The article below from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\ THE DREAMERS - IN SELECT CITIES Set against the turbulent political backdrop of 1968 France when the voice of youth was reverberating around Europe, THE DREAMERS is a story of self-discovery as three students test each other to see just how far they will go. THE DREAMERS will be released uncut with an NC-17 rating. Watch The Dreamers trailer at: http://www.thedreamers.com \----------------------------------------------------------/ Parts Makers in Japan Are Crucial for Boeing March 12, 2004 By KEN BELSON KAKAMIGAHARA, Japan - Mamoru Imuta speaks with all the enthusiasm of a kid in a candy store. A senior manager in the aerospace engineering department of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mr. Imuta loves showing off his division's factories here in this city, an hour south of Nagoya. In one long room is the polished aluminum fuselage of a Boeing 767. In another are the wing flaps for Embraer jets. And in a third are winglets, the curved tips of the wing that stabilize planes. Japanese companies produce many crucial parts for the world's aircraft assemblers, including Boeing and Airbus. And Kawasaki Heavy Industries is one of the biggest players in Japan's aerospace industry. Though Japan's aviation industry is just one-twelfth the size of America's, Japanese production of airplane frames, engines and related parts grew 23 percent from 1990 to 2002, to about 1 trillion yen ($9.1 billion). Japan's Defense Agency typically buys more than half the output. But thanks to the race to build commercial planes that fly farther and cheaper, Japan's role in the civil aircraft industry is likely to grow. Japanese companies like Kawasaki Heavy produce an array of composite materials that reduce a plane's weight and require almost no repairs. This allows assemblers to increase their planes' fuel efficiency and drive down costs. "We thought this is a technology that cannot be emulated by others,'' Mr. Imuta said, standing beside a winglet in his gray factory smock. "The aerospace industry requires special talent, and this technology can also be used in other products, like trains." Expertise in this and other areas is one reason Japanese manufacturers are expected to build a record 35 percent of the structure of Boeing's recently proposed 7E7. Boeing says the plane will burn 20 percent less fuel than similar planes already flying, like the 767, partly because about half of its structure will be made with composite materials instead of the traditional, heavier aluminum. The project could give Japan's aerospace manufacturers - and perhaps Boeing - a much-needed lift. Kawasaki Heavy and rival Japanese companies, like Sumitomo Metal Industries and Bridgestone, also sell to Airbus and other aircraft assemblers, but Boeing buys the bulk of Japan's aircraft production. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways are some of Boeing's best customers, and though Boeing said there was no link, analysts said it was natural for Japanese airlines to buy planes Japanese companies help build. "It's naïve not to understand that significant Japanese content in products is beneficial when salesmen go calling on the Japanese airlines,'' said Lance Gatling, an aerospace consultant in Tokyo. "The 7E7 takes it up another notch." Many conglomerates are heavily indebted and hard-pressed to finance huge projects like new aircraft development. Yet few feel they can abandon the often financially risky aerospace work. Contracts from an assembler like Boeing can employ hundreds of workers for several years, lead to contracts for replacement parts and services, and keep companies in the forefront in crucial technological areas. "All countries want to have an aerospace industry, but it is very difficult to make it viable as a business," said Sei Hagiwara, a senior manager at the Japan Aircraft Development Corporation, an industry group that mediates between the government and airplane assemblers. Eager to preserve jobs and flex its political muscle overseas, Japan's politicians, as in many countries, play a crucial role in steering and subsidizing the domestic aircraft manufacturers. "It's almost a pride thing," said Peter Harbison, an analyst at the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation in Sydney, Australia. "They can be justly proud to say they've gotten into that position through the long, long process of getting the skills." Oddly, however, Japanese companies have had little success over the years building commercial jets. Though Japan makes some of the world's best cars and electronics as well as jet parts, stiff competition, huge costs and technological hurdles have scuttled several attempts during the postwar era. The most notable attempt to compete in commercial aviation began in the 1950's, when the postwar ban on Japan's building of aircraft was lifted. The government backed the building of the YS-11, a propeller plane that seated up to 67 passengers and that was unveiled in 1964, but Japanese companies lacked the marketing prowess overseas to turn the sturdy plane into a financial success. As later efforts to develop commercial jets flopped, Japanese companies - with government assistance - focused more on supplying other builders. >From 1978 to 1983, the government covered about half the costs of developing parts built by Japanese companies for the Boeing 767. In the 1990's, Japanese companies spent 104.5 billion yen ($942 million) to develop parts for the Boeing 777, with a 60 billion yen loan from the government. Some of the money was sunk into developing composite materials that make up about 10 percent of the frame of the 777. The lighter, stronger material is also in the Boeing 737 and 767, and in rival jets. The rock-hard, lightweight material is made from thousands of carbon fibers that are woven into strands and then weaved together into a mesh less than one-fifth of millimeter thick. Twelve or 24 layers of mesh are then cemented together with resins. The resulting material is 40 percent lighter than aluminum. It is also four to five times stronger than aluminum and does not corrode, so it needs fewer repairs. Despite its advantages, it is costly, and it is difficult to mold and press. Though Kawasaki Heavy has cut its prices about 80 percent, to 9,400 yen ($85) a kilogram, the material is still more expensive than aluminum. But Boeing and others are buying. Jim Morris, senior vice president for supplier management at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said his company was convinced that composite materials were cheaper over the life of the plane. Helping develop a lighter fuselage is only one way Japanese contribute to the airline industry. The Matsushita Avionics Systems Corporation, based in Bothell, Wash., is the world's leading supplier of in-flight entertainment systems. The company, a division of the Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, the world's biggest electronics company, makes audio and video players that are connected by networks on most large passenger jets. Another Japanese company, the Jamco Corporation makes about half the toilets and metal food carts used in commercial jets, along with other aircraft components. The Japanese have not given up their dream of building an entire commercial jet, though they have scaled down their expectations. A government-backed study of small passenger plane development by Japanese companies is in the works. They will face competition not just from assemblers like Bombardier of Canada but also from Japan's two biggest automakers. In February, Honda Motor and General Electric formed an alliance to produce engines for light business jets that Honda plans to make. Last year, Toyota tested a single-engine, four-seat aircraft that included a lightweight composite carbon fiber shell. These projects are still at least a few years from being commercially viable. Meantime, Japanese companies seem to be taking considerable solace from their growing role behind the scenes building planes for other companies. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/12/business/worldbusiness/12boeing.html?ex=1080102738&ei=1&en=a9e4de99aa29df79 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! 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