Emerald Aero Cluster - Irish Aerospace Industry Led Cluster
About this good practice
Emerald Aero Group is an industry led cluster of Irish Indigenous business joining forces to develop market opportunities in the aerospace Sector. The head office is based in the mid-west region and managed from Co Clare. Emerald Aero Group gathers 11 companies specializing on various technology and precision engineering fields and 4 other stakeholders from the local aerospace ecosystem (such as the Shannon Airport Group and the Future Mobility Campus Ireland) working together to exploit the many opportunities offered by aerospace to SMEs. Member companies combine diverse yet complimentary range of skills, expertise and capabilities. While they maintain their own businesses and identities (remaining competitors in most cases), they collaborate to create competitive advantages and provide customers with a wide range of services / products that would be not feasible for them as single companies.
Thanks to Emerald Aero Group, some of the companies involved have faced exponential growth of their exports, consolidating their market penetration in the aerospace and widening their business. Co Clare is home to 4 of the members of Emerald Aero, and Shannon plays a vital role in the future growth of the cluster as part of the national clustering policy. It is an external resource to the Cluster in supporting business from traditional sectors to research new business opportunity and diversify into Aerospace markets.
Resources needed
As an industry led cluster, Emerald Aero Group is funded by the member companies with own budget and human resources.
Operating costs include coordination costs, training and consultancy, overseas trade shows and events.
Evidence of success
Emerald Aero Group allowed its members to improve their market penetration in the aerospace sector. Members have grown their new global business aerospace turnover from €6 million in 2020 to €28, million in 2023.
They are receiving visits from Global Aerospace Manufacturing companies and signing trade agreements to become sub – suppliers.
Potential for learning or transfer
The experience of Emerald aero is a best practice at interregional and at national level, demonstrating the potential of business cooperation to support SME growth and market penetration in new sectors. The Emerald Aero Group model could be duplicated in other regions willing to support the industrial transition to the aerospace or to other innovative sectors. Key to the success is effective industry engagement. Hence, Public authorities and agencies can act as facilitators to encourage networking among local businesses and the creation of clusters. The crucial point is for companies to understand the benefits that cooperation with their competitors could bring them in terms of turnover, market penetration and growth opportunities. They can apply for EU funds and manage these funds to promote innovation and collaboration between companies. This can act as an incentive to carry out market discovery in new markets and identify opportunities for business who are seeking new markets.
Further information
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Good practice owner
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