FAC gets ready for tomorrow’s annual conference on all things space, defence and civil aerospace

Farnborough Aerospace Consortium holds its annual conference tomorrow, Thursday 28th September, with plenty of industry heavyweights lined up as guest speakers.

Titled ‘Space, defence and civil aerospace – opportunities, competitiveness and growth’, the conference is being held at the Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, Surrey.

Among the speakers for the day is Sir Michael Ryan CBE, Vice President and General Manager of Belfast-based Spirit AeroSystems, as well as Industry Chair of the Aerospace Growth Partnership.

He’ll be joined by Jon Hulks, Space Ecosystem Development Manager at UK Space Agency; Neil McManus, MD of Marshall Aerospace; and Sue Elliott, Senior Manager of British Business Bank’s UK Network, who will deliver the keynote speech.

The event will also involve Q&A sessions and networking opportunities.

Alan Fisher, CEO of FAC, said: “We decided this year to push the boundaries a bit further to include space travel and exploration.

“It’s a growing area in our region and many businesses are working in it and in its supply chain.

“Over the years our annual conference has led to a lot of business being done and our region remains the heartbeat of the country’s aerospace sector.

“But to ensure the region and the country remain world leaders, we must keep pushing the boundaries.

“Previously we’ve focused on net zero and clean fuels and huge progress is being made in those areas.

“At this conference we’re also looking at opportunities, competitiveness and growth.

“While the sector often gets criticised, it brings in vast sums to the UK economy, and its innovations and breakthroughs assist other industries and sectors.

“We look forward to welcoming our delegates and the information can be found on our website.”

• fac.org.uk