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On the Record
Giovanni Bertolone, CEO Alenia Aeronautica
“In the past it was said you cannot do everything, but must select one skill and take it to a level of excellence. I do not at all agree, not at all,” says Giovannia Bertolone, who took over in February as CEO of Alenia Aeronautica.
“The result would be just one capability. If you have no opportunity to use it then you are locked out.” So Finmeccanica’s Alenia focuses, as he likes to explain it, on its genetic DNA to sustain a broad range of skills that make it an invaluable player, partner and leader on the world’s aerospace stage.
Projecting these skills into international opportunities has resulted in an impressive portfolio:
- A leading role in military transports with the C-27J sold to Italy, Greece and Bulgaria and now competing for U.S. and Canadian contracts with L-3 Communications as the prime partner;
- The world’s broadest range of training aircraft through its Aermacchi subsidiary. The two prototype M-346 jet trainers on which it is pinning its hopes are here at the Paris Air Show;
- A leading capability in superplastics engineering and molding stemming from its role in Eurofighter. This has been leveraged into design responsibility for the composite main wing box on the Joint Strike Fighter and a 26% share (with partners Vought Aircraft Industries) in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Alenia is also the prime industrial partner in Europe’s Neuron UAV demonstrator.
Critics say Alenia Aeronautica is too much American, too little European.
“That is not at all true,” says CEO Giovanni Bertolone.
“Which is the champion in Europe? EADS, which is making every effort to form alliances in the U.S., or Dassault, which is very present in the U.S. with its aircraft company and CATIA engineering tools?
“More European versus less American is an ideological issue I will not approach. At Alenia Aeronautica we look for opportunities in a global world!
“In any case, we are not suffering any kind of inferiority complex.”
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Bertolone, who began his career as an engineer with Aeritalia in 1977, believes leading edge design engineering is a cornerstone of Alenia Aeronautica. “It is no longer an ideological question of whether they are military or civil engineers; we develop the skills across both areas,” he told Show News. Thus the DNA, or flow of knowledge, of the composites engineering in the 787’s fuselage can be traced back through Alenia’s work on the JSF to the Eurofighter. “It is the experience of our engineers rather than direct application of technology,” he said.
Meanwhile, Alenia is developing a new business area: exports and export marketing. It has just won the first international customers for the C-27J (Greece and Bulgaria) and has sold 10 maritime patrol ATR72s to Turkey, the first export customer for this aircraft. (Alenia is responsible for special missions versions, ATR for the commercial market). The new international marketing role also includes Eurofighter in the Mediterranean regions and has now extended to North America with the C-27J.
Less glamorous but equally exciting for Bertolone is the drive to cut costs and maintain margins through program management and operational excellence. “So our model is one of integrating our core technologies with our export and commercial activities,” he said.
Bertolone is adamant that Alenia pursues partnerships rather than supplier roles. As a contributor of design capability to a program, commercial production will follow, he believes. The investment of R & D and engineering development brings better margins, too.
That is one reason Alenia has such a relatively small role with Airbus versus Boeing. Not being an original member of the Airbus consortium, Alenia has had to wait for the clean-sheet A380 to get on board. “Being a small partner is better than being a supplier,” Bertolone said, adding he is now looking to the A350. — John Morris
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