Group mission
"Support member companies to innovate and develop new technologies and intellectual property and commercialise these."
Message from the chair
Everyone has ideas. Many make the headlines, some even make history. Others get rejected, are forgotten or fail to get heard at all. But what if great ideas are being missed?
We know just how many amazing ideas people are coming up with, at work, every day at every tier of the aerospace industry. The best ideas don’t all come from the top. Many ideas may seem small but, collectively, they can help us overcome the challenges our aerospace industry faces to design more fuel-efficient aircraft at a time of unparalleled growth in the number of aircraft being manufactured, uncertain economic conditions and intense global competition.
The Midlands is home to one of the largest aerospace industry clusters in the world so naturally it’s teeming with exciting new ideas. And the MAA is proud to have helped more than 50 companies access £8m in funding, expert help and mentoring from other member companies over the last ten years to bring new technologies to market. Our support has helped them add more value, become more competitive and move up in the industry by developing intellectual property that they own.
It’s often assumed that lower-tier supply chain companies should focus solely on efficiency initiatives and that R&D isn’t for them. The truth is, these organisations are often full of great ideas but lack the resources to develop them. With the right support, their ideas can be turned into better products or improved manufacturing processes that can really take off. That's what the MAA Technology Development Group is all about.
For more information on the MAA's unique philosophy and the 40+ technology development projects we have supported, I encourage you to click here.
Robin Hill, chair
Current group members
- Sima Ali, Business Development Manager, Bloc Digital
- Nathan Bailey, Managing Director, Advanced Innovative Engineering
- Martin Barstow, Professor of Astrophysics & Space Science, University of Leicester
- Chris Bennett, Director, University of Nottingham
- Paul Bhatia, ESA Business Applications Ambassador for the UK, Geospatial Ventures Ltd
- Chris Brown, Head of Technology and Industrial Engineering, ITP Aero
- Kevin Cooke, Consultant, Teer Coatings
- Andrew Cross, Chief Technical Officer, Helix
- Dr Nicola Deards, Technology Manager, Midlands Aerospace Alliance
- Mark Dumville, CEO, GMV UK
- Anne Ford, Managing Director, PGM Reball
- Tony Golland, Market Head – Defence & Aerospace, Ricardo Performance Products
- Mark Hancock, Engineering Director, Parker Meggitt Polymers and Composites
- Charlie Hopkirk, Delivery Manager - Cluster Leadership, WMCA
- Dr Andrew Mair, Chief Executive, Midlands Aerospace Alliance
- Iain Mansell, Cluster Leadership Delivery Manager, West Midlands Combined Authority
- James McGeachie, Drive Systems Design
- Rob Mitchell, Head of Engineering, ITP Aero
- Tom Pilling, Chief Engineer for Aerospace, Defence & Security, Manufacturing Technology Centre
- Dan Price, Managing Director, ITP Aero
- Steve Sproson, Technical Manager, Collins Aerospace - Actuation Systems
- Charlotte Strachan, Commercial Executive, Rolls-Royce
- Julian Thomas, Engineering Director, TT Electronics, Power & Hybrid Business Unit
- John Tolley, Engineering Manager, Darchem
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