on costs. A main focal point dealt

with the activities in simulation de-

velopment for a diverse range of

tasks.

Clark Smith of Hexcel Composi-

tes reported about the so-called

acoustic cap technology, which si-

gnificantly improves the noise ab-

sorption of core materials and in the

future can deliver new design possi-

bilities according to acoustic

aspects for engine applications.

Carmelo Lofaro of Cytec Enginee-

red Materials presented new deve-

lopments in the resin area for high

temperature applications, new semi-

finished fiber products for the liquid

resin infusion process and materials

for the improvement of surface

properties of cowling components.

The talk by Ronny Wockatz of Toho

Tenax Europe revolved around the

current world-wide activities of the

different carbon fiber producers

aimed at avoiding bottlenecks in the

delivery of these high-tech fibers

that exist because of the massive

increase of the proportion of carbon

in current airplane developments.

Ulrich Krüger of the paint manu-

facturer PPG Aerospace focused on

a paint system that has been opti-

mized in its strippability. First me-

chanical results in microwave curing

of duroplastic aviation resin sys-

tems and related equipment were

presented by Maksim Podkorytovof the Deutsches Luft- und Raum-

fahrtzentrum (DLR), the German

aviation and aeronautics center.

Reports about the newest simu-

lation methods of assessing dama-

ged lamination structures and illu-

strating noise reduction of the air-

plane interior structures was pre-

sented by Heinz Pettermann of the

Institute for Lightweight Constructi-

on and Structure Mechanics at the

Technical University of Vienna and

by Randolf Arndt of the Acoustic

Competence center in Graz. Mat-thias Radny of Altair Engineering

TECHNICAL COLLOQUIUM“New developments for new aircraft requirements”

On June 21, 2007, FACC hosted the fourth FACC Technical Colloquium in Salzburg.The event was planned around the opening of the new Facility 4, and was called “Newdevelopments for new aircraft requirements”. We were able to book 10 internationalspeakers from our suppliers and research partners, and around 90 participants atten-ded from Austria as well as from abroad.

presented software packages that

can be applied to optimize the

weight of composite components.

The last part of the series of talks

dealt with methods of optimizing

components in both cost and static

performance. The speaker was Xa-vier Mencaglia of the Belgian re-

search institute Cenaero. The Insti-

tute for Industrial Manufacturing

and Factory Operation of the Uni-

versity of Stuttgart, represented by

Jörg Niemann, developed the me-

thod of “life cycle controlling”,

which makes it possible to make

use of findings in serial production

in the further development of com-

ponents, thereby saving costs in the

entire process chain.

The symposium was conducted

by the R&D department of FACC

AG. Elisabeth Ladstätter organized

the session, supported by Andreas

Lutz, Thomas Wettemann, Swen

Zaremba, Renate Fischer-Polat and

Simone Ott. <<

Left Image:

Chairman Prof. Klaus

Drechsler of the

University of Stuttgart

greets the many

participants.

Right Image:

Elisabeth Ladstätter,

R&D M&PE Director

thanked the chairman

and the speakers with

a small present.


QUALITY MANAGEMENT:Certification and Recertification Successfully Completed>> As a manufacturer of aircraft

components, FACC has to comply

with strict safety and quality stan-

dards. In order to be in the position

to supply aircraft components and

services, licenses and certifications

must be obtained from the aviation

authorities and accredited certifica-

tion organizations, which then su-

pervise and verify this process.

2007 began with a full schedule for

the certification and recertification

of FACC's quality management sy-

stem and the main manufacturing

and inspection processes in accor-

dance with the established interna-

tional standards.

In January and February 2007, the

“NADCAP” recertification audit

took place at FACC's facilities in

Ried and Ort, which led to the ex-

tension of our certification up to the

30th of April 2008. The NADCAP

certification for "Special Processes"

is contractually mandated by all our

customers and for FACC it currently

applies to the Composite Manufac-

turing Process and Non Destructive

Testing. The NADCAP certification

is typically valid for a year and re-

qualification is subject to a periodic

verification.

In April and May 2007, FACC rea-

ched another milestone with the re-

certification of its Quality Manage-

ment System in accordance with

the requirements of the EN 9100standard. All FACC sites in Ried,

Reichersberg, Wien, Bratislava (Slo-

vakia) and Montreal (Canada) are

operating under the same quality

management system and after the

successful audit (more than 10 days

of verification by aerospace experi-

enced examiners) they are now all

covered under one certificate. The

EN 9100 certificate for the Quality

Management System is recognized

worldwide by the aerospace indu-

stry and it is a must for any compa-

ny that wants to be part of the aero-

space industry. The certificate is va-

lid for three years subject to an an-

nual surveillance verification by an

independent “third party” supplier

oversight system.

After a successful audit in May 2007

by the Austrian civil aviation autho-

rity AustroControl, FACC achieved

an extension of its "Production Or-

ganisation Approval" (POA) in ac-

cordance with the requirements of

EASA PART 21, Section A, Sub-part G to also cover the new facility

(Plant 4) in Reichersberg. <<

Those responsible

for the certification

at FACC were Demetris

Demetri, Martin Eisner,

Gerhard Flachs, Sabine

Vöcklinger, and Thomas

Knechtl.

„WE LIKE TO DEAL WITH AMERICA“For FACC the USA is the Number One Export Country

>> In January a delegation of repre-

sentatives from FACC, our customer

Aviation Partners Boeing, and the

Upper Austrian government were

invited to a reception at the Hietzing

residence of the US ambassador

Susan R. McCaw (7thf.l.). The Ambas-

sador emphasized the excellent

cooperation between FACC and the

US company Aviation Partners Boeing

(APB), for whom the Upper Austrian

aviation supplier produces the Blended

Winglets for different Boeing 737 and

757 models as well as for the Boeing

Business Jet. In addition to APB,

FACC also supplies five further large

aviation manufacturers in the USA

with light composite components.

FACC´s export volume came to

77 million euros last year, 42% of the

business going to the USA, making

the US the company’s number one

export country. <<


AIRBUS AEROSTRUCTURES SUPPLIERS COUNCIL“Change the way we work together”

>> Airbus has named FACC, along

with eight other strategic suppliers,

as members in the Aerostructures

Suppliers Council, which was crea-

ted in January 2007 at its first mee-

ting. Working under the motto

“Change the way we work toget-

her”, Airbus follows the philosophy

in their Supplier Councils of invol-

ving suppliers in decisions and work

processes earlier and more intensi-

vely, thereby achieving more bene-

fits for all parties. The main goal for

Airbus is to reduce the costs in the

entire supplier base and to establish

an efficient network of tier 1 princi-

pal suppliers. The council offers Air-

bus and its suppliers the chance to

exchange ideas and opinions and

also to achieve tangible results

through projects of common inte-

rest. It should help to create a win-

win situation for all those involved

and guarantee a basis for long-

term, productive cooperation.

The Aerostructures Suppliers

Council deals with four subprojects:

the creation of a unified and fair

contractual framework; the deve-

lopment of an inter-corporate Low

Cost Sourcing Strategy; the optimi-

zing of Change Management regar-

ding cost-savings; and the harmoni-

zing and application of unified stan-

dards for processes for tooling, ma-

terials, and production within Air-

bus and the entire supplier chain.

Airbus is planning to implement

the results of the different subpro-

jects for the first time in the A350

XWB program. <<

Participating companies

that made the kick-off

meeting a success were

Airbus, Aernnova, Alenia

Aeronautica, EADS

Deutschland, FACC, GKN

Aerospace, Latecoere,

SAAB, Spirit Aerospace

and Stork Fokker.


>> The region is moving ahead force-

fully with the implementation of the

business program. 40 measures are

already in place, two are being pre-

pared and one is in the planning

stage. By the end of the year all 43

measures will have been implemen-

ted. Likewise, by the end of 2007,

more than half of the projected 2010

volume of 600 million euros will be

at work. Some of the measures so

far: the Upper Austrian Research

Fund, the technical college for

wood construction, Power Girls, Jo-

hannes Kepler University initiative,

an environment technology net-

work, Logistikum Steyr, broadband

internet project, expansion of the

Hagenberg software park, Austrian

Center of Competences in Mecha-

Upper Austria is THE business and innovation engine of Austria. “We also want to playthis leading role in Europe”, Viktor Sigl, the Upper Austrian Secretary of Commerce,said. Upper Austria has committed itself to a clear course for the future with its busi-ness program. “43 specific innovation measures, drawn up by 250 experts, are toboost Upper Austria`s position as a business and innovation location and make it intoone of the most innovative regions of Europe”, Sigl said. Upper Austria is banking on5 future-oriented areas: R&D, professional skills, networks and cooperation, impulsesfor the region as a business and technology venue and EU networking. Secretary ofCommerce Sigl continued: “R&D, innovation, and increased technology are the cor-nerstone of a modern future. Only those who research now will have modern future-oriented jobs tomorrow. WE are shaping the future!”

tronics, IKT bonus, and much more.

Research & Development

A model for success – the UpperAustrian Research Fund for FFGbasis programs. Since November

2005, 177 Upper Austrian compa-

nies have been given this additional

grant.

INNOVATIVE UPPER AUSTRIA 2010:From Research to Work. We are shaping the future.


MAIN POINTS OF THE 2007 PROGRAM>> Upper Austria is participating in the federal competency center program “COMET”.

After the first evaluation rounds, one C2 center and four C1 centers are still

under consideration.

>> An initiative on the university level to expand the technology and science department

at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz in cooperation with the federal government

and business.

>> The Upper Austrian research fund will be raised to € 3.3 million (+ 20%).

>> Social competency as a key qualification is being given special attention.

>> New, innovative cooperation is being promoted, for example in the health care sector

between small and mid-sized businesses and major companies in the health care

sector of Upper Austria.

>> The expansion of the network of Upper Austrian technology centers has been completed.

>> And, for the first time, Upper Austria is co-hosting the technology discussions at the

European Forum in Alpbach.

Another first: For the first time

Upper Austria is one of the hostsof the technology discussions atthe European Forum in Alpbachand can contribute actively to the

national and international discussi-

ons in the area of innovation. The

topic of the workshop is “Changes

in Industry”.

Professional qualifications

Upper Austria is the first region to

dedicate itself to “social compe-

tence” as a key qualification to

strengthen people’s social skills.

This involves all educational institu-

tions, from nursery schools to adult

further education.

Networks

In order to facilitate innovations in

the plastics sector, Upper Austria

created the Plastics Cluster in 1999,

thereby creating targeted ways of

enhancement within the framework

of cluster cooperation funding.

With more than 380 partner compa-

nies, including FACC, the Plastics

Cluster is Austria’s largest network

for plastics technology. It funds, in-

itiates and coordinates cooperation

between companies, as well as bet-

ween companies and technology

transfer institutions. The goal is the

bundling of potentials and compe-

tencies to increase the power of in-

novation and international competi-

tiveness of the partners. In 2007

Upper Austria will, for the first time,

also support the cooperation of

companies and research institutions

in numerous projects in networksconnecting the branches of hu-

man resources, design & media, en-

vironment technology and logistics.

Economic and technologylocation Upper Austria

The 21 technology centers in Up-

per Austria are innovation centers

that are home to around 500 com-

panies and 3,300 employees. The

showpiece is the Hagenberg Soft-

ware Park with 40 companies and 8

international research institutions.

The expansion of the network of

Upper Austrian technology centers

The “Innovative Upper Austria 2010” program is running full speed ahead. The Upper Austrian Secretary of Com-

merce Viktor Sigl (right), the Upper Austrian Technology Commissioner Günter Rübig (left) and TMG General Ma-

nager Gerlinde Pöchhacker


The actual status of realisation of the

“Innovative Upper Austira 2010” economic

programme

will be completed with the con-

struction of the technology center

Mondseeland. In the course of this

year, a long-term strategy for the tech-

nology centers will be worked out.

EU Networking

When discussing EU networking,

the CEE Cluster Network project

should be highlighted. At an inter-

national meeting in Brussels in au-

tumn, Upper Austria will sign a co-

operation agreement along with all

middle and Eastern European regi-

ons, for the joint development of the

cluster and innovation policy.

The business program “Innovati-

ve Upper Austria 2010” is running

like clockwork, with more than 90

percent of it already implemented.

With this program Upper Austria’s

leading position will be strengthe-

ned and expanded in key areas.

Those who will profit are Upper Au-

stria’s economy and industry, the

young generation, those returning

to work after raising children, those

in the work force who are going

through further training, and many

more. They will all profit not only

today, since the measures are so

constructed as to be effective on a

long-term basis. After all, today is

when one should start thinking

about tomorrow. That is why the pa-

rameters for the technology paths

to 2020 are being worked on at full

speed.

THREE QUESTIONS FOR ... Anton KnierzingerUpper Austrian commissioner for broadband technology

What are the goals of the broadband initiative? With the broadband initiative we want to make Upper Austria even

more attractive as a business and innovation venue and to make

everyday life easier for Upper Austrians, be it in the workplace or at

home. New communication technology has opened up unimaginable

possibilities. However, new communication technology requires new

means of transportation, i.e. the broadband Internet.

Where does the implementation of the broadband initiative standnow?We are right on target, or rather we have even excelled our goal. At

present we have a broadband availability of 99 %. This means almost

everyone can take advantage of the fast Internet.

Who profits?Everyone can profit from the broadband initiative, whether business-

man, teleworker, housewife or student. Take students, for example.

No matter where or when, students can research in libraries and uni-

versities the world over, as well as download and send large data to

which they otherwise would have no access.

Focusing on Research and Development: Upper Austrian Secretary of Commerce Viktor Sigl


SUPPLIER PERFORMANCE:FACC Assigns the “Excellent Supplier Award 2006”

>> These three companies perfor-

med extraordinarily well last year

and showed commitment in

meeting FACC's expectations re-

garding delivery and quality.

The main criteria for the nomina-

tion as the “FACC Excellent Sup-

plier 2006” are constantly high qua-

lity standards of the products as

well as adherence to delivery dates.

Additional factors are customer ser-

vice, flexibility, cooperation and the

readiness to implement cost-saving

and process-optimizing measures.

In cooperating with suppliers,

FACC AG strives for long-term part-

nerships and absolute reliability in

respect to quality and adherence to

delivery dates, which greatly contri-

butes towards high-quality pro-

Exceptional commitment and exemplary performance must be rewarded. ThereforeFACC has, for the first time, bestowed its best supplier with a supplier award.

ducts and as a result, satisfied cus-

tomers.

The “FACC Excellent Supplier”

award is a success that undoubted-

ly sheds positive light on the image

of the company receiving it and that

should motivate suppliers to conti-

nually improve upon their products,

processes and services, thereby

boosting the total success of the

firm. <<

FACC AG sees the “Excellent Supplier Award” as an important recognition of excel-

lent performance by a supplier. It will be awarded annually and in three categories,

gold, silver and bronze.

The following suppliers have received the award for 2006:

1. Gold: ASIAN COMPOSITES MANUFACTURING, located in Malaysia.

ACM was chosen by FACC as a supplier in 2003. ACM produces composite struc-

ture components for the wings of Boeing 777 and 767 aircraft.

2. Silver: CR SYSTEM COMPONENTS GMBH, located in Germany.

Core business: The production of turning workpieces, as well as punching, milling

and bending parts.

3. Bronze: EUROMOTIVE GMBH & CO KG, located in Austria.

Core business: The development and production of aluminium lightweight compo-

nents and systems made of profiles, as well as thixocasting, forging and casting parts.

f.l. Purchasing Manager

Rudolf Leitner with the

winners Rainer Lattuch

and Manfred Maier from

Euromotive (Bronze),

Martin Bögl taking over

the award for Asian

Composite Manufactu-

ring (Gold) and Michael

Rupp from CR System

Components (Silver).

Congratulations from

Quality Manager Deme-

tris Demetri and CEO

Walter Stephan.


Speed Personified:

NIKI LAUDA

>> Andreas Nikolaus Lauda, born in

1949 in Vienna, showed his enthusi-

asm for racing as a fifteen-year-old

when he drove around his parents’

property in an old VW convertible

over ramps he built himself. After

high school he was trained as a car

mechanic, convinced that his future

would revolve around cars and

planes.

His debut in the top class of ra-

cing, Formula 1, was at the Austrian

Grand Prix in 1971 in a March Ford.

In 1974 he landed his first profes-

sional contract for the Enzo Ferrari

team. One year later he won for Fer-

arri in the Formula 1 world cham-

pionship. In 1976 the legendary Fer-

rari driver had a dramatic accident

at the German Grand Prix at the

Nürburg Ring. His car caught fire

and he suffered severe burns in his

face, and it was clear to his fans and

his colleagues that his career was

over. But a month later Lauda got

back into the cockpit of a race car

and in 1977 won the Formula 1

world champion title for Ferrari

again. In 1984 he capped his racing

career with his third world cham-

pionship title as a driver in the

McLaren Porsche team.

Flying was always his passion,

and his second career started when

he founded Lauda Air. The company

was doomed to failure because of

the monopoly of the Austrian natio-

nal carrier, Austrian Airlines. “Niki

Nazionale”, as he was known in Au-

stria, wouldn’t give up, and took

over Aero Lloyd Austria, turning it

into the first Austrian low cost airline

under the name of “NIKI”.

It is said that the race driver and

airline founder, whose trademark is

his red cap, is the only Austrian be-

sides Mozart and Schwarzenegger

who is known all over the world. <<

Whether he is at the wheel of a F1-Boliden speedingaround the racetrack or at the helm of an airline reactingquickly to changes in the market, one thing is quite clear:Niki Lauda is successful in both sports and business.

F ISCHER ADVANCED COMPOSITE COMPONENTS AG

Our open house was a roaring success. FACC employees and their families were able to see for themselvesthe dimension, the functionality and the architecture of the new facility.

OPEN HOUSE

A-4910 Ried/Austria, Fischerstraße 9, P.O.Box 192

Tel. +43 / 59 / 616 -0, Fax +43/ 59 / 616 - 81000

e-mail: [email protected], www.facc.at

magazin "take off" - issue 20

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