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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Airshow profits West businesses | Airshow profits West businesses |
| (2 days later) | |
| Dave Harvey BBC West Business Correspondent | Dave Harvey BBC West Business Correspondent |
| The figures are staggering - 256 aircraft were ordered at the Farnborough International Airshow, worth a total of $40.5bn to the European plane maker Airbus. | The figures are staggering - 256 aircraft were ordered at the Farnborough International Airshow, worth a total of $40.5bn to the European plane maker Airbus. |
| Behind the headline figure lies an intricate web of suppliers who will spread this money to the corners of Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. | |
| Mr Hitchings traded business cards with more than 100 potential customers | Mr Hitchings traded business cards with more than 100 potential customers |
| One of those suppliers is Tom Hitchings, of Tods Aerospace in Somerset. | One of those suppliers is Tom Hitchings, of Tods Aerospace in Somerset. |
| "One hundred and fifty people working in Crewkerne, Somerset, making parts for Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier," Mr Hitchings explains to a potential customer. | "One hundred and fifty people working in Crewkerne, Somerset, making parts for Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier," Mr Hitchings explains to a potential customer. |
| "Almost every time you get on a plane you're walking on something we made." | "Almost every time you get on a plane you're walking on something we made." |
| He brandishes pieces of carbon fibre taken from a Cathay Pacific 777, and shows me a flap used on the new Airbus military transport plane, the A400M. | He brandishes pieces of carbon fibre taken from a Cathay Pacific 777, and shows me a flap used on the new Airbus military transport plane, the A400M. |
| He has been doing this all week and he has traded more than 100 business cards with potential buyers. | He has been doing this all week and he has traded more than 100 business cards with potential buyers. |
| Next door is a man holding a very shiny steel ball. It looks like chrome, but chrome is so 20th Century. | Next door is a man holding a very shiny steel ball. It looks like chrome, but chrome is so 20th Century. |
| "This is a new cobalt alloy we use which is longer lasting, cleaner and kinder on the environment than chrome", explains Phil Hillinger, sales manager for Deloro Stellite. | "This is a new cobalt alloy we use which is longer lasting, cleaner and kinder on the environment than chrome", explains Phil Hillinger, sales manager for Deloro Stellite. |
| "There are four of these bearings on the A380, and they're all covered in this unique finish. And we make it from scratch in Swindon." | "There are four of these bearings on the A380, and they're all covered in this unique finish. And we make it from scratch in Swindon." |
| Meeting these men makes me understand something new. | Meeting these men makes me understand something new. |
| Every time Airbus sell a plane, people in Swindon, Crewkerne and across the West Country punch the air. | Every time Airbus sell a plane, people in Swindon, Crewkerne and across the West Country punch the air. |
| Airbus sold 10 passenger jets to the Gulf airline Etihad | Airbus sold 10 passenger jets to the Gulf airline Etihad |
| These are tough times for industry. Oil is soaring, China and India are stealing work, the credit crunch is damping down spending - so who is buying all the planes? | These are tough times for industry. Oil is soaring, China and India are stealing work, the credit crunch is damping down spending - so who is buying all the planes? |
| Airbus sold 10 of the giant A380 passenger jets at Farnborough, to the Gulf airline Etihad. | Airbus sold 10 of the giant A380 passenger jets at Farnborough, to the Gulf airline Etihad. |
| Of the 256 orders, 155 went either to Etihad or another Gulf firm, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. As the price of oil soars, it pays to sell to Arabs. | Of the 256 orders, 155 went either to Etihad or another Gulf firm, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. As the price of oil soars, it pays to sell to Arabs. |
| The other big customers at Farnborough this year were Indian and Chinese airlines. | The other big customers at Farnborough this year were Indian and Chinese airlines. |
| The explosion of these two countries' economies is causing most British firms grief, but not Airbus. | The explosion of these two countries' economies is causing most British firms grief, but not Airbus. |
| "We can't sit here in Western Europe and say these countries shouldn't develop", insists John Leahy, Airbus' chief commercial officer. | "We can't sit here in Western Europe and say these countries shouldn't develop", insists John Leahy, Airbus' chief commercial officer. |
| "They're going to develop anyway, and over the next decade air travel will double." | "They're going to develop anyway, and over the next decade air travel will double." |
| So Airbus profits from the two factors giving UK Plc a headache at the moment: rising oil prices and 'ChIndia'. | So Airbus profits from the two factors giving UK Plc a headache at the moment: rising oil prices and 'ChIndia'. |
| And in a small industrial unit in Crewkerne, they will be raising a glass of Somerset Cider to that. | And in a small industrial unit in Crewkerne, they will be raising a glass of Somerset Cider to that. |
| "Whenever Airbus sells a plane, we all benefit," smiles Mr Tom Hitchings, "we don't mind who they sell them to." | "Whenever Airbus sells a plane, we all benefit," smiles Mr Tom Hitchings, "we don't mind who they sell them to." |