Italy-UK PARTNERSHIP

FROM THE CHAMBERS | 21 www.italchamind.eu T he ICCIUK, in collaboration with the Glasgow and Turin Chambers of Commerce and Club Torino, with the aim of strengthening the relationships between the twin towns of Glasgow and Turin, organised a visit to Turin in September 2018. On the occasion, the Lord Provost of Glasgow, accompanied by a delegation of Scottish companies, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to achieve greater economic development and entrepreneurial integration. The programme of the visit included a visit to Altec Spazio SpA, an Italian centre of excellence in the aerospace sector.  ALTEC, acronym of Aerospace Logistics Technology Engineering Company, provides engineering and logistics services in support of the operations of the ISS, the International Space Station. During the visit, the Scottish delegation met senior representatives of the company, including Fabio Massimo Grimaldi, current President of ALTEC, and Altec Meeting with the Turin-based aerospace centre of excellence that supports the ISS operations discussed their future projects.  As a public-private enterprise owned by a major European space company (Thales Alenia Space) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), ALTEC is at the forefront for the development and implementation of planetary exploration missions. Based in Turin with liaison offices at NASA and at the European Space Agency (ESA), it offers services such as engineering and logistics support, training of astronauts, support to experiments in biomedicine, processing of scientific data, development and management of the ground segment of space programmes. Another essential mission is the promotion of space culture through national and international projects. Of interest for the delegation was the fact that ALTEC is now the prime contractor for the most important ASI programmes dedicated to the ISS, as well as for its participation to the most relevant Italian and European programmes connected to the ISS utilisation and exploration of planets.  Such a vast and developed expertise, along with an incredibly functional infrastructure, permitted ALTEC to get contracts to process scientific data of the ESA programmes, as well as the design, development and future operations of the Exomars Rover Operations Control Centre.  The delegation also visited the site itself, including the Mars and Moon Terrain Demonstrator used to test the development of exploration technologies, and a Neutral Buoyancy Test Facility, where simulations of activities in a reduced gravity environment take place. FUTURE COLLABORATIONS The visit had also the objective to create new opportunities and collaboration between the UK and Italy within the aerospace sector. The company confirmed their aim to cooperate and support Chambers of Commerce and other organisations in projects linked to their area of expertise, an asset which could be used during the next Italian Market visits organised for 2019. An ALTEC delegation already travelled to England in November 2018 with Exclusive Brands Torino to strengthen their presence in international markets and promote a dynamic image of the Piedmont area abroad. ·