Celestica engineers perform material analysis in their Toronto quality and reliability laboratory.
When Boeing's 787 Dreamliner entered commercial service with All Nippon Airways in 2011, a new chapter in air travel was opened. As the world's first e-enabled commercial aircraft, Boeing says the 787 combines the power of integrated information and communications systems to drive operational efficiency, enhance revenue and streamline maintenance.
Electronics (the "e" in e-enabled) is now transforming air travel around the world and providing opportunities as well as challenges for Canadian aerospace companies.
Michael McGuire, vice president, aerospace and defense at Toronto-based Celestica, says the electronification of the aerospace industry, driven by the increasing need for aircraft connectivity, has significant supply chain implications.
"It changes who your competitors are and who your supply base is," he says. "And that in turn changes what you can expect to create."
For example, electronics facilitates predictive maintenance and allows airlines to order spare parts they know they will need down the road, and that helps manufacturers ensure that they have the parts in stock.
"We are seeing with the 787, the Airbus A380 and other e-enabled aircraft that the efficiencies are significantly better than what was expected," adds Mr. McGuire.
Brad Jackson, Celestica's vice president, strategic business development, says when electronic systems are integrated into mission-critical applications such as the aircraft, quality and reliability are essential. If the electronics in your mobile device fails, it's an inconvenience, but if the electronic systems in the aircraft fail, it would be catastrophic.
"That's what Celestica technology innovation is focused on," he says. "We are leveraging our 20-year heritage in high-reliability electronics to support customers in markets where high-reliability applications are critical, like aerospace and defence."
However, while technology innovation is important, the real challenge is market definition and the ability to transform innovation into commercial relevance, adds Mr. Jackson.
"It's one thing to have a track record of innovation, but continuing to innovate and commercialize new products is the key," he says.
However, Canada has too few companies that are competing on the global stage, and that's a problem that must be addressed through increased collaboration among organizations with relevant skills and expertise, adds Mr. Jackson.
"The complexities and challenges are too great for any one company to deal with alone," he says. "In order to remain competitive, they need to adopt a very open posture and think about how they are going to develop a role for themselves in the technology ecosystems of the future."
Mr. Jackson points out that this approach is in line with the global trend away from the traditional closed model for innovation where an original equipment manufacturer or subcontractor would leverage their vertical supply chain to innovate, to a more open model where firms co-operate because they can't do it all themselves.
"Celestica has embraced this through a business-led private-public partnership that's leveraging consortiums, academia and industry partners to co-invest, share the risk and develop new solutions for the market," he adds. "This includes incorporating advances in material science, optics/photonics and renewable energy into solutions and processes that are helping to advance e-enabled technology."
This type of approach has positioned the company to help customers and other aerospace companies understand how they can tap into the global marketplace and capitalize on some of the trends transforming the aerospace industry, says Mr. McGuire.
"That's where Celestica really excels," he adds. "We're able to help our customers change and modify their supply chain to address the new realities of the world. We have become a facilitator to help them grow and become increasingly competitive in their marketplace."
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