Safran inaugurates new nacelle integration plant for Airbus A320neo

The new Safran Nacelles plant, dedicated to the integration of the engine nacelle on the Airbus A320neo, has been inaugurated by Safran CEO Philippe Petitcolin, in a ceremony also attended by Klaus Richter, Airbus chief procurement officer, and Cédric Goubet, Safran Nacelles CEO.

Safran invested nearly €10 million in this 8,000m² plant, designed according to best practices based on Lean Manufacturing precepts. It already houses nearly 70 highly qualified employees, and will expand to about 100 employees by 2020. In particular, the plant is outfitted with tools and equipment designed to meet the challenge of high production rates. By 2020, it plans to assemble and integrate some 400 nacelles per year on CFM International's LEAP-1A engines powering the Airbus A320neo.

All nacelle components – air inlet, engine cowl, thrust reverser and exhaust system – are assembled on site, then painted before being integrated on the engine. These propulsion systems are then acceptance tested by customer airlines before being delivered to the Airbus final assembly line in Hamburg.

The inauguration of this plant is concurrent with the delivery of the 200^th LEAP-1A propulsion system to Airbus from Hamburg. It also marks the milestone of 600 propulsion systems delivered since the A320neo entry into service in August 2016.

During the ceremony, Safran CEO Philippe Petitcolin said: "I am delighted to inaugurate our new plant, a full-fledged part of the aerospace cluster in the Hamburg region. It has largely proven its operational efficiency since the start of production. Our investment in Germany also reflects Safran's commitment to providing real local support to our customer, Airbus, and to our sustained presence in this region, which offers significant industrial capacity and a highly qualified labour pool."

Safran is an international high-technology group and Tier 1 supplier of systems and equipment in the aerospace and defence markets. Operating worldwide, Safran has nearly 58,000 employees and generated sales of €15.8 billion in 2016.

Safran Nacelles is leader in aircraft nacelles, with over 18,400 units in service and more than 110,000 flight-hours logged every day. The company is active in all segments of the market, from regional jets and corporate aircraft to the largest airliners.

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