- Plexus’ calls on space sector to focus on scaling new products to realise growth potential
- Industry faces innovation shortage if entry to market stifled
- UK’s largest EMS company also urges sector to prioritise sustainability at Space-Comm
LIVINGSTON, SCOTLAND; 5th June 2023 – Plexus Corp. has urged businesses and industry leaders attending Space-Comm Expo 2023 to bring renewed focus to bear on the issue of product scalability in the space sector.
Evelyn Rafferty, Plexus’ Senior Director of Aerospace & Defence EMEA said that innovation in the sector is reliant upon building critical infrastructure and logistics planning to support effective scaling up of new products and technologies.
Space-Comm Expo, the UK’s largest event focused on the commercial future of space for business, defence and aerospace, takes place on 7-8 June. The Expo is a key moment for businesses across the sector – large and small – to come together to assess the state of innovation in the market, and set the agenda for the year ahead. Plexus, which is committed to supporting companies scale their manufacturing quickly and reliably, is encouraging firms to focus on their ability to scale new products to ensure that they can deliver on their capacity to innovate assuredly and effectively.
Rafferty said, “We have helped a number of space start-ups make the transition to volume manufacturing, realising innovation in fields such as surveillance and navigation, and satellite communications. And while there is no shortage of innovative ideas and game-changing initiatives, there needs to be a more determined and comprehensive conversation around how these ideas are brought to fruition.”
The Expo this year comes at a critical juncture for the aerospace and defence industry more broadly, as investment in space technologies is on an upward trajectory that shows no sign of waning. Over the last ten years, in excess of one quarter of a trillion dollars ($264 billion USD) of equity investment were made into 1,727 unique companies in the space economy.
Moreover, with the ever-expanding horizons of the space industry will come greater responsibility to the environment. Rafferty also urges the international space community to devote time and resources to developing technical solutions that ensure the long-term sustainability for space activities for generations to come.
She concluded, “Space is no different to other sectors coming under increasing scrutiny for their environmental credentials. Growth must be achieved sustainably. The topic is likely to feature front and centre at Space-Comm this year and we urge all players in the market to think about sustainability at every step of a product’s lifecycle, from design and ideation to sustaining services.”
In this respect, Plexus welcomes Space Scotland’s decision to survey companies within the Scottish space sector to assess the current state of sustainability reporting in the industry. The survey will cover topics such as companywide emissions, annual reporting practices, sustainability priority areas and publicly available information. The role of industry bodies such as Space Scotland will be critical in ensuring that sustainability concerns do not take a backseat in new product development in the sector.