Northwest Aerospace News February | March Issue No. 13 | Page 73

INCREASING SYNERGY IN
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
AEROSPACE CLUSTER
No matter what cluster study you review, the Pacific
Northwest Aerospace Cluster is shown globally as the
favorable leader, with a history of over 100 years and the
distinction of being The Boeing Company’s historic home.
Several thousand aerospace companies, touching every
facet of aerospace manufacturing and support service,
call the Pacific Northwest home. Globally, an increasing
number of aerospace companies combined with the
global expansion of aerospace manufacturing has seen an
increase in the number of aerospace manufacturing cluster
nodes. Last year, PNAA asked, “How can we achieve our
mission to help the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Cluster
remain competitive, especially amidst the draw of lower
labor-cost markets?”
To analyze, we first reviewed our assets. The Pacific
Northwest has its people and their multi-generation
knowledge base. This institutionalized knowledge and
experience in aerospace engineering and manufacturing
has created a robust talent pool and a solid baseline for
over 100,000 local employees working in the industry.
However, with the continued increase in production and
a portion of the demographic entering retirement, the
industry is looking for the next generational wave to enter
the workforce to continue supporting our great aerospace
heritage.
The constant flow of work to different manufacturing tiers
is another of our region’s strong assets. As Boeing has
grown, an entire array of suppliers has emerged to support
and fuel the growth of the OEM and Tier 1 companies.
Through technological advancements and increased
air travel over the decades, the demand for aircraft has
increased too. This has advanced the growth of the local
supply base, creating a hallmark regional industry with an
incredible legacy. Although the industry has experienced
some variability through the years, in general, the
manufacturing demand has provided ongoing revenue.
Over the past couple of decades, we have witnessed the
shift in globalization, with decentralization and resource
re-alignment occurring locally and globally. Although the
historical clusters in Seattle, Toulouse and Hamburg remain
household names, we have seen other manufacturing
bases form and grow in different places throughout the
country and worldwide. Upcoming clusters are eager to
establish their positions on the aerospace manufacturing
global stage. With the number of cluster nodes in our
region steadily increasing, it became clear that it was time
PNAA ADVANCE / 2020
to help the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Cluster leverage
its incredible strength by supporting the unity of the base
that enhances our global competitiveness.
With the goal of bringing key stakeholder organizations
together to set the foundation of cooperation, PNAA
recently hosted the first “Convening of the Cluster.”
The intent was to build a common thread between the
organizations across the Pacific Northwest Aerospace
Cluster to help build a tight-knit relationship between
them, strengthening the competitive advantage of the
region. This network of partnered organizations provides
the economic and collaborative foundation for advancing
aerospace manufacturing throughout the Pacific Northwest
now and into the future.
Since that first convening, we’ve held two additional
meetings and plan for quarterly meetings in 2020. With
leaders coming together from organizations that serve
not only the manufacturing base but also education,
workforce, government and a host of other areas, we
addressed common goals: creating communication
for messaging between organizations and companies;
prioritizing challenges; and partnering and working
together for the common benefit of strategic advantage.
As we look into the future, we expect great things to
come out of Convening of the Cluster. With increased
collaboration, we look forward to an increased level of
trust between manufacturing and organizations, enhanced
collaboration, sharing Best Practices and mutual support
for each other’s events. The “Convening” marks the
beginning of a new level of cooperation and development
in the region, strengthening the Pacific Northwest
Aerospace Cluster like never before and positioning it to
remain the global leader in aerospace manufacturing.
FEBRUARY 2020 | MARCH 2020 ISSUE NO. 13
FEBRUARY | MARCH 2020 ISSUE NO. 13
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