Install Domestic Electronic Products on Boeing Airbus
Time:2019-08-21 View:884
A company called "multi Nica" has replaced over 80% of the video players installed on international civil aviation aircraft with its own products, and has gradually entered the overseas market. At present, Donica has been officially installed and operated in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and other countries. At the same time, it has also been involved in the development of cockpit voice recording, cockpit surveillance, airborne satellite navigation and other core areas.
Founded in 2003, after more than ten years of development, Cai Zhaoyang, chairman of the company, led the team to break the monopoly of the international avionics market by the European and American giants, enabling China's avionics to reach the international stage.
Pioneering national airborne avionics
Cai Zhaoyang, Tangshan, was born three days after the 1976 earthquake. The fate of the care, let him know not to give up easily. In 1998, Cai Zhaoyang graduated from communications professional, and then worked for a communications company in the south.
By chance, he and several friends working on aircraft maintenance found that the video player on the plane was still using a cassette player. "DV D players became popular in 2003, and the big cassette tape recorders of the 1990s were still used on airplanes," Cai said. For airlines, the maintenance of airborne avionics equipment was a very painful thing at that time. Take video player equipment as an example, because of its troublesome operation and high failure rate, maintenance costs thousands of dollars at a time, and often fails to get the desired service. "So we wondered if we could make a product of our own?"
Therefore, several young people have registered and established the city of many nicardia Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. In just four months, they have developed a new airborne digital video player, which can directly replace the original video player on Boeing and Airbus airplanes. After being tried out by a private airline company, it has been well received. Then it was poured cold water and the airlines told them they couldn't buy their products. It was not until then that they discovered that to modify the components of the aircraft, we first need to get the PM A (parts production license) airworthiness certification of CA A C (Civil Aviation Administration of China).
When they went to CA A C to apply for certification with their products, they found that CAA C had not accepted the certification application of domestic avionics products before. Suddenly became the first crab eater. Faced with all kinds of unknowns, the Donica team ushered in the first important decision in the process of entrepreneurship: is it hard to open up this market full of unknowns, or let their entrepreneurial dream die? Cai Zhaoyang was unwilling to give up halfway. He gritted his teeth with his partners for three years. Finally, in January 2006, the new domestic airborne digital playback equipment received the certificate of PMA issued by CA A C. With airworthiness certificates, their products are highly sought after by domestic airlines. In 2009, Donica achieved a single product market share of up to 80% in China, with total sales exceeding 100 million yuan. The company is jubilant from top to bottom, but the bottleneck of development that comes with it plunges them into a low ebb.
Developing International Market with National Aviation Electronics Products
"The cake of a single product in the domestic market is so big that we eat it all." Cai Chaoyang said that at that time, they had converted most of the domestic civil aviation aircraft into their own products, while the project of domestic large aircraft had just started, the market had disappeared and a breakthrough had to be sought.
At the beginning of 2009, Cai Chaoyang ushered in the second important choice in the course of his entrepreneurship: to change into a relatively mature and stable telecommunications equipment industry, or to continue to venture ahead in the aviation and electronics industry? Cai Chaoyang said, "You can't give up easily." After in-depth thinking, Cai Chaoyang put forward three development goals: first, to develop products from a single component to the whole system; second, to open up international markets; and third, to try to change products to services. "In fact, I have a fourth goal in mind, that is, to be the front cabin equipment of the passenger plane." Cai Chaoyang said that civil airliners are divided into front cabin and rear cabin. The airborne video player developed by Donica belongs to the rear cabin equipment, while the core technical equipment of the aircraft is in the front cabin. At that time, all the suppliers of the front cabin equipment were monopolized by foreign manufacturers.
Cai Chaoyang's strategic goal has been questioned from all sides. "It is impossible for domestic airline customers to develop foreign markets alone, let alone enter the front-cabin equipment supply market." How to achieve the strategic development goals? In 2010, in order to find opportunities, Cai Zhaoyang took part in the German Hamburg interior decoration exhibition with his team and products, and became the first Chinese avionics manufacturer to attend the exhibition.
"In that year's exhibition, at a thematic Summit Forum organized by Airbus, only three of us were black-haired and yellow-skinned." Compared to Cai Zhaoyang's equipment and products, the label "exhibitors from China" has attracted enough attention from 2 partners. A senior executive of an American airline came to ask where they came from. The veteran was surprised when he learned that he was Chinese. "When the Chinese come, the price of equipment will be reduced by half." This simple exclamation suddenly made Cai Zhaoyang five kinds of miscellaneous stories. He said, first, the global avionics market has expectations for China, and the two is that the Chinese people have to remove the mark that can only be done as a cheap product. Cai Chaoyang has established his belief in continuing to move forward in the avionics market.
Breaking through the Three Passes of Certification in the International Market
When entering the international market, Donica is stuck at the certification gate again, which is blocked by three forensic thresholds. To install Chinese products on planes in the US and Europe, airworthiness certification must be applied to FA A and EA SA. If you want to show a movie on a video player, you must also be authorized by the film company.
FA A stipulates that only companies in the United States can apply for PMA licenses. Cai Chaoyang decided to adopt the strategy of "follow its course" and invited Americans to apply for airworthiness certification in the United States. In 2010, donic card international established branches in London and London respectively. The company hired foreign employees of all colors. "Americans understand their laws and regulations most. Later development has proved that this decision is correct." In 2011, Donica finally got the relevant airworthiness certificate.
On the Hollywood side, because of the piracy problem, it is difficult for Chinese companies to win the trust of the film companies. One Chinese employee of Dany card spent more than a year breaking through obstacles, and finally won the secret certificate of 6 movie companies.
With the knocking bricks, the international market finally opened the door to Chinese people. In September 2011, the N EO S airline installed the digital video player produced by the company. This is Donica's first overseas order. In 2013, many nicardia and the United States Collins established strategic cooperation to initially complete the global layout.
Today, Donica has become a frequent visitor to major overseas air shows. Cai Chaoyang said with a smile that there is a convention in the German air show. On the afternoon of the last day, the exhibitors will have beer with their friends before going to various booths. In the first year of Donica's exhibition, no one came. In the second year, several friends and businessmen began to say hello. By the third year, Donica had become one of the international friends and businessmen. "This shows that Donica has been recognized by international counterparts."
Co construction of Research Institute of Technology
Today, the headquarters of the company is a branch of the company, which has established branches in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Hong Kong. The company independently develops airborne digital audio player, airborne digital video player, airborne audio and video on demand system, airborne cabin wireless entertainment system and other products, and has refitted more than 1500 aircraft worldwide so far.
The three goals that Donica set at the outset helped him gain a firm foothold in the avionics industry, and products such as "Quick Acquisition of Cockpit Voice Recorder" and "Cockpit Door Surveillance System" also made Cai Chaoyang's idea of "being a front-cabin avionics device" a preliminary realization. Cai Chaoyang realized that Donica alone could not rapidly promote the rise of the whole industry in China. Only with the overall growth of the industry, can we have enough strength to create a new pattern of the international avionics market.
Cai Chaoyang analysis, the state vigorously promote the development of civil aviation industry, the C 919 project will be the biggest opportunity for the development of National Aviation Electronics industry. But at present, the domestic civil aviation electronics industry lacks the foundation of technology accumulation. Domestic enterprises want to develop aviation electronics products, without verification platform and airworthiness forensics experience. Especially if domestic products want to enter the international market, verification tests must be done abroad. Even relatively simple tests, the cost is as high as 100,000 US dollars once, invisibly setting a very high threshold. "If China has its own verification platform, it will reduce the cost of developing new products and the difficulty of obtaining evidence, shorten the research and development cycle, and promote the development of the entire industry chain."
In February 2014, the municipal Aviation Technology Research Institute was officially launched. Under the strong invitation of Cai Zhaoyang, China commercial flying, Shenzhen Airlines, Donghai airlines, Civil Aviation University, China, duniic, and Guang Qi Research Institute and other units joined the governing unit. Cai Zhaoyang said that the Institute will set up the first complete avionics product testing and verification platform in the country, and set up the airworthiness certification support center. He hopes to share his experience in the avionics industry through the research institute to share with his counterparts in China, and to provide stable and stable development of China's avionics industry with the leading international avionics public technology service platform. Solid cornerstone.
Like many airlines, Cai Zhaoyang has a beautiful blueprint in mind. If all the components of China's large aircraft C 919 can be used independently by the nation, the history of Chinese civil aviation will enter a new era.
Venture capital
Nothing is impossible. Only unexpected, not impossible. Cai Chaoyang said that resilience is a magic weapon for entrepreneurs to persevere when they encounter difficulties. When meeting the bottleneck of development, we should look at the other side of things. Opportunities often hide behind difficulties.