Foreign Investments Europe Case studies Fokker

Fokker

Background
Fokker Aerostructures was looking for a location to accommodate its new JSF assembly plant. For that purpose, the builder of aircraft parts had invited four municipalities with Fokker branches, of which Hoogeveen and Papendrecht seemed to be the favorite options. Papendrecht started the bid book process with an advantage, as it only had to to adapt the existing halls in order to be able to accommodate the assembly plant. Hoogeveen, on the other hand, would have to spend a considerable sum on building a new hall. In the event of a positive outcome, Hoogeveen would develop into the most prominent location in the Netherlands for the assembly of large structural components of aircraft with a high production volume. This would guarantee a lot of extra regional employment. It turned to NOM for support, so that it would be well prepared for the bidding process.

Question: Can you help us to draw up an attractive bid which enables us to compete with the location in Papendrecht?

The first steps
We approached the competition from two different angles. First of all, the supply chain within Fokker Hoogeveen was optimized, so that operational costs could be reduced. Secondly, a creative method was found to settle the accommodation costs. On the basis of a financial lease structure we managed to make these costs fully variable. A local investor was found that was prepared to follow the financial model prepared by NOM and to finance the building.

End phase and result
Because of the creativity that went into the project, Hoogeveen remained on the shortlist until the very end. Unfortunately the location in Papendrecht was chosen. However, Hoogeveen gained a lot in terms of time and appreciation; as long as you're on the shortlist you're involved in the discussion, and you can continue to adapt to the project's changing scope. In the end, that can work to your advantage. And that is what is very like likely to happen in Hoogeveen. In fact the location will continue to play a prominent role in the JSF project: it will become a supplier of high-quality composite synthetic parts.