THE AVIO AERO

PEOPLE’S MAGAZINE

"We will work together to have new solutions for next-generation aircraft engines that are increasing lighter and better performing. We will rely on the expertise of the Politecnico di Torino for research in the field of new materials, and our experience in the industrialisation of processes and products. It is a unique opportunity to look to the future with optimism: the know-how of the company and the university, together with the innovation skills of young talent, is what will allow us to rewrite the industry of tomorrow."

This is what Riccardo Procacci said at the inauguration of the Politecnico di Torino on 15 February. And there, in the presence of the Minister for Economic Development, Carlo Calenda, the company and university symbolically signed a partnership agreement to create the Turin Additive LAB, the new joint laboratory that lays the foundations for long-term cooperation on strategic research issues for the aeronautical sector.

"A concrete example of how the Politecnico is already working at a high level on the themes of Industry 4.0 in close cooperation with the corporate world" commented Prof. Marco Gilli, Rector of the Politecnico.

And regarding " tomorrow”, on 28 February our company was at the event "Industry 4.0 - the new industrial revolution", for the centenary celebrations of Confindustria Napoli.

“For us at Avio Aero - said Procacci - innovating isn’t just finding new solutions to address the challenges of today's markets, but also means investing in breakthrough technologies able to offer new opportunities for the future. An example of this is additive manufacturing, a technology also known as 3D Printing. At Avio Aero we started investing in this technology 10 years ago, when its applications were not still entirely clear. Thanks to its potential we are now able to make Titanium Aluminium turbine blades which, due to the difficult combination of material and actual size of the blades, could not otherwise be produced in an economically viable way. One thing, however, must be made clear: innovation doesn’t spring forth like a flower in the desert, and companies like ours can innovate only if they have around them - and if they help to generate – the fertile soil of an ecosystem made of good universities and dynamic SMEs with which they must constantly communicate. An ecosystem in turn sustained by a simple legislative and fiscal framework that is both supportive and an incentive.”