The appointment is for tomorrow in Naples, at the Space Workshop born from the meeting between Ali Group And Space Factory in the largest area set up in Southern Italy for the design and development of space prototypes for experiments in microgravity conditions. This is where it will come Clay Mowrypresident of the IAF (International Astronautical Federation), the main global association of space and defense companies and agencies. A visit that smacks of absolute recognition not only for the new technological hub, already inaugurated by the astronaut Paolo Vittori, but for the entire DAC, the Campania aerospace district which guarantees the region a position of absolute importance in the national aerospace supply chain. In fact, the president of the District, the scientist, will welcome him Luigi Carrinoand the regional councilor for research Valera Fascione, firsthand protagonists of the exponential growth of the sector. Meanwhile, the numbers of the latest report edited by Srm, the study and research company on Southern Italy linked to the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, say so.
The figures
Almost 900 million in added value, more than half of the total in the South; 2.8 billion in total turnover; 824 million in export value (the South is at 1,172 million); 67 local units (but we reach over 170 subjects also considering the related SMEs, the research centers and the 5 universities of Campania with engineering courses), for over 8,200 direct employees (the South has 13 thousand) but yes it reaches around 40 thousand with all the connected sectors. But the export data provide an even greater sense of the District’s competitiveness: Campania’s international aerospace exports (2022 data) grew by 20%, i.e. more than Italy (+19%) and the South (+14%). %). The balance is positive: exports represent 459% of imports (Italy 210%, South 238%). Dac companies export to 88 of the 157 countries to which Italy exports but have a significant weight in the main outlet markets of our country. It is also the consequence of the typical nature of the supply chain of the sector, which is more complex and top-down: that is, while the traditional manufacturing sectors see a large prevalence of companies (even very small ones) spread across the territory (in Campania 6.8 employees per local unit), «the structuring of the aerospace sector pushes companies to export outside the region and abroad”.
But there is also another fact to reflect on: investing in Campania aerospace is worthwhile because a high share of the wealth produced is kept in the area. In fact, it has been demonstrated that out of 100 euros of added value activated by aerospace production, the endogenous effect is very significant, certainly more than what occurs in other macro areas and in other sectors.
The district
Established in 2012, heir to an ancient and famous Neapolitan aeronautical tradition, firmly anchored to its four founding pillars (commercial aviation, general aviation, space and carriers, and maintenance and transformation of aircraft, the latter linked above all to the Atitech hub of Capodichino) the Dac is the concrete example of how even in the South giants such as Leonardo and small and medium-sized companies of absolute quality (such as Tecnam, designer and manufacturer of small aircraft with reliability recognized throughout the world) can be brought together on high-profile projects and collaborations. A supply chain that was able to resist better than the Apulian one, linked above all to Boeing orders, when the world discovered with Covid that it was no longer possible to fly. And which today is at the forefront of challenges that are anything but impossible, such as the design of systems for unmanned aircraft, of special fiberglass composites for hypersonic flight, of ever-closer flying taxis for the transport of goods and passengers. All of this, moreover, with now absolute attention to the factors of environmental sustainability and the monitoring of the territory: Campania is one of the very few European regions selected by ESA, the Union’s space body, which will contribute to the creation of the portfolio of operational services called Iris, the Italian constellation, in low orbit, for the monitoring of terrestrial areas. This is why the visit of the world president of the IAF to Naples has the flavor of the acknowledgment of a reality already known throughout the world, of an ecosystem capable of bringing together great research (not only university but also private) and businesses . It’s the story of a decade but perhaps few have noticed it so far.
