Thuringian company as a supplier to the aerospace industry

From the perspective of State Economics Minister Colette Boos-John (CDU), Thuringian companies can benefit from the industry's expected boom as suppliers to the aerospace industry. “We don’t have to build the entire aircraft or the entire satellite in Thuringia, we don’t have that claim,” said Boos-John in Jena at the 1st Thuringian Aerospace Day. However, there are numerous companies in the country that could bring their expertise to the industry, for example in electronics and optics or in the coating of materials. The often smaller companies will only succeed in this if they cooperate with each other, said Boos-John.

According to data from the Ministry of Economics, around 100 Thuringian companies or institutions are currently working in the aerospace sector. Around 11,000 jobs in the Free State depend entirely or partially on this economic segment. Thuringian technology has already been used in several internationally important space missions. For example, technology from Jena was used in the Artemis moon program of the US space agency Nasa.

Overcome boundaries

Along with the defense industry, the aerospace industry is considered one of the sectors in Germany that will grow in the next few years. This would allow at least some companies that lost orders due to the crisis in the automotive industry to utilize their capacities there.

During the Aerospace Day, several representatives of the industry emphasized that it was important for various companies to cooperate beyond Thuringia's borders. “The borders mean nothing, the skills have to come first,” said the managing director of the Thuringia State Development Agency, Andreas Krey. “The cards are being reshuffled, especially in aerospace.” Where the central, future locations of the German aerospace industry would be is currently being redefined.