Record exports for Lombard aerospace
Boom in orders for helicopters, satellites and components. Cerabolini (Cluster Aerospace): "
4' min read
4' min read
'No, that was an earlier figure, now we are at 410 million, in fact we have work secured for three to four years'. Just over a year ago, at the last meeting with Angelo Vallerani, Ohb Italia's head of institutional relations, the satellite company's order intake was set at 250 million, a figure that was already historically high but which has now been exceeded thanks to new orders received, including the Iride constellation and Esa missions to 'capture' comets and asteroids. Projects that pushed the Milan-based hi-tech company to increase its workforce to well over 300, with revenues rising to 140 million, in both cases (as well as for orders), these are new all-time highs. "The crux is finding the people," Vallerani explains, "because the job boom is spreading to more companies, everyone is looking to hire. The growth trend is visible in the system's numbers, which for Lombard aerospace (215 companies, 22 thousand employees and 6.3 billion in revenues) are particularly flattering, with exports reaching an all-time high. Thanks to satellites but also helicopters, aircraft, software, equipment and components. A production mix that in Lombardy produces record foreign sales close to two billion, 'solid' revenues because they are linked to a broad geographical diversification. Where as many as 30 countries exceed ten million euros per year in exports, with the United Kingdom, Poland and the USA on the podium in terms of size.
This is the result of a unique set-up, characterised by the deep-rooted presence of the sector's big names (Leonardo, Thales-Alenia, and Ohb itself) in the region, flanked by a plethora of innovative and internationalised SMEs, capable of winning orders across borders, in aeronautics as well as in the space sector, which has been relaunched by the flood of resources fuelled by the Pnrr. While, more generally, for the sector, the boost linked to the recovery of investments in defence and commercial aviation is visible.
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The backbone of the system, in the region as well as in the country, is Leonardo, which employs 8,500 people at its six production sites in Lombardy (helicopters, aeronautics, space, electronics, and cybersecurity). The latest orders are fuelling site activity, such as at Venegono, where the M346 trainer has received orders for 12 units from Austria (with an option for another 12). While in the helicopter sector, which counts on the Cascina Costa, Vergiate, and Sesto Calende sites, Leonardo acquired orders for about a hundred aircraft of various models. As a result of the additional work, overall employment in Leonardo's Lombardy plants grew by 13% in the two-year period 23-24.
A positive moment, that of the sector, which pushes one of the region's historic component manufacturers, Secondo Mona, to new highs. After closing 2024 with 58 million in revenues, the company now expects to make broadly double-digit progress. "2024 was a year of significant growth," explains Managing Director Claudia Mona, "with exports now firmly worth more than three quarters of revenues. Based on the contracts acquired, we expect to go beyond 70 million this year. There will certainly also be an increase in the workforce, around 10%, partly already initiated with open selections of technical and operational profiles'.
Growing even more strongly in percentage terms is Optec (optical, tracking and imaging systems), known for providing NASA with the 'eye' of the Dart mission, documenting the impact of a probe with an asteroid in deep space. With a maxi contract for US defence, developed over years of planning, it aims to triple its revenues in a few years. "It is the largest order in our history," explains entrepreneur Giuseppe Cilia, "and from the eight million of 2024, our record, we are aiming for 20 million revenues in 2029: at the moment, the orders we have acquired are worth five years of work. Orders that have prompted the company to expand its premises and enlarge its workforce, now at 52, with prospects for further growth thanks to other orders already placed with Leonardo and the Indian government'.
