Developing through standards? Aerospace Valley takes up the challenge for small businesses

In response to the expectations of its members, the Aerospace Valley competitiveness cluster has decided to focus on access to standards to help companies with fewer than 50 employees not only to develop in aeronautics, but also to target new markets and innovate.

Just because it’s the professionals who make the voluntary standards doesn’t mean they know them all! Knowing voluntary standards, as well as sector-specific regulations for a product or service, is a prerequisite for a successful market launch, or for innovating in the right direction. All the more so when you’re a small business. ” This was a need expressed to us by our members in 2017, and we wanted to offer them a tailor-made scheme ,” sums up Juliette Mallez, services development manager at Aerospace Valley, the competitiveness cluster federating players in the aerospace industry in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie. More than 300 companies with fewer than 50 employees, i.e. half of the cluster’s business members, now have access to AFNOR Editions’ Saga Web monitoring solution at a preferential rate.

The tool makes French, European and international regulations and voluntary standards available online. It sends individualized alerts at the slightest change or novelty in the content of a text: it’s a tailor-made system, designed as the first building block in business intelligence for small companies that don’t have a dedicated in-house department.

4 markets to conquer

Aerospace Valley’s primary mission is to encourage exchanges between its members, to help them innovate and support the jobs they generate. The service offered by AFNOR Editions is in line with this idea, helping companies to go beyond their core business, to work in four other areas: rail transport, automotive; health and medical devices; energy; agriculture and innovation.

Operating in the aeronautics, space and embedded systems sectors, these companies are already accustomed to producing in compliance with stringent regulatory constraints, as well as voluntary standards. ” Their products and services can be transposed to other sectors, as long as companies are aware of their specific features,” adds Juliette Mallez. Before illustrating: ” Drones can be used, for example, in the agricultural sector, or by hospitals to supply blood. Electrical energy collection and distribution technologies designed for aerospace can also be offered to other sectors.”

Five of the cluster’s SME advisors have been trained to offer this service to small member companies, according to their needs. It’s up to them to make the most of it!

> Request a quote for the Aerospace Valley business package…