Photo: Courtesy of Rolls-Royce

Chinese aerospace suppliers for Rolls-Royce have achieved an outstanding performance among global suppliers, and they are winning new orders after a decline, Julian MacCormac, country director for China from UK-based Rolls-Royce Plc, said on Thursday.

"Our global suppliers have been hit by the pandemic, and last year orders were cut by half, including a significant reduction in volume from China, but there has no operation disruption caused by Chinese suppliers," he said. 

"Our global purchasing sum declined as a result of a reduction in market needs, and we have to consolidate our global supply chain to work with fewer suppliers. However, excellent Chinese suppliers are winning new orders for their high performance in terms of delivery, cost control and quality management," he said. "They are competing for our new orders."

Rolls-Royce intends to continue to increase purchases from Chinese suppliers every year, he noted, so the sum is expected to recover to the level of 2019 soon.  China is not only a sales market but also an important supply chain base, he said.

The official WeChat account of Rolls-Royce China showed that there were seven China suppliers nominated for its global suppliers awards, and two won - one for Best New Supplier and one for Chief Procurement Officer.

Although the global aviation industry has been hurt badly by the pandemic, there are more Chinese suppliers that win or extend orders, "which shows our determination to continue sourcing from China," Warrick Mathews, chief procurement officer at Rolls-Royce, said.

MacCormac said the contribution of the Chinese market to the global total last year was still about 10 percent, almost the same as in 2019, despite the decline in business.

How soon business recovers will depend on the resumption of international travel, he added. 

Global Times