An Aerospace Pedigree to be Proud of By Julian Hellebrand, Group Director of Communications, Cobham plc

Cobham plc produces world leading products and solutions for the aerospace and defence industry and the Group has grown to employ over 10,000 people on five continents with a turnover of £1bn. Two of Cobham's six divisions and the corporate headquarters are based in Wimborne. The Cobham Air Refuelling and Auxiliary Mission Equipment Division is the world leader in air-to-air refuelling with more than 90% of the world market. Employing 600 people the business also specialises in wing-tip to wing-tip solutions, designing and manufacturing a range of sophisticated auxiliary mission equipment. Cobham is the design authority for the Eurofighter Typhoon's defensive aids systems.

Cobham's Services division has its headquarters at Bournemouth International Airport, employing more than four hundred people locally and over 2,000 worldwide. They have the largest private fleet of Falcon 20 jets in the world, and the dark blue aircraft are a common site in the skies above as they fly to rendezvous with ships and aircraft of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. With more than half a million hours of flying experience between them, the aircrew operate the largest air warfare training contract of its type, providing life saving training to servicemen as well as aerial surveillance activities for government agencies and specialist aircraft conversion.

Some people are surprised that a global business like Cobham is based in Dorset. Although people readily accept that the environment is pleasant, can a high technology business really attract the skill and supplier base needed to be truly competitive? Can an organisation that is in the FTSE 150 thrive without a London postal address? The answer is 'yes'. Although Cobham may not have the public profile of industry giants such as Airbus, Boeing or BAE Systems, it has a reputation for producing products and services that people trust their lives with.

Air refuelling was pioneered by Sir Alan Cobham in the mid-1930s and the Group has provided this essential capability to NATO for every major conflict since World War II. Flight Refuelling Limited, based in Wimborne, was the first company formed more than 70 years ago and is now producing its fourth generation solutions for fixed and rotary wing tanker and receiver aircraft around the world including the UK, USA, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, Japan and India. Four generations of equipment have been built by skilled and committed people from the local area, and those attracted to move to it.

Cobham enjoys a low staff turnover due to a combination of the natural environment, high quality housing, education and the opportunity to work on leading edge product designs and services. There is no room for complacency though, further work is needed with educational establishments and agencies to help ensure that the local aerospace and defence industry is sustainable. Too few people are graduating with engineering and science degrees and many who do are taking up employment in the financial or IT sectors.

The UK Aerospace Industry (UKAI) is regarded as essential to the UK's domestic security and the effective pursuit of its international role. It is a source of innovations with impacts across a wide range of engineering, transport and IT activities. There is a substantial body of evidence that the UKAI generates significant high technology "spillovers" and that the "social return" may be of the order of 70%. Cobham's revenue has trebled since 1997 to more than £1bn through acquisitive and organic growth, and investment in R&D to bring new products to the market.