LIFT – Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow and the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association (MAMA) have announced an agreement to collaborate on introducing advanced lightweight material solutions to the Great Lakes Region’s aerospace manufacturing industry.

As part of this new collaboration, LIFT and MAMA expect to co-sponsor forums and other events providing aerospace industry companies and other manufacturers the opportunity to learn and take advantage of the many resources available to develop and incorporate lightweight material solutions that are in such high demand across the aerospace industry.

“Our member companies look forward to collaborating on material innovations that will help create lightweight aerospace products for the future,” said Gavin Brown, executive director, MAMA. “The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a recent example of lightweight innovations increasing the fuel efficiency and range of the next generation of commercial aircraft.”
LIFT, one of the founding members of the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), is a Detroit-based, public-private partnership committed to the development and deployment of advanced lightweight metal manufacturing technologies, and implementing education and training initiatives.

MAMA’s mission is to serve and represent the interests of Michigan’s aerospace and defense manufacturing firms with a single unified voice, to provide educational programs and industry research to its members, and to promote the State of Michigan’s aerospace and defense manufacturing community within the global industry.

“Bringing lightweight metals solutions to the market can best be accomplished by reaching out to the entire supply chain” says Lawrence Brown, executive director, LIFT. “MAMA’s aerospace supply chain extends from raw material suppliers through forging, machining, heat treating and coating suppliers all the way through to material recyclers. Our members, and manufacturing across the region will benefit from this new collaboration.”

“In aggregate, aircraft production will increase at a compounded growth of 2.3% annually by value to reach $211 billion by 2024,” said Gavin Brown, “The LIFT-MAMA collaboration assures our member companies will have the resources and innovations necessary capture an increasing share of that growing aerospace market.”