By Ann Roosevelt
Australia’s The Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) March 11 announced the signing of a revised Australian Industry Capability (AIC) Deed with Boeing [BA] USA.
The original agreement identified opportunities for Australian industry within Boeing’s global and tier supply chains.
“The revised AIC Deed does not change the present arrangements but establishes a head of agreement which enables other Australian Defence Force (ADF) projects with Boeing to extend and build on the AIC Office initiative,” Kerry Clarke, DMO’s Head of Industry Division, said.
“In addition, the AIC Deed provides selected training and mentoring to Australian companies to enable them to be more globally competitive,” Clarke said.
“Boeing was greatly honored to have been chosen to demonstrate the viability of this new approach to industry engagement, which is based upon trust and performance rather than the terms of contractual obligations,” Ian Thomas, president, Boeing Australia & South Pacific, told Defense Daily in a statement.
“Our success with the OAIC is prompting the commonwealth to begin discussions with other defence products providers about their willingness and commitment to undertake similar initiatives.”
Boeing has successfully implemented industrial participation programs totaling more than $29 billion in more than 35 countries over the past 30 years, the company said.
Clarke said the original deed, established and trialed with Boeing in October 2007, supported mainly small-to-medium enterprises in Australia that might otherwise find it difficult to approach such a large overseas company on their own.
The AIC Office is located primarily in Seattle, Wash., and identifies bid opportunities for Australian aerospace companies within Boeing’s major commercial and defense programs and with its key supplier partners.
“The Office has successfully facilitated a number of training activities for Australian companies, including titanium machining and management training and has led focused site visits to Boeing companies in the U.S. for a select group from Australian Defence industries, Clarke said. “A number of contracts for Australian industry have resulted as an outcome of these activities.”
With the deed, Boeing is seeking to display its strong commitment to Australia by becoming the first United States prime contractor to actively open up access to its global supply chain for Australian suppliers who have the required capability, capacity, standards and value for money.