“In aviation, safety and trust are the most important things”

Tips: Mr. Machtlinger, can you give us a brief overview of the founding history of FACC?

Robert Machtlinger: FACC was founded 35 years ago during a crisis in the sporting goods industry. The Fischer Sport company had a large and good plastics development department. Josef Fischer and the then head of development, Walter Stephan, set out to find other areas of application for composite applications from the sporting goods industry within a year in order to keep the valuable know-how in the company. After a few attempts, including in the automotive industry and medical technology, they succeeded in doing so in aviation. The first small orders were received as early as 1982, at that time still as a department of Fischer. The GmbH was founded in 1989.

Tips:What were the biggest challenges for FACC?

Power linger: They have shifted considerably. Right at the beginning it was about meeting and delivering the quality and reliability that the aircraft industry demands with just a few people – we only had 20 people in research and production at the time. We did this very well, and built up trust as a result. A major milestone soon followed: in 1989 we were a company with three to four million US dollars in sales and 50 people when the US aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Douglas gave us an order for 100 million dollars. We had to fulfill it. Then it all happened in quick succession: managing growth, building up employees, expanding locations, and investing in aviation. In this industry you have to invest heavily, always in advance. This naturally put a strain on the company. This is why Salinen AG, under Johannes Androsch, acquired an investment in 1991. He joined FACC and internationalized the company. In 2007, Salinen AG owned 100 percent of the company and in 2009 sold 100 percent of FACC to AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation of China). This is a large corporation in China with 400,000 employees and a turnover of 70 billion US dollars. We were then owned by a Chinese state-owned company, which was also a challenge. But in 2014 we were listed on the stock exchange. Today, 45 percent of the company is in free float and 55 percent is owned by AVIC.

Tips:What has changed since AVIC joined the company?

Power linger: With every change of ownership, there are new challenges and wishes from the owner. At the time, the big question for people in the company and in the region was: “What will the Chinese owner do with FACC?” Will the site remain or will they move to China?” The opposite was the case: We have invested 700 million euros in the Austrian site over the last 15 years. We have quadrupled the size of the company and quadrupled the workforce. AVIC is committed to its location in Europe, but also supports globalization.

Tips:What do major clients such as Airbus or Boeing attach particular importance to? What are FACC’s outstanding characteristics that have made the company an attractive partner for the “big players” for decades?

Power linger: In aviation, safety and trust are the most important things. All of our customers, whether they are Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, Bombardier, Rolls-Royce or Pratt & Whitney, trust us as a supplier. When we get an order, we are the only one to build that component. There is no other supplier for the same component. We invest a lot of money in development for which we are not paid. We only get it back when the delivery is made. Therefore, we need the trust that the projects that our customers commission will also be translated into results. On the other hand, our customers trust that we will deliver 100 percent quality 100 percent “on time”. A lot of it is built on trust. We have conveyed that.

Tips:How can you imagine this: Do companies like Airbus and Boeing come to FACC and say: We need, for example, an interior panel with these and those requirements, come up with something, or is it sometimes the other way around, that FACC makes an invention and then offers it to the companies?

Power linger: Both. Firstly, our customers know what they have received from us – we offer it and build it. Secondly, we also do a high degree of in-house development and research, which we then present to customers as an idea. Any idea that is lighter, more efficient and affordable is positive for the end customer. That is how we get our orders.

Tips:You started as an apprentice in the company. Can you tell us something about your career at FACC?

Power linger: In 1982, I began an apprenticeship as a designer and technical draftsman at Fischer Ski & Tennis. After graduating and serving in the army, I came back and, as a very young technician, was involved in setting up a factory in what is now the Ukraine. As part of the team there, I was able to help with machine design and the construction of the factory. When the factory was finished, I was asked if I wanted to go into aviation technology – at that time, this was still a division of Fischer, not a separate company. As I had already been a glider pilot, I was excited about it. I joined this division and was able to help build up the company as a development technician, engineer, and later as a product manager in sales and contract management. I have been doing this in many areas for over 35 years. It is a lot of fun, challenging, and an interesting job.

Tips:What achievements during your time at FACC are you particularly proud of?

Power linger: There are many. That we managed to implement the strategy of being represented with technology in every aircraft that exists today, from a major customer that we had in 1987 – today we would call it a concentration of risk. A key task was globalization in the 2000s, when we left Austria and set up locations in the United States, Canada, and later in India and China. And that today – and last year shows it – we are a company that is able to grow by 24 percent within a year and hire 700 new employees – and that we have done so successfully.

Tips:What role does sustainability play at FACC?

Power linger: A very important one. Lightweight construction is sustainable because lightweight construction is simply more efficient in the aircraft industry. We also implement sustainability in our production facilities: FACC began using geothermal heat in 2007. Until then, we were dependent on gas. In recent years, we have transformed this into geothermal energy and photovoltaics. Today, our dependence on gas is just over 15 percent. In 2040, we want to be an industrial company that operates 100 percent sustainably.

Tips:Where do you see FACC in the next five to ten years?

Power linger: We will of course remain in our core business, civil aviation. But I also see us becoming more and more involved in urban mobility with drones, and a little later – in 2030 and beyond – in space travel. FACC is one of the top 100 companies worldwide today. We want to be among the top 50 providers worldwide by 2030.

Tips:What advice would you give to young professionals pursuing a career in the aviation industry?

Power linger: I can only advise every young person to do what they are passionate about, what interests them, and to commit themselves to it and to continue their education. You can only be truly successful if you do what you enjoy doing. The second thing is: constant learning, constant development, staying curious and persevering.