Communications

14.07 - 20.07.2008
 
Farnborough, UK
 
Group participation at the Farnborough Air Show 2008, July 14-20.

The Farnborough Air Show (UK), alternating every other year with Le Bourget (France), is an occasion when all the leading international companies in the aeronautics, space and defence sectors gather together not only to display their products but also to compare themselves. The spotlight is on this major showcase for a whole week, pinpointing not only the Group's avant-garde products but also its identity. More than just being an important commercial opportunity, Farnborough and Le Bourget are a public demonstration of the strength, coherence and overall credibility of the main players in a strategic industrial sector.

For this reason, Finmeccanica pays particular attention to the contents, messages and style which it presents on these outstanding occasions. To this end, the Group takes advantage of Farnborough and Le Bourget to raise its profile internationally. In recent years, the various editions from 2002 to 2005 were occasions to show the image of a Group that was expanding all the time. At Farnborough 2006, under a new logo for all Group companies, the Group displayed its capability to produce integrated systems for security and defence, a sign of know-how arising from the combination of complementary skills. Le Bourget 2007 represented a further step forward in the growth of Finmeccanica: the products and systems were linked to values and actions pointing the way to future growth.
 
Finmeccanica is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, and is giving special importance to the Farnborough Air Show 2008 as an occasion to consolidate and expand its international reputation, the natural outlet for a Group that is firmly linked to its roots while at the same time being driven by a multicultural ambition. Finmeccanica's sixtieth anniversary is evoked at the exhibition not just as remembrance of the past, but rather the chance to build a bridge between the company's origins and the present day. With this in mind, Finmeccanica demonstrates its international scale at Farnborough as testimony of the commitment and efforts of all those who have helped to build it up.
 
The previous edition of the Farnborough Air Show marked the arrival of Finmeccanica on the UK defence market. Today, just two years later, the Group stands out as the second largest supplier to the UK Defence Ministry, the number one foreign investor in the sector, the second largest employer in the defence field with about 10,000 people, and the third largest exporter from the UK.
 
Against this background, Farnborough 2008 represents an ideal occasion for Finmeccanica to showcase its global capabilities - in other words, to transmit a strong message about who we are and what we offer our customers all over the world.
 
Integration, interoperability, technological excellence and overall industrial competence are the key words behind the Group's presence at the event. With this in mind, the exhibition rationale includes innovative solutions to show visitors - especially delegations - the full range of products and systems that the Group is able to provide anywhere in the world.
 
On display are all the platforms which have been so successful in recent years and which have established the reputation of Italian technology - such as fixed wing technology, including pilotless planes, rotating wing aircraft, and state-of-the-art radar systems. A large part of the display area is given over to defence electronics, showing the ability of Group companies to provide integrated systems for monitoring, communicating and controlling all situations that affect the management of territory and security, for civil and military use.
 
A key tool for presenting the range of products, and the technological core of the Group's presence at Farnborough, is the network whose focal point is the control room: a highly original connective setting in which Finmeccanica's products 'come together' in specially created surroundings to show their capabilities and the way they interact. This approach is well-known to our companies but has never before been used for a display installation at an exhibition.
 
Finmeccanica's presence at the Farnborough International Air Show 2008 further consolidates the Group's image, with a large structure that groups together the pavilion, the chalets and the stand, as well as the static display area.

The external part of the stand has a air-filled covering made of the same shiny, transparent "air bubbles" that drew so much attention two years ago. There is a separate entrance leading to the chalets so that all visitors can access the exhibit.

From the exterior the stand looks much as it did two years ago. The real novelty is inside, where everything rotates around a central component, the Control Room. The Control Room is where the delegations are taken after they have come through the entrance and been able to see the images of people who make up the world of Finmeccanica. The Control Room has an elliptical shape, in line with this year's graphic design, with different levels to reflect Finmeccanica's ability to provide "Solutions at Every Level". Lower down, there are five monitors flanked by the same number of titles indicating the solutions' different fields of application.
 
Inside the Control Room visitors can watch different operating scenes at various levels of complexity - situations in which Finmeccanica is able to provide answers based on customers' individual needs and interests. At the same time, the centre of the stand is connected to the peripheral area, where visitors can find more in-depth depictions of the scenarios and situations presented in the Control Room together with products offered by individual Finmeccanica Group companies.

Seven "capability" areas are situated along the stand's perimeter starting at the entrance, made up of Space, Security and Resilience, Defence Electronics, Fixed Wing, Rotary Wing, Training and Through Life Capability Management. Companies display their related products in the area to which they are best suited. The Control Room forms a network with a series of platforms located in each of the peripheral areas, so that the connection between the centre and the periphery is physical as well as virtual.
 
From the first to the last day, Finmeccanica's presence at the Farnborough Air Show will be recounted via a dedicated website: www.farnborough2008.finmeccanica.com  which will be updated with news items, in-depth coverage, real time images and videos as well as detailed information on what's going on during the seven days of the Farnborough International Air Show 2008.