Airbus Signs Contract for High-Memory RFID Tags

Airbus is buying tags from MAINtag and recommending to suppliers that they do the same. The company plans to use the tags it purchases on parts it manufactures internally for its A350 XWB planes. For the majority of the equipment provided by external suppliers, Airbus recommends MAINtag so that all parts will have the same standards of technology, and so that suppliers can benefit from standard commercial conditions.

"Suppliers have full freedom when it comes to choosing their suppliers," says Martin Fendt, an Airbus spokesman. "This is just a recommendation to ease RFID adoption on parts throughout our supply base. It is an option that could simplify procurement/qualification processes for our suppliers."

Carlo Nizam, Airbus' head of value chain visibility

Airbus and its suppliers will first receive 4-kilobyte tags, and will be offered an increased memory size of 8 kilobytes by the end of 2010, according to Carlo Nizam, Airbus' head of value chain visibility, and Tim Butler, Tego's CEO. The manufacturer will receive a final version of the 4-kilobyte tag at the end of March, Nizam notes, and will perform tests on the tag before it is made available to suppliers in June.

By the end of this year, Nizam and Butler report, suppliers will be able to upgrade their 4-kilobyte tags to 8 kilobytes at no cost, through software changes.

MAINtag and Tego will sell the tags for roughly $15 apiece, depending on volumes. According to Tego, Airbus has approximately 500 orders for its A350 planes. The two partners will work directly with Airbus and about 50 or 60 of its parts suppliers to deliver the tags.