When did Secondo Mona start operations in the aerospace industry and what were some of the historical highlights?

Secondo Mona began operations in the aerospace industry over a century ago. The company was founded in 1903 by Mr. Secondo Mona, initially for the sale and repair of bikes and motorcycles. Later, the company started doing repair activities on the first aeroengines and obtained a quality certification on aircraft fuel systems in 1923, which made Secondo Mona an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). The company started international collaborations in the 1920s and 30s, when the aerospace industry was taking flights to the Americas. After World War II, Secondo Mona’s strongest focus on the aerospace industry came with the first programs on the American aircraft that remained in Europe after the war. The company continued to grow and was a part of the first international programs such as Tornado, Eurofighter, EH101 and NH90. Secondo Mona now operates with North America, India, Turkey, and directly supplies new aerospace nations such as China, Korea, and Indonesia. In the last 15 years, Secondo Mona leveraged its supply chain and moved from an equipment manufacturer to a systems manufacturer.

What are the most recent supply chain trends that Secondo Mona has noticed in the market?

The aerospace industry has become much more turbulent, and changes are very rapid, development and production times have shortened, and margins have lowered. Therefore, the company has to work in a completely flexible fashion. As a large SME, employing 270 people, with a turnover of €45 million, Secondo Mona’s dimension allows it to invest in new developments but also to be quick and relatively flexible to react to market changes, which is indispensable at this point in time. The company can supply any kind of market segment, from large civil aircraft to regional and business jets, from fighter aircraft to trainers and transport aircraft, civil and military rotorcrafts, and also new developments on UAVs and tiltrotors.

What competencies has Secondo Mona focused on developing to maintain its position?

Secondo Mona has the complexities of a large company and the dimensions of an SME. If one market segment has an arrest, the company is never hit too hard given that it has a diverse client base. The core business of Secondo Mona is fuel systems and subsystems, but the company also supplies engine equipment, which is rare. In the last five years, Secondo Mona has invested in new in-house competencies in electronics to offer a more complete package of the fuel system. The company is now moving towards developing software know-how for fuel management units and started managing fuel tanks suppliers. Secondo Mona is specialized in high precision mechanics and has competencies in electromechanics and hydraulics that it developed in the 80s for niche applications. Over the last 10 years, the company developed a new line of business with the supply of equipment and subassemblies for landing gear OEM manufacturers, which has become quite significant and is a rather complex and challenging work. Secondo Mona has developed competencies in the industrialization of their design of uplocks and doorlocks, on drag and side brace lock links and on pitch trim actuators, all on main landing gears. This production has allowed the company to increase its volume of sales in the civil market, especially on new platforms like the 787 Dreamliner and the A350-900 and A350-1000, but also on Bombardier business jets.

Will Secondo Mona continue growing internationally?

Secondo Mona has a focus on the Asian market, which offers several new aerospace platforms and interesting volumes and is closer geographically than South America, which the company has entered recently.