What is left of the Dutch aviation industry?

With the bankruptcy of Fokker, twenty years ago, it was feared that any specialist knowledge would be lost. That has not happened. Netherlands can not quite build aircraft, but the knowledge of aircraft on specific areas up to date.

For Fokker went bankrupt on March 15, 1996 - Twenty years ago this week - worked nearly eight thousand people. In the same summer the healthy parts of the plant were sold by 2,400 employees to Stork.

These companies, Fokker Aerostructures in Papendrecht, Elmo in Woensdrecht, Services in Hoofddorp and Woensdrecht and Landing Gear in Helmond, came last year under the name Fokker Technologies contact the British GKN. It employs more than 5,000 people, along with others from Fokker companies emerged almost as much as in the aircraft in the last period.

According to Henk de Groot, former Fokker engineer who started his own business ADSE after the bankruptcy of the aircraft, many parts of the aviation cluster remained. "If you looks at a period of twenty years, it's not bad."

Aviation Faculty flourishes
Leader is TU Delft. De Groot said that aviation faculty has never been as prosperous as it is today. "That's because the University provides integrated training in various disciplines. Graduates work around the world, the aviation centers like Toulouse and Seattle, but also for Shell." The HBO programs in aviation are also doing well.

The knowledge of Fokker Netherlands made in many Terrains large. A good example is the development of 'glare' by Fokker Aerostructures, an aluminum-fiberglass laminate using the adhesive technique Fokker was developed in 1993 by TU Delft. The material is strong in relation to its weight.

Industrial policy
The Dutch aviation industry shows that yields a key industry new businesses and jobs. Josef Molkenboer was the last official of the Ministry of Economic Affairs to "industrial policy" mourned and subsidies advocated for long-term investments.

Read the whole article at: http://www.parool.nl/binnenland/wat-is-er-over-van-de-nederlandse-luchtvaartindustrie~a4265612/

http://www.parool.nl/ by: TON DAMEN Photo: Reuters