Quickstep last week announced the acquisition of a minority stake in Carbonix, a company specialising in drone design and manufacturing who provide Data/Drone as a Service (DaaS) capabilities to a range of industries.
A manufacturing agreement between Carbonix and the company is also under negotiation to support planned manufacturing volume growth.
Additionally, Quickstep has appointed Steve Osborne to the role of Business Leader - Quickstep Advanced Air Mobility (QAAM), this will be in addition to his existing role as General Manager Group Business Development. Osborne will lead the growth of Quickstep’s newest business vertical, which focuses on leveraging the company’s manufacturing, aerospace MRO services and R&D capabilities to enter the rapidly growing Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector.
The AAM sector, which includes drones and other eVTOL aircraft, is valued at $226 billion from 2020 to 202. In addition to the segment targeted by companies like Carbonix, the cargo drone manufacturing and operating market alone is predicted to reach US$58 billion by 2032.
“We believe the Commonwealth Government’s National Emerging Aviation Technologies Policy will support national AAM sector growth," Quickstep Chief Executive Officer, Mark Burgess said. "Establishing a dedicated vertical ensures we are laser focused on taking advantage of the environment this creates."
“Our Waurn Ponds site will be home to QAAM and become our drone manufacturing Centre of Excellence, leveraging our R&D capabilities and university relationships to provide drone companies with manufacturing solutions to aerospace quality at automotive pricing," Osborne said.