Standing at a small booth among a row of other Japanese aerospace suppliers at the Paris Air Show, Yoko Konno is excited at the prospect of new orders for her company, but frowns at long delays to get titanium and the rising cost of chemicals.
"It is challenging but it is a chance to get more business," said Konno, a section manager at Japan's Asahi Kinzoku Kogyo, which produces components and does chrome plating.
Far from the fighter jet displays and blockbuster plane orders that grabbed headlines at the world's largest air show this week, it's the small and medium-sized suppliers dotting the sprawling exhibition halls that are garnering big attention from senior aerospace officials.