At this year’s Farnborough Air Show, the recurring word we heard time and time again was “Partnering”. Our industry has and is going through dramatic change. The response by large second-tier companies has been a reevaluation of their relationships across the supply chain. Those suppliers who haven’t prepared to better meet the needs and requirements of their customers must prepare to find new ones. With sequestration and budget cuts on the horizon, the smart strategic source managers are seeking new ways to streamline, stabilize and make more cost efficient their lines of suppliers.
Partnering, simply put, is a meaningful alliance between companies which eliminates unnecessary costs with efficient and reliable delivery. Hydra-Electric is once again industry-recognized for our highest ontime delivery as well as our best-in-class quality. This message has been heard, and was prevalent during our conversations with existing and wholly new customers looking for new relationships that meet these goals. Even our competition dropped in to do reconnaissance at our booth to learn about our strengthening position in the industry.
In addition, our presentations of product improvements and new technologies were met with notable enthusiasm by senior engineers from Rolls Royce, senior managers from MOOG, Parker, Pall and Senior Strategic Sourcing from Eaton. Bijan Mouhebaty, Chief Engineer at PTI was accompanied by Kanwar Suri, Sr. Vice President, Engineering to discuss their needs and learn about the latest sensor advancements being put into service by Hydra-Electric. Dave Crooke has been working with Meggitt and Snecma, who have teamed for an important new program featuring our products. His side trip to their UK offices included a three company presentation by John Williams which demonstrated our commitment to their partnership. Presidents, Sr. VP’s and Sr. Managers dominated our guest list at private, closed door sessions where Tim Burmood was able to demonstrate how our latest innovations could help their business. Overall, the majority of our guests were all high-level decision-makers making the tenor and result of our meetings very strong and meaningful.
The extra effort that went into our presence and appearance at the show demonstrated the new outlook for Hydra-Electric, both in our forward thinking and our willingness to exceed expectations, which really set us apart. And the increased business it supported also came with a new dialog with those most important to our continued growth and success.