The cluster's strategy and actions

With 90% of their turnover corresponding to exports, saying that exports are important to Walloon aeronautics and space companies is an understatement. Skywin is obviously aware of this and has made the internationalisation of its members a priority, notably by helping them to define a commercial strategy.

But the most visible part of this Skywin action is the support provided for participation in international events, in collaboration with Awex. The most significant events on the calendar are, in alternate years, Bourget and Farnborough, as well as Maks in Moscow and the Singapore Airshow, etc.

Another aspect of Skywin’s international component is industrial cooperation. Specifically, when the federal government makes significant purchases, in some cases these public expenses give rise to industrial cooperation which may benefit the country’s companies. This industrial cooperation is often the chance to create new long-term partnerships with international companies. The cluster, in perfect coordination with the EWA, coordinates actions aiming to help its members to benefit from these business opportunities.

Finally, last but not least, Skywin, in close collaboration with the NCP-Wallonia (National Contact Point), helps companies to set up European projects. In fact, Europe provides companies with various funding mechanisms (FP7, JTI, Cleansky, Eurostars, etc.).  But it is still not easy for a SME to access them and Skywin and NCP-Wallonia support companies in these approaches to set up projects and in the quest for the most appropriate financing.