Manitoba Aerospace Week

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017 3 CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE JUNE 5-9,2017 KF Aerospace was started by Barry Lapointe in 1970. Forty-seven years later the company provides a wide range of aviation services to corporate, commercial and military customers worldwide. Today KF Aerospace has over 800 employees. KF Aero operates a fleet of cargo aircraft and offers cargo services that can be tailored to fit any customer need. We are an experienced MRO with over 250,000 square feet of hangar space and a full service AMO with over 25 years of engineering design and certification experience. Beginning in 2005, KF Aerospace Defense Programs has been running the Contracted Flying Training and Support (CFTS) program as the Prime Contractor for the RCAF. KF Aero established a turnkey operation at the Southport Airport in Manitoba with new facilities, training devices and courseware to satisfy pilot training requirements of the RCAF. KF Aero operates four fleets of aircraft: the Grob 120A for Primary and Basic pilot training, the C-90B King Air for Advanced Multi-Engine training and the B206 Jet Ranger and B412 CF Outlaw to support Advanced Helicopter Wings training. KF Aerospace is a true Full Training Service Provider for the RCAF. We also run the airfield, provide ATC services, and provide all aircraft maintenance as well as feeding and housing the student pilots. www.KFAero.ca Manitoba's aerospace industry represents the best of our province: innovative, outward- looking and competitive. And that's not just local pride talking. From its earliest days as a repair centre for bush planes to today's thriving and innovative industry, aerospace has helped to shape Manitoba's history, drive our economy and attract new investment. Today, our province boasts a significant aerospace industry. We have world- class capabilities in engine testing and certification, composite manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul. Manitoba aerospace employs highly skilled workers, in well-paying jobs — jobs that our young people can train for, and practice, without ever having to leave our province. For the past 25 years, the Manitoba Aerospace Association has led the way in supporting and promoting the industry, through its business development activities and human resources initiatives. The Association's Aerospace and Aviation in Manitoba Day, for example, attracts hundreds of Grade 6 students who learn about rocketry, the fundamentals of flight and career opportunities in aerospace. This initiative spurs the imagination of today's youth and lays the groundwork for tomorrow's aerospace workers. My congratulations to the Association for its quarter century of service. At the heart of the Manitoba aerospace industry is innovation. That's what has driven its growth for almost a century, enabling it to provide world-class products to customers on six continents. Our government understands the importance of innovation. Budget 2017 announced a new Strategic Innovation Fund aimed at streamlining a number of existing programs, including the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative. Our aim is make it simpler for businesses to apply for funding, to process those applications more quickly and provide assistance that is more responsive. The future of aerospace is bright. Aging fleets, an emerging class of new travellers from developing nations, and the ongoing imperative for innovation, all point to increased demand and new opportunities. Nowhere are those opportunities greater than here in Manitoba. I wish you the very best for a successful Manitoba Aerospace Week. Sincerely, Jim Carr Canada's Minister of Natural Resources HONOURABLE JIM CARR, CANADA'S MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES GREETINGS I f you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. As Manitoba Aerospace Inc. celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2017, that old African proverb rings true. While the industry has deep historical roots in our province, with a wealth of impressive individual achievements, its strength is in community. Established in April 1992, the Manitoba Aerospace Association (MAA) and Manitoba Aerospace Human Resources Council (MAHRC) have, over time, developed collaborative partnerships with suppliers, educators, governments and community organizations that have helped the industry grow. The organizations merged in 2016, but they've worked hand-in-hand from the start. While MAA focused on business development, MAHRC, founded as the Manitoba Aerospace Human Resources Coordinating Committee, got off the ground when Bob Knight, now retired from the Government of Manitoba, and Bruce Clarke, retired Vice-President of Human Resources at StandardAero, developed the idea of creating a sector council to support the training needs of the industry, which directly employs 5,300 Manitobans today. Under four successive executive directors — Johanna Faulk, D'Arcy Phillips, Vic Gerden and Wendell Wiebe — MAHRC established fruitful relationships with Tec Voc High School, Red River College (RRC), the University of Winnipeg, University of Manitoba (U of M), the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development (CAHRD) and many other organizations. With funding from the federal and provincial governments and MAA members, MAHRC's first priorities were to assist the industry in up-skilling the workforce, and to establish permanent educational pathways to help people gain specific skills for jobs in the aerospace sector. Phillips, who served as executive director from 1995 to 2009, says a key development involved a shift of primary focus from research to training at the U of M Faculty of Engineering. His idea was to develop the Manitoba Aerospace Engineering Liaison Group (MAELG), made up of MAHRC, StandardAero, Bristol (now Magellan Aerospace) and Boeing. Each partner contributed funding to have an Engineer-in- Residence (EIR) to provide practical input from industry on campus. Mel Symonds, who had recently retired from Magellan Aerospace, was the first EIR and was involved in creating the U of M student chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers International (UMSAE), comprised of four teams of students, including an Aero Design team, who compete in international competitions each year. The UMSAE's success and reputation is such that companies also compete to hire graduates each year. "Boeing, Magellan and StandardAero … they all have branches elsewhere in Canada and in the United States, and all those corporations want grads from the U of M because they know how good they are," Phillips says. Over the years, partnerships were established with organizations such as Women in Science & Engineering (WISE), and Career Trek, which introduces elementary school students to a variety of careers and helps them create an educational roadmap for achieving their goals. Phillips also supported MAHRC Manager of Special Programs Barb Bowen's idea to establish Aerospace & Aviation in Manitoba (AAiM) Day. Each year, the program brings more than 700 Grade 6 students to Red River College - Stevenson Campus, where they participate in hands-on activities that introduce them to exciting careers and the educational pathways into aerospace and aviation. When Bruce Clarke suggested there should be deeper engagement with the Indigenous community, because the industry should reflect the population where it's based, Phillips engaged with CAHRD as a key educational partner. This partnership grew to include the establishment of the Aboriginal Aerospace Initiative, which formalized aerospace training programs at CAHRD's Neeginan College, establishing another source of skilled, entry level workers for the sector. MAHRC enhanced its partnership with Tec Voc High School by collaborating with the Canadian Aviation Maintenance Council to establish the Aerospace and Aviation Maintenance Orientation Program, a 10-month program in which high school graduates learn the basic skills that can lead to an exciting career in the aerospace industry. A similar program was subsequently created for Grades 10 to 12. MAA also had four successive executive directors — Don Price, Ken Carr, Vic Gerden and Ken Webb — who have chalked up a series of accomplishments. Key milestones include the development of a successful Supplier Development initiative. Boeing worked with Cormer Group Industries, which became one of Boeing's local suppliers. Magellan Aerospace followed suit by working with K&F Tool & Die to develop their own local supplier, and the program has seen significant expansion over the years, based on international standards of excellence for global aerospace suppliers. MAA and MAHRC worked together to develop the Manitoba Competitive Edge Supplier Development program, one of only two aerospace supplier development programs in Canada, which helps small- and medium-size businesses (SMBs) benefit from major contracts associated with the federal government's Defence Procurement Strategy. A series of workshops has helped SMBs to better understand the current procurement process and the associated Industrial & Technological Benefits program. Manitoba Aerospace will be hosting a Business to Business (B2B) event during the 2017 Aerospace Week (June 5-9). MAA's second executive director, former Canadian Snowbirds pilot Ken Carr, helped to establish the Western Canadian Aerospace Alliance. In 1999, MAA mounted the first Western Canadian Aerospace Conference, and Manitoba hosted three more successful conferences, in 2005, 2009 and 2013. In 2001, MAA and MAHRC established the All-Star Awards of Excellence. The annual event includes a gala dinner that raises funds for the Manitoba Aerospace Student Endowment Fund. The Manitoba Aerospace Golf Tournament, which was started in 2010 and is held each September, contributes all proceeds to the endowment fund. Scholarship endowments have been established at the U of M, RRC, and at the Winnipeg Foundation for awards to students from Tec Voc High School and Neeginan College. This past year, the fund reached $250,000. In 2013, industry and educational partners developed the Manitoba Aerospace Technology Roadmap to identify and prioritize technologies of high interest to the economic future of the Manitoba aerospace industry. The initiative led to the establishment of the Manitoba Aerospace Research and Technology Committee (MARTC). In addition to the efforts of Manitoba Aerospace leaders and their employees, board members and the Aerospace Marketing and Communications Committee have made significant contributions. Other aerospace associations exist across Canada, but Manitoba's association continues to be the most robust thanks to the support of both levels of governments and the local industry. We are stronger together and we can just imagine where the next generation of leaders will take Manitoba Aerospace. The sky is the limit! ❚ THE MANITOBA WAY GROWTH OF AN INDUSTRY IF YOU WANT TO GO FAST, GO ALONE. IF YOU WANT TO GO FAR, GO TOGETHER.

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