Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Morocco, with the help of Western majors, has been
developing an aerospace sector.

Industry sources said the North African kingdom was overseeing the
expansion of its aerospace sector in what could also bolster Morocco’s
defense industry. They said such major Western companies as Boeing,
Bombardier, Safran and United Technologies were helping train thousands of
Moroccans for skilled labor.

“When you succeed in aerospace, you can succeed in other
industries,”Hamid Bin Ibrahim El Andaloussi, president of Moroccan Space and Aeronautical Industries Group, said.

Morocco, with an aerospace sector of some 10,000, has displayed its aerospace sector in exhibitions and conferences held over the last five years. At the same time, Western majors have been investing in co-production and assembly facilities in the kingdom.

In 2011, Bombardier and United Technologies invested more than $200 million in aerospace production in Morocco. The companies also cooperated with the Rabat government to launch the Moroccan Aerospace Institute, meant to train young Moroccans for the sector.

France was the first to discover the aerospace potential in Morocco. The sources said France’s Le Piston Francais concluded that production of
aerospace components would be far cheaper in North Africa than in Western
Europe.

Le Piston was eventually followed by major U.S. companies in Canada and
the United States. The foreign investors helped expand a nascent industry
that pays at least 15 percent more than the average salary in Morocco.

The sources said Rabat envisions Morocco as a co-production center for
Europe’s civilian aerospace industry. They said the hope was that companies
such as Airbus and Boeing would relay the manufacturing of major components
to Morocco.

The aeronautics group, known as Gimas, reported industry revenues of 5.6
billion dirham [$660 million] in 2010 compared to 4.9 billion [$580 million]
during the previous year. The group said the sector was growing at a rate of
20 percent.

Morocco highlighted its aerospace sector at the Marrakesh air show,
known as Aeroexpo, earlier this month. The exhibition contained scores of
companies that marketed platforms as well as enhancements for the Moroccan
and other North African militaries.

Eurocopter displayed its new combat configuration for the AS550 Fennec
helicopter. The Moroccan military has been flying Eurocopter’s SA342 Gazelle
and AS330 Puma for armed reconnaissance missions, troop transport and
support and logistics and the AS565 Panthers for search-and-rescue and
coastal surveillance.

The U.S. military also maintained a major presence at Aeroexpo, which
contained 400 exhibitors. The U.S. Air Force brought nearly 100 personnel to
Aeroexpo and displayed combat, air transport and fuel tankers in Morocco.

“Since the creation of U.S. Air Forces Africa in 2008, we have partnered
with Morocco, and many of the other African nations represented here, on
everything from aircraft maintenance to air traffic control,” Maj. Gen.
Margaret Woodward, commander of the 17th Air Force, said. “This is a
different type of military engagement celebrating aviation and highlighting
the ties that bind airmen together.”

  Aeroexpo 2012, Boeing, Bombardier, Le Piston Francais, Moroccan Space and Aeronautical Industries Group, Safran, United Technologies, Western firms investing in Morocco’s aerospace sector