New aerospace and defence body

Friday, September 04, 2009

A|D|S, the UK's aerospace, defence and security trade body is the new body to emerge from the coming together of the Association of Police and Public Security Suppliers (APPSS), the Defence Manufacturers Association (DMA) and the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC).

Farnborough International Limited (FIL) will remain a distinct brand as a wholly-owned subsidiary of A|D|S, which officially begins operating from 1 October 2009.

Ian Godden, chairman of A|D|S, predicted that the new body would deliver significant benefits for its 800 member companies.

"In many ways, however, October the first represents the start of the process of creating an organisation that will become much more than the sum of its parts," he said. "The A|D|S leadership team is clear that this process will be member-driven, and over the coming months we will be turning that intent into action through direct involvement of our members in the development of A|D|S."

Chief executive Rees Ward said that the process of merging the organisations into a single, powerful trade body will be "an evolutionary rather than revolutionary process".