Could you tell us about the main milestones that UAS has achieved since its establishment two years ago?

Actually, UAS was founded in 2014 as a result of the merger of two companies, Umbria Electronic Systems and Umbria Aerospace Technologies. Our aim was to provide integrated hydraulic electromechanical and electronic systems. Our unique selling point is our ability to provide plug-and-play actuation systems to customers with electromechanical (EMA) applications and hydraulic and mechanical actuation systems. Our systems have a wide range of applications, including braking, steering, and surface actuation, to name a few. Since we started with just one customer in the Far East, we have come a long way, and today, about 60% of our business is international.

What factors are driving your international focus?

We have found that the Far East region has a lot of potential for us because of the rapid pace of development in the market. Thanks to our flexibility and capability to provide a fast response and continuous support, we have been able to capture several programs in the region. For instance, we recently developed five systems for the Indonesian aerospace company PTDI’s N219 civil aircraft. However, we have not ventured into China yet, as the market requires high volumes that we are not yet equipped to handle. Additionally, the market is already looking for large corporations as suppliers. We would like to work with large companies in Europe, but we are currently unable to provide the extensive support that they require, which will be a challenge for us in the coming years.

What are the distinctive advantages of UAS?

Despite being a small company with only 47 employees, we have more than 60% engineers with all the capabilities to develop mechanical, electromechanical, electronics, and software in-house. We self-fund the development of our systems completely and work closely with our customers to integrate our solutions into their programs.

We are known for our flexibility, continuous support, and innovative, cost-effective solutions. For example, when designing a hydraulic system for a new civil aircraft, we sourced off-the-shelf components from around the world, conducted initial market research, and procured the necessary parts. As a result, we were able to avoid additional certification costs, saving both time and money. In another instance, we convinced and supported a customer in selecting an innovative electrical actuated braking system solution over a traditional hydraulic actuated one. The full system developed by UAS is now flying in the aircraft’s certification phase.

What are the prospects for UAS?

We have come a long way since starting with only seven employees and a turnover of €500,000. By the end of last year, we had more than tripled our business, and we now have more than 40 employees. We are projecting a turnover of about €2 million by the end of 2018 and anticipate increasing it to €11 million by 2020, with a workforce of 65 following commencement of production. We believe that the market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is promising since they use only electromechanical actuation, making them suitable for our capabilities. Our goal is to expand into new markets such as the United States, Russia, India, and Turkey, but for now, we see the East and Far East markets as the most promising regions for us.