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Supply Chain Opportunities in Automotive and Aerospace Sectors in Portugal

Oporto/Lisbon - 28th and 29th May 2014

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The UKTI Lisbon team invites you to join the British delegation that will be travelling to Portugal for the mission Supply Chain Opportunities in the Automotive and Aerospace Sectors: UK and Portugal. This initiative will be organised together with AFIA (Portuguese Association of Suppliers to the Automotive Industry) and PEMAS (the Portuguese Aerospace Industry Association), focusing on the Automotive and Aerospace sectors, the synergies between both areas within Advanced Engineering and the main opportunities for partnering presented by the industry for Portugal and the UK.

This will be an excellent opportunity for companies to meet potential partners and customers either by making new contacts or by re-connecting with previously established ones. Our team can assist you in making the most of this networking opportunity with a targeted approach to potential partners for the one-to-one meetings.

Programme

Tuesday, 27 May 2014

Arrival in Oporto Networking dinner with delegation

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Conference -New business opportunities in the Automotive and Aerospace sectors – UK and Portugal

09:00 Registration

09:30 Welcome - Renata Ramalhosa, Director UK Trade & Investment Portugal

09:45 Opportunities in Portugal and Areas of Industry Diversification, AFIA - Automotive Sector Association

10:00 The UK Automotive Strategy and the UK as Investment Destination, AIO – Automotive Investment Organization, Diana Marques, UKTI Investment Group

10:15 The Aerospace Sector and Synergies with the Automotive Industry, PEMAS Aerospace Sector Association

10:30 UK Aerospace Sector: Strengths and Opportunities, John Kell, UK Trade & Investment Technology Specialist

10:45 Increasing Productivity in Automotive and Aerospace Manufacturing – Case Study, Delcam UK - Norcam, Pedro Castro

11:00 Q&A

11:10 Coffee-break

11:30-13:30 One-to-one meetings between Portuguese and British companies

Site visit to Automotive supplier manufacturing company Evening - Free

Thursday 29 May 2014

Site visit to Aerospace manufacturing companies End of programme in Lisbon - Return to the UK

For further information on the mission programme and details on how to sign-up, please contact: zelia.henriques@mobile.ukti.gov.uk – the deadline to register your interest is 8 May.

Why Portugal?

The Aerospace Sector

The Portuguese aeronautic industry may be small in scale and relatively recent when compared with other countries, but with a strong industrial base in several areas - aircraft interior design, new and eco-efficient materials solutions, metallic construction and assembly, smart materials and embedded systems integration amongst others - with enormous potential that in the past few years demonstrated the necessary tenacity to thrive in the competitive aerospace market. Portugal is one of the world’s most advanced manufacturing centres for precision injection and blow moulding. 90% is exported, primarily to the automotive manufacturers and now diverting to Aerospace. The new factories of Embraer in Portugal are acting as a catalyst to develop skills and markets. The presence of larger players gives room to supply chain opportunities to be developed in Portugal, or using the country as a platform to other Portuguese speaking countries.

The Automotive Sector

The Automotive industry is a centre pillar of the Portuguese economy. It represents 177 companies and 5 car manufacturers, 4.3% of the GDP and 8.9% of exports, mobilizing a workforce of about 40,000 people. These exports represent 80.5% of the turnover of the companies in the sector. The UK is the 4th export destination, with 6.5% of the total. Main products are batteries, glass, interiors, tires, metal works, cables, electronics and plastic moulds – linked to the highly developed mould and tooling industry in the country. Portugal is home to one of the top 5 best Volkswagen plants around the world, manufacturing 100,000 cars per year. This factory alone delivers 2% of the total GDP. Portuguese technical skills in this field, the highly competitive set up and running costs, together with the country’s excellent logistic infrastructures have been a driving force in this sector. Portugal’s commitment in the development of a sustainable automotive sector goes beyond developing high quality vehicles and components, being a pioneer in the development and adoption of new energy models for sustainable mobility.

Published 2 May 2014