The UK Aerospace industry is the world’s second largest with a turnover of £18.6 billion, with Northwest Aerospace companies contributing nearly £7 billion per annum and accounting for a third of the UK’s turnover in this sector. All the UK’s main aerospace companies have a strong presence in the region, with an estimated 940 companies being associated with the industry and employing about 48,000 people.

The Northwest Aerospace cluster is located around the central Lancashire industrial belt, where both the BAE SYSTEMS and Rolls-Royce facilities can be found, along with aerospace suppliers. In addition, there is an important cluster of Aerospace suppliers in the Manchester area.

The relationships of the Aerospace cluster extend into a range of engineering sectors (automotive, heavy, power generation, electrical/electronic), and to the chemical and petrochemical industries. Another link is to the pharmaceutical industries. The sharing of Aerospace innovation through these links accentuates the importance of this sector in the region.

Primary strengths are in airframe systems design/manufacture and in the design and manufacture of jet engines. The region has a strong science and research base across most of the key capabilities required to support the airframe design/ aerostructure business. All Northwest Universities have an RAE rating of 4 or above. The North West Universities Association have identified over 100 academic staff, each with associated research staff, whose expertise is appropriate to the Aerospace sector ( Capability Matrix).

The Northwest Aerospace Alliance is a cluster organisation of Northwest aerospace companies. It is committed to helping its members create and maintain a world class aerospace supply chain in the region.