Aéro Montréal awards MACH 5 performance label to ATEP

 

Montréal, Canada – Aéro Montréal, Québec's aerospace cluster awarded Alcoa Titanium & Engineered Products, Laval, with the MACH 5 performance label, the first company to qualify at this level. This is the highest level on a scale from 1 to 5 that a supplier can achieve under the MACH Initiative. This program aims to optimize the performance of the Québec aerospace supply chain to increase its competitiveness internationally.

 

The MACH Initiative in Québec currently has 47 suppliers, sponsored by nearly 30 different companies, leaders in their field. This program embodies the dynamism of Québec's supply chain in its commitment to achieve excellence and of its companies to consolidate their position as world-class suppliers.

 

The success of this program is based on excellence, especially in terms of operational, leadership and governance excellence, but also in planning and workforce development.

 

"This wonderful achievement of Alcoa Titanium & Engineered Products demonstrates its determination to accelerate its growth and increase its competitiveness, which also benefits the Québec economy," said Jacques Daoust, minister of the economy, innovation, and exports. "Our government is proud to partner with the MACH Initiative, which is helping to consolidate the strong position of Québec's aerospace industry on the world stage."

 

"The industry must be proactive in innovation in order to remain among the world leaders," says Suzanne M. Benoît, president of Aéro Montréal. "We are now heading towards a new industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, whose goal is the adoption of a new business model focused on adaptability in production and in the allocation of resources in order to achieve a better performance. Today, we speak of intelligent plants where automated production and use of the Internet are an integral part of development. The MACH Initiative is a program that lays the enabling foundation for undertaking this transformation towards Industry 4.0."

 

"Our participation in the MACH Initiative helped to accelerate our development and the improvement of our management system," notes Christian Sauvé, vice president and general manager, engineered products, Alcoa Titanium & Engineered Products. "We have better managed our rapid growth and offered superior performance to our customers. We are now more present, better equipped, and more competitive in world markets."

 

"The MACH Initiative allows participating companies to benefit from a significant international visibility," adds Benoît. "The program, for example, has been adopted in Belgium and received visibility in the countries of Asia-Pacific at the recent APEC Forum."

 

The MACH Initiative has enabled many Québec aerospace suppliers of all sizes to grow and reach levels that make them suppliers of choice for Tier 1 integrators and equipment manufacturers. The program is now expected to evolve to enable its companies to continue their growth.

 

Stemming from the work by Aéro Montréal's Supply Chain Working Group, the MACH Initiative is designed to optimize the performance of Québec's aerospace supply chain and increase its global competitiveness. It is the result of joint discussions among members of the cluster and intends to be a unifying process to support the long-term strategic growth of the sector.

 

To achieve its objectives, the MACH Initiative aims to strengthen the supply chain structure and companies involved in it by creating special collaboration links among customers and suppliers. It also promotes the implementation of strategies and projects which will help fill in existing integration gaps of the Québec aerospace supply chain. By doing so, it aspires to help develop a world-class supply chain.