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October 2007 BOEING FRONTIERS��
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Biggerthan its size
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BOEING FRONTIERS October 2007 ��
n FEATURE STORY
By MariBetH Bruno
The “golden age” of the low-lying part of Europe now known as
the Netherlands arrived in the 17th century. While fight-ing wars
and signing treaties with their bigger neighbors, the Dutch used
their logistical genius to build a trading empire that stretched
from Asia to the Americas. Meanwhile, engineers inno-vated
increasingly ambitious methods to save fields from flooding and to
claim dry land from the sea.
In the 21st century, the Netherlands’ internationalism,
inno-vation and position at the forefront of environmental issues
have proved to be as resilient as the Dutch themselves. These
traits now strengthen the relationships between Boeing’s
commercial, de-fense and research divisions and the company’s Dutch
customers and supplier partners—with tangible benefits for all.
ROYAL HERITAGEThe earliest sale to the Netherlands in the
company’s history
was probably the DC-2. In October 1934—15 years after starting
operations—KLM Royal Dutch Airlines entered one of its DC-2s in a
race from London to Melbourne, Australia. The DC-2’s second-place
finish behind a racing airplane—while making all its scheduled
stops—increased its popularity around the world.
KLM remains a valuable customer and partner for Boeing to-day.
It operates MD-11s; Classic and Next-Generation 737s; and 747s in
all-passenger, Combi and Freighter configurations, and has phased
out its 767s with the addition of 777-200ERs. In 2004, KLM merged
with Air France to form AIR FRANCE-KLM Group. The group in June
made its first joint announcement for new airplane orders—nine
777-300ERs and seven 737-700s.
“KLM is a long-term customer that, while it naturally has an
affinity with European companies, also has strong ties to U.S.
in-dustry,” said Tom VanderHoeven, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
director, European Sales.
KLM runs a subsidiary airline called KLM Cityhopper and the
Dutch unit of low-cost, all-737 operator transavia.com. It also
owns 50 percent of the shares of European carrier Martinair.
The airline’s home base is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, where in
the first half of 2007, 42 percent of the 22.4 million passengers
served were between flights.
“Transit traffic has lower yields [airfare divided by revenue
pas-senger miles], so to succeed you need to keep costs down and
of-fer more connections at higher frequencies,” said Jan
Witsenboer, KLM senior vice president of Corporate Procurement and
Fleet Development.
Expanding and updating its fleet with airplanes that are fuel-
efficient and can fly long distances is part of KLM’s response to
this challenge. For instance, it has increased its service to Los
Angeles and Toronto and launched nonstop service to Lima, Peru,
with its new 777s. “Boeing builds good aircraft that match our
re-quirements,” said Witsenboer.
These requirements increasingly involve environmental
con-cerns—chiefly fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and
noise. By spring 2008, all of KLM’s Next-Generation 737s will have
Blended Winglets, which enhance performance and reduce carbon
dioxide emissions. The airline also partners with Boeing, Schiphol
and air traffic control authority LVNL on ways to reduce
environmental impact through advanced air traffic management (see
story on Page 33).
One of Boeing’s environmentally progressive solutions is the 787
Dreamliner. Asked if he was considering the 787, Witsenboer
replied, “Yes—who’s not?” He noted that KLM regularly flies
than its size
The Netherlands may be geographically minuskuul, but this
innovative, environmentally conscious country has gigantisch
importance to Boeing
The Netherlands’ iconic windmills and tulips are just two
examples of how the country has managed its environment for
centuries. While flood control remains a major concern, the
population is also calling for reductions in carbon-dioxide
emissions and noise.
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October 2007 BOEING FRONTIERS�0
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747 Combi aircraft—280 seats, with seven pallets in the rear—to
reduce unit costs. Using a 230-seat 787-8 on the same route, he
said, it becomes “the front of a Combi,” flying the same distance
but with better seat-mile costs and the ability to economically
open new routes in Asia.
“The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated areas in
the world, with an expanding need for air transport and for signs
of environmental innovation and improvement,” said VanderHoeven.
“If we can work together to find solutions, those products could
then be accepted in other areas of the world that will soon be in
the same situation.”
ADVANCED ALLYDutch foreign policy focuses on the European Union,
the Unit-
ed Nations and NATO. Therefore, the Netherlands “recognizes its
responsibility for peacekeeping missions, and is willing to take
the lead in coalition with other countries,” said Robert van Dijk,
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems director of Business
Develop-ment, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg).
While the size of the Dutch force—a little more than 50,000
military personnel—restricts deployments to a modest number, it
is “lean and mean,” said van Dijk. “A few years ago, they
reorga-nized and reduced their numbers in order to be able to
invest in high-quality, flexible, and fully deployable forces and
equipment. And Boeing was and still is part of that.”
Boeing products procured by the Netherlands Ministry of Defence
include 29 AH-64D Apache attack and reconnaissance helicopters (for
which it was the first non-U.S. customer); 11 CH-47D Chinook
transport helicopters; two KDC-10 tanker/trans-port aircraft; one
DC-10 passenger/freight aircraft; the RGM-84D Harpoon missile; the
Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System for F-16 pilots; and Joint
Direct Attack Munition Precision Guidance Kits. The country is also
part of a group of nations supporting the NATO Airborne Warning and
Control System program.
In February, the ministry’s Defence Materiel Organization and
Boeing signed a direct commercial sales agreement for six new-build
CH-47F (NL) Chinooks to be delivered in 2009-2010—the first sale of
that model outside the United States.
“The Dutch use their Chinooks not just to fly from A to B, but
also for special forces deployment,” said van Dijk. “So they
oper-ate a special configuration that’s more extensively equipped
and weather-independent.”
The Netherlands has some 2,000 troops deployed overseas, of
which 1,600 are stationed in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led
International Security Assistance Force.
“We have a very modern glass cockpit that some countries are
jealous of,” said Lt. Col. Bart Hoitink, commander of Royal
Netherlands Air Force Squadron 298, which has three D-series
Chinooks in Afghanistan, supported by 30 troops. “With it, we can
foresee parts of the flight … and the Chinook will tell us if we
can do the mission. We also have capabilities that came from the
Apache for protection against missiles and radar.
“All that will be brought forward into the CH-47Fs,” Hoitink
continued, “plus we’re focused on adding growth potential,
expan-sion capabilities.”
“Defence is a proactive customer, and they pick what they need,”
said van Dijk. “In negotiations such as the NATO plan to purchase
C-17A airlifters, they can have a lot of influence with other
countries.”
PARTNERING WITH KLMPartnerships are a large and successful
element of the Boeing-
KLM relationship. Their joint Spares Distribution Center near
Schiphol can meet requests for 35,000 types of parts in stock,
usu-ally in less than 24 hours.
The same facility houses the Next-Generation 737 Component
Services Program, which the two companies announced in April 2005.
Boeing and Air France formed a CSP for the 777 in Paris in late
2003. Airlines in either of the programs gain access to a pool of
high-value parts, reducing their inventory and repair costs by up
to 30 percent. Boeing manages the repair of Boeing-proprietary
parts, and KLM and Air France handle the rest.
“One of our early Lean initiatives was to bring all our
inven-tory and people together,” said Paul Morgen, Boeing
Commercial Aviation Services director of Component Services. “Each
of us has an equal value of inventory shared into the program, and
both Boeing and KLM people work at the same facility to improve
com-munication and share best practices.”
The 737 and 777 CSPs remain mostly separate despite the Air
France–KLM merger, but “one synergy is that when we plan a sales
campaign, CAS Sales gets together with both KLM and
Boeing products in use by the Dutch armed forces include the
AH-64D Apache attack and reconnaissance helicopter (top) and CH-47D
Chinook transport helicopter. The Netherlands earlier this year
became the first non-U.S. customer for the new CH-47F with an order
for six of the aircraft.
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BOEING FRONTIERS October 2007 ��
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The Netherlands at a glanceLocation: Western Europe, bordering
the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany
Area: 16,033 square miles (41,525 square kilometers), about
double the size of the U.S. state of New Jersey
Estimated population: 16.6 million
Capital: Amsterdam (seat of government is The Hague)
Other major cities: Rotterdam, Utrecht
Total gross domestic product, 2006: $612.7 billion
Estimated GDP growth rate, 2006: 2.9 percent
Main export partners: Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, France,
Italy, United States
Main import partners: Germany, Belgium, China, United States,
United Kingdom, Russia, France
Military expenditures as percent of GDP, 2005: 1.6 percent
Languages: Dutch; Frisian. About 85 percent of the population
can speak English.
Sources: CIA World Factbook; Netherlands Foreign Investment
Agency
Air France Sales and we develop an approach together,” said
Morgen. “Whoever we all decide has the best relationship with the
customer takes the lead.”
BUILDING BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPSBoeing’s defense contracts also
provide work for Dutch indus-
try, due to military offset requirements that say 100 percent of
a contract’s value must be reflected in in-country projects. More
than 80 Dutch organizations are at work on both military and
com-mercial projects to satisfy the requirement in a way that
benefits everyone.
“The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs’ goal is to grow
tech-nology, working with small and medium enterprise, and grow
their aerospace industries,” said Ligia McLean, IDS Industrial
Partici-pation manager for the Netherlands and Belgium. “The Dutch
are very skilled in advanced composites, machining of hard metals,
precision machining, and advanced electronics. Plus, they are able
to remain cost-competitive despite the [monetary] exchange
rate.”
Success stories include Dutch Aero’s one-piece instrument pan-el
for the Apache, Tedopres’ conversion of helicopter Integrated
Electronic Technical Manuals into an automated Japanese format, and
Dutch Thermoplastic Composites and Kok & Van Engelen’s
manufacture of reinforced thermolaminate composites for both IDS
and Commercial Airplanes. Small business To70 Air Traffic
Management worked with Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen to provide
studies of integrated simulation, decision support and scheduling
solutions for airports.
KLM operates several Boeing jetliner models, including the 777
(below, at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol). The airline was the launch
customer for the Boeing 747-200 and the Electronic Flight Bag, and
the European launch customer for the 737-900.
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October 2007 BOEING FRONTIERS��
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Boeing also created an opportunity with the Institute of
Knowl-edge and Technology Center and machining company Genius
Klinkenberg International, in which Boeing Quality and Lean+
experts provided training to a consortium of small businesses with
GKI as focal. “Boeing is helping to create business relationships
with economic benefits to the Netherlands that extend beyond the
terms of the contract obligations,” said McLean. “In return, these
Dutch entities have an interest in supporting the sale of our
prod-ucts and services.”
PREFERRED SUPPLIER: STORK AEROSPACE One such entity is Stork
Aerospace, a close-knit group of compa-
nies that includes the heritage of aviation pioneer Anthony
Fokker’s namesake factory. Stork develops and produces advanced
components and systems and supplies maintenance services to the
commercial, civ-il and military aerospace segments.
“Our background in aircraft integration distinguishes us from
other suppliers,” said Peter Flinkerbusch, sales director for
structures provider Stork Fokker, an operating company of Stork
Aerospace. “And the Dutch are traditionally known for their
entrepreneurial spirit. We’re a good partner for Boeing as it
expands globally.”
Stork Aerospace’s relationship with Boeing began with an offset
program for Apache avionics bays, which developed into a regu-lar
contract. It also provides the C-17’s ramp attach torque box and
troop door air deflector. The company was named a 2004 Boeing
Supplier of the Year, Major Structures category, for its work on
these programs.
On the commercial side, Stork Fokker contributed to the wing
redesign for the 747-8 and is providing the engineering and initial
production for that airplane’s inboard flaps—including manage-ment
of the supply chain.
Building on its success with other Boeing programs, wiring unit
Fokker Elmo in 2005 won several contracts for the electrical wiring
packages for the 737 and 777—and also has a development contract
with IDS to provide wiring for the P-8A Poseidon. Mar-keting &
Sales Manager Mischa Baert noted that a large part of the P-8A work
will be subcontracted to U.S. small businesses while managed by
Fokker Elmo.
“Stork is an intelligent supplier—it improves the product and
the process by emphasizing innovation, a strong customer focus and
cost management,” said Boeing’s van Dijk. The company invests about
11 percent of its profits in research and development, and is
enhancing both its Lean processes and its global supply chain—
including facilities in Lang Fang, China, and in Kent, Wash.
“We outsource some of our work in other countries not only to
improve on costs, but also to support our customers’ business case
in those locations,” said Arjan Vergouw, Stork Aerospace director
of Business Development.
MANY RELATIONSHIPS, ONE BOEINGJan Narlinge, president, Boeing
Northern Europe, calls the
Netherlands an example of “achieving an optimum.”“They want to
be part European and part transatlantic—and
they’ve been very successful,” he said. “Likewise, the
Netherlands is an example of Boeing’s success in building
international rela-tionships in all sectors.
“But we have to remember that customers don’t see us as IDS or
Commercial Airplanes or International—they see us as The Boeing
Company,” Narlinge added. “If we work together as one company, with
an international outlook, we can only grow—in the Netherlands, in
Europe, and around the world.” n
[email protected]
John Bruins works on a C-17 ramp attach torque box at Stork
Aerospace in Papendrecht. The company was named a 2004 Boeing
Supplier of the Year for its work on the C-17 and Apache
programs.
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It’s our futureActions cited in this story show how employees
are applying con-cepts of the Boeing Management Model to support
the company’s business strategies. Here’s how.
• Growth and productivity: Integration, global partnerships.
To learn more about the Management Model, visit
http://bmm.web.boeing.com on the Boeing intranet.
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BOEING FRONTIERS October 2007 ��
n FEATURE STORY
ATM: a common languageOne of Boeing’s most exciting partnerships
in the Netherlands is its Air Traffic Management research and
development work with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Amsterdam Airport
Schiphol, LVNL (Air Traffic Control the Netherlands) and other
partners. The team has been working on concepts designed to save
fuel and reduce emissions and noise while allowing aviation to
grow.
“The Netherlands has stringent environmental requirements,
complex levels of air traffic, lots of neighbors, demand for
growth,” said Rob Mead, a lead Phantom Works engineer for Boeing
ATM. “Partnering here gives us insight into some of the most
demanding situations likely to be encountered in ATM.”
The team’s first deployed concept was the collaborative
decision-making tool that emerged from the joint Inbound Priority
Sequencing project. It involves letting airlines influence which
flights receive priority handling by ATM when demand exceeds
capacity. It is now in use by KLM, in cooperation with LVNL and the
Eurocontrol Central Flow Management Unit.
Another concept—the efficient, predictable, continuous descents
known as Tailored Arrivals—has completed in-service trials at
Schiphol and then in San Francisco and with NASA. The participation
of Eurocon-trol Maastricht, which is responsible for traffic
control in the upper airspace of Belgium, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands and northwest Germany, expanded the project’s European
footprint, said Mead. “The results are now being fed back into the
next round of development in the Netherlands, through the Speed And
Route Advisory project,” Mead added.
Controllers work in the air traffic control tower of Amsterdam
Airport Schiphol. Boeing is partnering on Air Traffic Management
re-search and development work with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines,
Schiphol and LVNL (Air Traffic Control the Netherlands), among
other Dutch partners. The team’s Tailored Arrivals concept recently
completed in-service trials at the airport.
Senior Technical Fellow Belur Shivashankara said Commercial
Airplanes will use knowledge gained in the Netherlands “in
develop-ing computer programs that will help define optimum
low-noise, low-emissions takeoff and landing procedures. We are
also discussing features for the [aircraft] flight management
computer to aid the use of environmentally progressive operational
procedures.”
Shivashankara called his Dutch counterparts “truly experts among
the air navigation service providers.”
“Our cooperation with Boeing has added momentum to our
develop-ment work,” said Evert Westerveld, manager of ATM R&D
for LVNL. “Our engineers and Boeing’s connected well. There’s
respect for one another’s expertise.”
The team also wants to play a part as larger U.S. and European
ATM initiatives begin to define common architectures and
interoperability standards. “The United States is ahead in some
aspects, while Europe is in others,” said Eugenie Kalshoven-van
Tijen, KLM ATM director of Strategy. “We’ll share what we’ve
learned so we each don’t reinvent the wheel.”
“Really big endeavors get a lot of press, and rightfully so,”
said Kevin Brown, Commercial Airplanes ATM vice president and
general manager. “But there will continue to be a critical need for
spiraled development, testing, and deployment of transformational
concepts of operation and technologies. That’s where
forward-looking partners can work together to change how airplanes
fly.”
—Maribeth Bruno
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