Hummingbird Aero, an industry-leading provider of aerospace systems development services based in Irvine, CA, announced Tuesday, July 19th the formation of Hummingbird International, to be based in the Republic of Ireland. According to a Memorandum of Agreement, signed at the Farnborough Air Show, Hummingbird International will be formed as a partnership between Hummingbird Aero LLC, Shannon Precision Engineering of Shannon, Ireland, DPF Engineering of Carlow, Ireland, and Realtime Technologies of Dublin, Ireland.
The Farnborough signing initiates the official registry of the new entity, and was attended by Leo Varadkar, Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in the Republic of Ireland. Hummingbird International will focus initially on the manufacture of electro-mechanical and electronic motion control products for the aerospace industry.
“The expansion of Hummingbird Aero into Ireland serves a number of strategic purposes” said Brian Barker, President & CEO. “Hummingbird International will enhance our ability to directly source products to our global customers and better serve the engineering and manufacturing needs of customers in the European Union. Locating in Ireland provides advantages for skilled workforce, established aerospace manufacturing infrastructure, access to excellent aerospace engineering universities and graduates, competitive manufacturing costs, supportive government incentives and a beautiful place to work as well.”
“A great deal of our current business is centered in future air mobility, where we are helping customers architect and develop new air vehicles and subsystems that meet emerging aviation standards for design, safety, and certification. Our partners in Shannon Precision Engineering, DPF Engineering and Realtime Technologies provide comprehensive and established manufacturing capabilities that are ideally suited for our products. We look forward to participating in important new green aviation initiatives as our industry transforms toward sustainable aviation,” Barker said. “The enthusiasm and welcome we’ve received in the Republic of Ireland has been overwhelmingly positive, and we hope to be good stewards of local economic development and growth of the aerospace technical community there.”
“The formation of Hummingbird International is a unique venture for the island of Ireland. Shannon Precision Engineering are excited to contribute to a project that will provide a platform for Irish manufacturing to showcase our expertise in safety critical Aerospace components,” Dominic Murphy, managing director of Shannon Precision Engineering, said. “The combined strengths of the partners involved makes this collaboration one with huge potential in the fast developing, EVTOL market.”
Managing director of DPF Engineering, Seamus Lancaster, said “DPF Engineering are very excited for the new Hummingbird International strategic partnership. We look forward to leveraging our combined knowledge and complimentary capabilities, as we co-create new and revolutionary products in the emerging technology of EVTOL.”
Paddy White, managing director of Realtime Technologies, added, “The expansion of Hummingbird into Ireland by joining forces with DPF Engineering, Shannon Precision Engineering and Realtime Technologies puts Ireland at the forefront of developing and manufacturing for the new green aviation as the industry transforms towards a sustainable aerospace model. This is an exciting time for Realtime to get involved in the future air mobility industry which has substantial growth forecast over the coming years.”
Hummingbird Aero, Shannon Precision Engineering, DPF Engineering and Realtime Technologies engaged the services of QCD Solutions, Business Consultancy Services (Derry, Northern Ireland), to project manage the collaboration.