PFW targets breakthrough in lightweight aviation systems

PFW Aerospace is indispensable to the aviation industry as the sole supplier of structural components for the Airbus A350 and Boeing's Dreamliner. Serving as a build-to-print supplier and design-and-build supplier at the same time, PFW develops the engineering of tubing parts and systems in close collaboration with clients. Integration of the structural components is afterwards made jointly with Airbus or Boeing into the planes. 

Such expertise is underpinned by more than a century in the business. PFW's engineers and operators are highly educated and well-trained. They have deep systems knowledge, benefiting from the cross-fertilisation inherent in Germany's close-knit aeronautical industry. 

"Germany offers a unique fabric in terms of collaboration with universities and research centres," says Jordi Boto, CEO of PFW. "One of the strengths we have is a tradition to work on an innovation, not only with our own internal resources, but with research institutes that are world-leading in industrial excellence and with all the companies here. We are in the middle of a region where many suppliers perform tasks in a multidisciplinary way. It has a huge potential for innovation and is quite distinct worldwide."

As the biggest global manufacturer of tubes and ducting for aeronautical purposes, PFW is at the forefront of developing tubing based on new materials, specifically plastic- and composite-based materials. 

"We want a step change in terms of technologies to bring about lighter, more reliable materials, components and systems that are easier to maintain," Boto says. 

With its successful turnaround last year after three years of restructuring, PFW is well-positioned for such a future.