On 16th-17th January, Business Isle of Man (an executive agency of the Department for Enterprise) and the Isle of Man Aerospace Cluster (IOMAC) welcomed guests from England, Ireland and Wales for the first Joint Aerospace Cluster Summit at the recently refurbished Comis Hotel.
The event attracted over 80 delegates from aerospace clusters around the Irish Sea including the IOMAC, IOM Aircraft Registry, Emerald Aero Group, Shannon International Aviation Services Centre (IASC), Causeway Aero Group, Wales Aerospace Forum, and the North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA).
The event was opened by the Minister for Enterprise, Laurence Skelly MHK, with the Chief Minister, Howard Quayle MHK, Tim Crookall MLC, and Minister Graham Cregeen MHK also in attendance as well as representatives from Business Isle of Man, including Chair Stephen Bradley MBE.
Adrian Moore, Chair of the IOMAC and Head of Business Isle of Man commented:
‘The event was a great success and I am proud of the work that Business Isle of Man and the IOMAC have done to highlight our capabilities as both event organisers and serious players in the Aerospace industry. The speakers, venue, networking, cluster workshops, tours and all the little touches made our visitors’ experience a truly impressive demonstration of how professional the Isle of Man really is.
‘The feedback received from visitors has been hugely complimentary, helping to demonstrate that the Isle of Man has strength, depth and diversity within our Engineering & Manufacturing sector. There was much discussion and praise regarding the quality of our training facilities and the way the sector works with Government to deliver exemplary vocational training, as demonstrated by the multi million pound investment in the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre. This event may have laid the foundation for an Irish Sea ‘Super’ Cluster!’
The theme of the Summit was ‘Collaboration’, and was structured to allow maximum collaboration between individuals, companies and clusters through networking and workshops, designed to highlight how companies and clusters across the sector can better work together.
Guests were also given an opportunity to join site tours around the AMTC, and IOMAC members’ facilities including Swagelok, Manx Precision Optics, and West Atlantic.
Particular praise was given to Swagelok for their manufacturing and businesses processes as well as the condition of the factory. Dr David Bailey, Chairman of the NWAA, commented:
‘In my role within one of the largest regional trade associations I have been very fortunate to have visited manufacturing sites all over the world. I can genuinely say that Swagelok’s is one of the most impressive that I’ve seen. The workplace organisation, preventative maintenance, team boards, improvement plans, communications, and employee engagement were all excellent. ’
Members of the IOMAC are continually evaluating ways to improve and respond to change. Outside of the formal sessions there was much discussion between the Clusters with regard to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) skills and development. Ideas were shared on how to better-promote STEM in schools, and at other large public events on the Island. This has sparked collaboration between the Clusters going forward, which was the main objective for the summit.
Nov 29, 2023
Nov 28, 2023
Nov 23, 2023
Nov 15, 2023
Oct 26, 2023
Sep 25, 2023
Sep 15, 2023
Sep 6, 2023
Aug 18, 2023
Aug 10, 2023
Jul 24, 2023
Jul 14, 2023
Jul 6, 2023
Jul 6, 2023
Jun 29, 2023
Jun 14, 2023
Jun 8, 2023
May 22, 2023
May 15, 2023
Apr 4, 2023
Mar 8, 2023
Feb 9, 2023
Jan 4, 2023
Jan 3, 2023
Dec 22, 2022
Dec 2, 2022
Nov 22, 2022
Nov 22, 2022
Nov 21, 2022
Nov 4, 2022
Oct 27, 2022
Oct 5, 2022
Oct 5, 2022
Sep 30, 2022
Sep 29, 2022
Sep 29, 2022
Sep 29, 2022
Sep 27, 2022
Sep 27, 2022
Sep 26, 2022
Sep 26, 2022
Sep 26, 2022
Sep 26, 2022
Sep 26, 2022
Sep 26, 2022
Sep 26, 2022
Sep 23, 2022
Sep 8, 2022
Sep 8, 2022
Sep 5, 2022
Aug 26, 2022
Aug 26, 2022
Aug 26, 2022
Aug 24, 2022
Aug 23, 2022
Aug 19, 2022
Aug 17, 2022
Aug 6, 2022
Aug 5, 2022
Aug 2, 2022
Jul 28, 2022
Jul 26, 2022
Jul 26, 2022
Jul 21, 2022
Jul 19, 2022
Jul 19, 2022
Jul 11, 2022
Jun 28, 2022
Jun 13, 2022
May 23, 2022
May 18, 2022
May 13, 2022
May 11, 2022
May 10, 2022
May 9, 2022
Apr 27, 2022
Apr 1, 2022
Mar 17, 2022
Mar 17, 2022
Mar 8, 2022
Mar 1, 2022
Feb 22, 2022
Feb 7, 2022
Jan 28, 2022
Jan 14, 2022
Jan 12, 2022
Jan 5, 2022
Dec 6, 2021
Dec 6, 2021
Nov 25, 2021
Oct 26, 2021
Sep 17, 2021
Jul 23, 2021
Jul 22, 2021
Jul 22, 2021
Jul 19, 2021
Jul 6, 2021
Jun 30, 2021
Jun 25, 2021
Jun 24, 2021
Jun 10, 2021
Jun 7, 2021
Jun 1, 2021
May 24, 2021
May 22, 2021
May 13, 2021
May 13, 2021
May 6, 2021
Apr 23, 2021
Apr 20, 2021
Apr 16, 2021
Apr 12, 2021
Mar 31, 2021
Mar 22, 2021
Mar 9, 2021
Mar 8, 2021
Feb 10, 2021
Jan 27, 2021
Jan 21, 2021
Dec 8, 2020
Oct 20, 2020
Aug 14, 2020
Aug 10, 2020
Aug 6, 2020
Aug 6, 2020
Mar 27, 2020
Mar 17, 2020
Mar 16, 2020
Jan 31, 2020
Jan 20, 2020
Dec 17, 2019
Dec 6, 2019
Nov 22, 2019
Oct 11, 2019
Oct 9, 2019
Sep 17, 2019
Sep 9, 2019
Sep 5, 2019
Aug 7, 2019
Jun 14, 2019
Feb 27, 2019
Feb 21, 2019
Feb 20, 2019
Feb 6, 2019
Feb 5, 2019
Feb 4, 2019
Jan 31, 2019
Jan 9, 2019
Jan 2, 2019
Dec 28, 2018
Dec 21, 2018
Dec 21, 2018
Dec 21, 2018
Dec 13, 2018
Dec 10, 2018
Nov 29, 2018
Nov 15, 2018
Nov 13, 2018
Nov 5, 2018
Nov 5, 2018
Nov 5, 2018
Oct 24, 2018