Long-term partnership presents new opportunities for General Aviation OEMs

Visitors to AERO Friedrichshafen in April could not have failed to have noticed the presence of IFI and its colorful stand. 

As well as being the self-styled Italian home of ‘Advanced Chemicals Management for Defense’ and noted for the manufacture and distribution of military specification topcoats (MIL-PRF-85285), it is also well known within AkzoNobel as a long-term manufacturing and distribution partner of its aerospace and maritime coatings since before the start of the new century.

This year AERO Friedrichshafen attracted more than 32,000 visitors to an event that bills itself as the world’s leading show for General Aviation (GA). IFI’s stand was unambiguous in its partnership with AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings, both logos featuring on the same panel displays.

Visitors learned not only about IFIs production under license of AkzoNobel’s Alumigrip 4250 polyurethane topcoat, and its benefits to GA and helicopter OEMs (which include Leonardo), but also its manufacture of the Eclipse and 58 Series polyurethane topcoats, Alumigrip 4200 and Aerodur 5000.  

General Aviation has traditionally chosen automotive industry coatings to satisfy many of its needs, especially when it comes to color and aesthetics. The partnership between IFI and AkzoNobel, however, is making aerospace-qualified coatings more widely available, and quickly delivered, in colors and styles to create striking new liveries.

A third-generation business, IFI is an expert not only in the quality of coatings it can produce, but also in its technical knowhow and its knowledge and application of REACH, the EU regulation to protect human health and the environment from potentially hazardous chemicals. It also actively supports its customers in monitoring chemical risk through PARISYS – its production efficiency and predictive management of chemical risk program.

AkzoNobel’s partnership with IFI is not only centered on new products. Visitors to AERO Friedrichshafen will have seen and been able to have a go at painting an aircraft body part in a virtual environment, thanks to AkzoNobel’s new Aerofleet Training+ VR paint training tool. A team from AkzoNobel is currently working to ‘train the trainers’ to enable IFI to offer paint training to its customers throughout Italy.

IFI’s Luca Mantovani, who organized the stand, is a vigorous champion of aerospace coatings and how his company serves many manufacturers in the GA market with AkzoNobel’s support: “IFI has never rested on its laurels; we have recently invested heavily in our Carsoli production facility to seize new opportunities in the fast‑growing GA market, which has a large number of small manufacturers who could benefit from the quality and performance of our coatings.”

Working with IFI at the show were Enrico Adolfo Hornbostel, Francesca De Michele, Julie Ferve and Vincent Jarno. Enrico has worked for AkzoNobel for more than 35 years: “We are very proud of our partnership with IFI and our work with them in aerospace and maritime coatings. They are an active champion of our products; indeed, I sometimes think they are as much AkzoNobel as we are,” he jokes.

Francesca agrees: “We were delighted to support IFI at AERO Friedrichshafen. The combined quality of our products – which are consistent the world over – alongside our experience, our range and our technical knowledge and support means that between us we have a very strong proposition for the General Aviation market in Italy and beyond.”