FAMEX 2023 to Foster Cross-Industry Collaboration

Q: How is the Mexican aerospace industry recovering from the pandemic and supply chain disruptions?

A: FAMEX is working closely with companies to help bolster the Mexican aerospace industry’s recovery. Over the past two years, SMEs were hit hard by the pandemic but the existing connection between them and the great coordination work orchestrated by FEMIA allowed many companies to stay afloat. While some companies have fully recovered their production lines, several are still on the road to recovery. Sadly, other companies had to shut down operations.

Q: What factors keep Mexico among the most attractive countries for aerospace FDI?

A: Mexico is one of the most attractive global destinations for FDI within the aerospace industry. The country has a key geographic position and great human talent. The participation of the academic sector in the industry has been essential for the Mexican industry, with excellent training and up-to-date academic programs serving the changing needs of the industry.

The connection and good coordination between universities and companies allows young talent to graduate with the necessary knowledge to enter the aerospace sector. In addition, incentives from the government through the Ministry of Economy have been essential to foster FDI and make Mexico an attractive country for foreign companies.

Q: How does FAMEX work to promote the Mexican aerospace industry?

A: FAMEX is a business platform. The fair is the government’s contribution within the triple helix modality to enable and foster collaboration between the private sector and academia. FAMEX is the ideal place to demonstrate Mexico’s aerospace capabilities to the world.

Q: How is the Mexican industry becoming more competitive on a global scale?

A: The Mexican aerospace industry is increasingly incorporating technology into its manufacturing processes. Digitization and new technologies are being introduced constantly, enabling the country to be more competitive. Companies have migrated to Industry 4.0, which facilitates the enhancement of quality in the aerospace sector.

Q: Considering the strong automotive sector in Mexico, how is FAMEX working to integrate auto players into the event?

A: We have approached the automotive industry in the past. However, one of the barriers has been FAMEX itself, which used to be aerospace-exclusive. During our visits to other international fairs, we recognized that to continue growing and promoting the sector in Mexico, we must open FAMEX to other industrial sectors, such as defense, security and automotive, where digitization and Industry 4.0 has had a clear impact.

Both FAMEX and the aerospace sector can benefit from automotive companies, which have embraced technology within their manufacturing processes. We will continue to move closer to the automotive industry, aiming to identify companies that can become part of the aerospace supply chain. Despite certification challenges, there are several success stories of automotive companies migrating to the aerospace sector.

Q: What additional alliances is FAMEX looking for to continue promoting the Mexican aerospace industry?

A: FAMEX is constantly working to facilitate stronger links between national aero clusters. We also work closely with countries that bet on Mexico, such as France, which generates one out of every four jobs in Mexico’s aerospace industry. FAMEX also keeps close relationships with other international fairs, such as those held in Spain and Chile. We share feedback, knowledge, experience and recommendations to keep improving.

Q: Following the steady growth in the fair’s prior editions, what can be expected from FAMEX 2023?

A: FAMEX is always looking to grow in expositors and attendees, while the air show aims to increase the number of aircraft presented. Since 2019, FAMEX has consolidated as Latin America’s largest aerospace fair in accordance with those metrics.

For the 2023 edition, FAMEX aims to innovate in several areas of opportunity. Regarding academia, for example, we want to strengthen the participation of public and private national and international universities. FAMEX aims to facilitate the exchange of experience between universities to update aerospace curriculums. We are also working to foster the participation of SMEs to help them join the supply chains of larger companies.

FAMEX could also offer a career fair for students. Students from UNAM and IPN visited an aerospace fair in Russia through FAMEX, for example.

Q: How is FAMEX 2023 fostering the space industry?

A: FAMEX aims to provide a special boost to the space sector. During FAMEX 2023, space will take a more prominent role compared with prior editions. Space agencies from Mexico, France and the US are interested in meeting to exchange experiences and update collaboration agreements at government levels.

Q: Why was France chosen as the guest of honor for FAMEX 2023?

A: The guest of honor modality started at the 2019 edition, with Canada as the chosen country. In 2021, the US was the guest of honor. Now that we have covered our strategic partners in the region, we chose to honor France, a country that recognizes the quality of Mexico’s talent and dares to design and manufacture key original equipment parts for their aircraft in Mexico. France is Mexico’s main aerospace investor and has an important impact in the country’s economy and job creation.

FAMEX is a commercial fair for the civil, military, security and defense aeronautics sectors that aims to bring together industry decision-makers to promote commercial exchange and the growth of the aerospace industry in Mexico.