Airbus warms up to Japan suppliers for A350

European planemaker Airbus is eager to work with more Japanese suppliers as it pushes ahead with plans to outsource half of the future A350 jet, the managing director of its UK unit said on May 30.
Airbus said late last year it was talking to suppliers about producing half of the basic skeleton for the A350 outside the company, aiming to save 1.8 billion euros ($2.4 billion) and help it better compete with resurgent rival Boeing Co.
"Airbus is looking to increase the levels of work outsourced up to something to the order of 50 percent, and that presents opportunities," Iain Gray told Reuters in an interview, talking about work on the A350 which is due in 2013.
Gray said the outsourcing work could mean more business for carbon fibre makers such as Toho Tenax Co and Toray Industries Inc, which are the main suppliers of the lightweight material for the A340 and A380 aircraft.
The A350 is set to use far more carbon fibre composites in its wings and fuselage than previous Airbus planes.
"Japanese suppliers are already qualified suppliers to Airbus on the basic carbon fibre technologies. Toray is one of these companies, and Toray is obviously a potential candidate," said Gray, in Tokyo for the UK-Japan Aerospace Conference. Gray also said his company is interested in working with Japanese makers beyond carbon fibre technologies.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, ShinMaywa Industries Ltd and Sumitomo Precision Products Co Ltd are among the Japanese companies with which Airbus already works closely.
"Airbus UK is looking at a much broader relationship with the supply chain companies in Japan," Gray said. Airbus' strategy mirrors that of Boeing, which has outsourced most of the manufacturing of the 787 Dreamliner, its new model due in 2008.
The move is part of a rethink of the way Airbus builds commercial jets in the face of cost overruns and delivery deals to its larger A380 jumbo. Problems with the A380 have hit profits at Airbus parent and European aerospace group EADS.
Airbus said earlier in the year that it would cut 10,000 jobs and sell all or part of six factories as part of a restructuring drive.