Global aerospace group FACC has presented its annual Excellent Supplier Awards to companies including Howmet Fastening Systems (pictured above), Tata Advanced Systems and Vaupell.

Commenting on the occasion, FACC CEO Robert Machtlinger said: “Supplying our customers worldwide with high-tech products and services is a key factor contributing to our success. A strong supply chain and intensive exchange with our suppliers lay the groundwork for this and thus have priority, more so than ever in the currently challenging environment.

“Consistently high quality is, therefore, not a matter of course, but the result of extraordinary dedication. It is a great pleasure to honour and shine the spotlight on our top suppliers with these awards and to say ‘thank you’ for their excellent and high-quality cooperation.”

Top performances in three categories

As the best supplier of 2020, Howmet Fastening Systems was distinguished with the FACC Excellent Supplier Award in gold. The company is part of American aerospace group Howmet Aerospace and offers a wide range of fastening solutions for the aerospace industry. Thanks to its know-how and highest quality and delivery standards, Howmet Fastening Systems is an important partner at FACC’s side and so was able to take first place.

The silver award went to Tata Advanced Systems. A subsidiary of Indian industrial group Tata Sons, it is an important international supplier of radar and control systems and contributes its know-how to ensuring greater safety and efficiency in the airspace.

The FACC Excellent Supplier Award in bronze went to Vaupell China and Vaupell Europe. Vaupell offers first-class technical component solutions in the field of injection molding for international aerospace companies and impressed FACC with its outstanding delivery and quality performance.

“In cooperation with our award-winning partners, we are able to offer our end customers lightweight products of the highest quality and perfection, but also at competitive conditions. We intend to further expand these strong supplier relationships and thus equip ourselves for future challenges”, noted FACC’s executive vice-president of procurement Rudolf Leitner.

Just like last year, the award ceremony was not able to take place at FACC’s premises as a result of the corona pandemic and the awardees were informed in writing.

FACC says that factors such as environmental protection and sustainability, customer service, flexibility, cooperation and the willingness to define, accept and implement cost-reducing and process-optimising measures are all taken into account when selecting the winners.

In May, FACC announced that US low-cost airline JetBlue had taken delivery of its first A321LR aircraft with the FACC-designed Airspace cabin installed. The cabin elements developed by FACC for the new Airspace cabin of the A320 Airbus family, which are now in series production, are said to offer “state-of-the-art design, maximum comfort and innovative technologies”.