JOHN Whalley is on a mission to help take the North West's aerospace industry into a new century in better shape than ever.

He has just taken up his two-year role as chief executive of the Nelson-based North West Aerospace Alliance, which represents more than 140 members including around 60 in East Lancashire.

And the 47-year-old manager - who is on a two-year secondment from British Aerospace - says the local industry is at a crucial stage.

Father-of-two John, who lives in Penwortham, believes his key priorities include helping members deal with supply chain issues brought about by BAe drastically reducing the number of suppliers it deals with.

"Some of the members have already made great strides in dealing with that issue such as the four firms which joined forces to win a £12 million consortium deal off BAe." he says. "But it is still a major issue for many firms, particular smaller ones, to get to grips with."

Mr Whalley also wants to see believes stronger international links between local aerospace firms and partners overseas, along with strong relations with the North West RDA - which NWAA chairman Dennis Mendoros sits on. Originally from Wolverhampton, John began his aerospace career with Hawker Siddeley Aviation in Manchester before joining British Aerospace. He joins the NWAA from his post as project director for benchmark implementation for BAe at Warton and takes over from Mike Clifford.

Earlier this month the CLA was renamed the North West Aerospace Alliance to reflect its growing influence.

Since its launch the CLA has helped its members win business worth tens of millions of pounds. It has also forged links with similar organisations across the world to help local firms as the industry becomes more global.

The North West has the largest concentration of the UK's aerospace industry and supports more than 40,000 jobs.

"I've been very impressed with what has been achieved by the organisation so far under the chairman Dennis Mendoros, and my predecessors Ron Bertollini and Mike Clifford. Hopefully I'll be able to build on their achievements."

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