Lockheed Martin, a global technology leader in aerospace, space and security, hosted an event recently to help SMEs unlock the growing opportunities of space in the North East of the UK.

Over 100 attendees from companies across the region joined Lockheed Martin and partners RTC North and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle, where a series of talks were given and exhibits on show from across the space and defence industry.

With more than 75% of Lockheed Martin’s suppliers coming from SME companies, the event provided an exciting opportunity for businesses to learn about ways of working with larger enterprises and the value of these partnerships in delivering unique capabilities.

The Ministry of Defence engaged with SMEs from the region on how they can help their businesses grow, with RTC North discussing the future of robust supply chains to demonstrate how SME’s can build new opportunities. 

Paul Livingston, chief executive of Lockheed Martin UK, said: “SMEs play an important role for us in the UK and so we were delighted to host this event and support the development of the North East’s already thriving space sector. We are committed to helping the UK become a space nation and contribute to Levelling-Up the economy.”

A representative from the Ministry of Defence, added: “Today’s event with Lockheed Martin and RTC North highlighted the scope and range of supplier capability in the North East. We hope that the event will help more of these diverse and innovative suppliers fulfil their potential to deliver defence capability and contribute to regional and UK prosperity.” 

Alan Whittaker, head of supply chain programmes at RTC North, commented: “It was great to work with Lockheed Martin in delivering a highly informative event for SME’s involved in supply chains. The excellent line up of speakers and subject areas helped the delegates to understand more about accessing supply chain opportunities in the defence and space sectors.

“We look forward to delivering further activities across the north of England and understanding the impact through more engagement within supply chain programmes.”

This event builds on The Space Sector Skills and Supplier Summit Lockheed Martin hosted last year, that brought together supply chain representatives from the North East industry, with a view to identifying new partners from industry and academia to support the North East’s UK space ambitions.

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