If Boeing wants to establish itself and sell more planes in Europe and sell more of its products, it would be advised to use green compatible ideas in manufacturing aerospace technology. It is a fact that the Airbus industry buys a lot of landing gear, engines, electronics, interior parts from the US But there are also disadvantages. The long distance to the US from Europe is a problem for development engineers, and it is more convenient to work with other Europeans from the European Union to produce products and develop common strategies. In the case of Piatti and Dolder we have an Italian-Dutch team working in Germany with German precision workers, or Fachleaute as we say in Germany.
Samuel Piatti and Erik van den Dolder are partners at General Aerospace based in Eschbach, in southwestern Germany.
Piatti gathered his experience working with an American company in Verese (Italy) as a sales manager. The private owner of the American company founded a new company. Mr Piatti, who wears thin glasses with gray on the sides of his proud Roman head and drives a black BMW, said: ‘I was offered the opportunity to sell American aeronautical products. “However, there was a dispute between the two companies and as a result one of them decided to sell it back to the other.”
The American holding company offered Piatti to come to work in Bad Bellingen in Germany as a sales marketing executive for the whole of Europe, as they wanted to develop the aircraft market in Europe. He said: ‘They asked me to help them expand into the European aviation market.’
Erik van den Dolder, a blond with a sunken forehead who likes to attend Airbus meetings on his Harley Davidson, and who speaks English and German with a soft Dutch accent, said he was working with Samuel at the same American firm and that both were unhappy. about American products because they were old, not innovative, even though there was a large European market waiting to be conquered.
The attitude of the US firm seemed to be: what is good for the US is also good for Europe. Which is not at all. Europe is more technically advanced, looking for customized solutions, manufacturing sophisticated products for its passengers and looking for new ideas. Says Piatti, ‘As an example, when you go to Boeing, they always sell the same products. In Europe people ask for environmentally friendly planes. The US chemical industry still uses cadmium-coated steel, which is known to be hazardous to the environment.’
In this context, perhaps Boeing would do well to look for environmentally friendly solutions like its competition in Europe.
Take the Airbus A 380 with its four engines, with two elevators on board, for example, it is a new and sophisticated product. Boing also came up with their Dreamliner, which has two engines. Meanwhile, Airbus has developed another aircraft, which is a smaller version of Airbus to compete with Boeing’s Dreamliner. The competition continues.
The Italian-Dutch duo took over where the American aeronautical firm stopped developing its markets with new ideas. General Aerospace wants to “cross the line into the future” and has been delivering parts to: Pilatus (Switzerland), Airbus, Diamond (Canada) and their strength is in commercial aviation, space and defense. Armed with an Airbus quality approval called EN9100, it produces the landing gear, electro-hydraulic actuator (EHA), landing ‘shimmy dampers’, Browning M2-M3 pistol recoil dampers, the FN-Herstal minimi gun, the chromed aluminum handrails for use in executive aircraft, electrochronic windows, activators for toilet seats and covers, VIP bathrooms for private jets, hinges and dampers for overhead compartments for the comfort of air travelers.
I asked Samuel Piatti what General Aerospace’s strengths were and he replied: ‘We create customized products. We have environmentally conscious manufacturing processes and products and provide rapid development with quality. We also have lighter, lower-emission products that help reduce air pollution.’
Eric van den Dolder had been working for fifteen years with the former Fokker Space, now Dutch Space. Dolder said: ‘Fokker had very good products, but they went bankrupt in 1990. In June 2000 I got a new job with an American company because I was looking for a new challenge in commercial manufacturing. I just wasn’t satisfied with the American company and founded a new one with Samuel.
‘Now I have the most exciting job. I know what I’ll do in the morning but I don’t know what I’ll do in the afternoon,’ she said with a laugh. His partner Samuel added: “Eric is an engineer with a lot of technical whimsy and I’m glad he likes putting technology into new products.”
Eric visits his family in Amsterdam once a month and said laconically: ‘When you leave your roots, you will know who your friends are, because only good friends visit you.’
Only two friends had visited him in Eschbach, in southwestern Germany, even though the Black Forest is so beautiful.
I asked Samuel one last question about the bureaucracy in Italy and Germany and he said: ‘I think the German bureaucracy is quite progressive, but you have to give more information about your business plans, the growth rate of your company and your background. . The financial support from the German bank was good, but you have to impress them with your arguments, credentials and manufacturing knowledge. In Italy it’s more of a personal and family business, whereas in Germany it’s on a fair basis.’