Northern Ireland bridges EU and GB at FIA 2024
Amongst the various regional representatives at the Farnborough International Airshow this year is Northern Ireland, with almost a dozen companies across the aerospace industry, including precision engineering, universities, and cyber companies.
“Northern Ireland’s aviation and aerospace heritage goes back almost a century,” said Kieran Donoghue, CEO of Invest Northern Ireland, a public agency responsible for attracting investments, helping local entrepreneurs establish and scale business, and finding export markets overseas. They also provide grant funding and equity and loan instruments to help client with new business.
Clients look favourably on Northern Irish aerospace services, explained Donoghue, highlighting their ability to understand of customer needs, commit to engineering excellence, and excel in design, research and development, and precision engineering.
Northern Ireland also occupies a unique, advantageous position compared to the rest of the UK, said John Robb, Invest Northern Ireland Client Manager, Aerospace. “We’re fortunate in that we can trade freely between the EU and GB without any tariffs, seamless access, and for manufacturers, particularly in aerospace and defence, that’s a huge advantage.”
