VOESTALPINE BOHLER AEROSPACE GMBH & CO KG

Their core work

voestalpine Böhler Aerospace is a premium aerospace forging manufacturer based in Kapfenberg, Austria, producing safety-critical components — notably turbine disks for jet engines — from high-performance superalloys. Their core industrial work involves precision hot forging under tight metallurgical and certification requirements, where controlling grain structure and mechanical properties is as important as achieving geometric tolerances. Beyond production, they actively develop digital tools to simulate material behavior during forging, enabling virtual design validation before expensive physical trials. This combination of industrial-scale forging expertise and R&D capability in process simulation makes them an unusual participant in European research consortia — they bring both the problem and the manufacturing context to the table.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

With only two projects spanning 2016–2021, the evolution is narrow but meaningful. Their earlier work (PROSIT, 2016) was firmly rooted in materials engineering — using simulation to predict forging outcomes and reduce reliance on physical trial-and-error, which is the classic challenge in superalloy disk production. Their later project (SPIRIT, 2018) shifted toward robotic inspection systems, suggesting a move from process control upstream to quality assurance downstream. The overall direction is consistent: replace manual, experience-driven judgment in aerospace manufacturing with validated digital tools.

They are building a digital thread across their manufacturing chain — from virtual process design to automated inspection — which positions them well for future consortia targeting zero-defect manufacturing or digital twin applications in aerospace.

How they like to work

They have coordinated one project and participated in another, showing willingness to lead when the topic falls squarely in their domain. Their consortium footprint is small — 8 unique partners across 3 countries — indicating they prefer focused, technically aligned partnerships over broad consortium building. They are unlikely to be a networking hub; they enter consortia to solve specific manufacturing problems and contribute real industrial test cases.

Their H2020 network spans 8 partners in 3 countries, typical for niche aerospace supply chain consortia where partners are selected for technical fit rather than geographic coverage. The Clean Sky 2 affiliation suggests their closest ties are within the European aviation ecosystem.

What sets them apart

Böhler Aerospace occupies a rare position: an industrial manufacturer with active R&D investment in the simulation and automation tools that govern their own production. Most forging companies are end-users of simulation software; Böhler helped develop it as consortium coordinator under Clean Sky 2, which signals a level of technical depth uncommon for a production-focused company. As part of the voestalpine group, they also bring access to premium alloy supply chains and industrial scale that pure research institutions cannot match in a consortium.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PROSIT
  Coordinator role in a Clean Sky 2 project — a highly competitive Joint Technology Initiative — focused on simulation tools for turbine disk forging, demonstrating recognized technical authority within European aerospace R&D.
• SPIRIT
  Participation in an inspection robotics framework shows that their digital manufacturing interests extend beyond their core forging domain into cross-sector automation and computer vision applications.