Safran to build plant in Hyderabad to make parts for LEAP engine; to invest 36 mn euros in new facility

Hyderabad: France’s Safran Aircraft Engines on Tuesday announced it would build a new plant in Hyderabad to make parts for the LEAP turbofan engine from CFM International. Philip Petitcolin, chief executive officer of Safran, who is here for the Aero India Show beginning Wednesday and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao jointly made the announcement for the new plant. Safran will invest 36 million Euros in this new plant, which will cover 13,000 square meters (140,400 sq ft), including 8,000 square meters (86,400 sq ft) of workshops, in the Special Economic Zone near the international airport here. [caption id=“attachment_5109331” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Construction is set to kick off in June 2019 and will aim at delivering the building and producing the first parts in early 2020, it said. The plant will have about 50 employees by the end of the year to launch operations and will eventually have a workforce of 300. “We are delighted to open a new chapter in our long history with the Indian aerospace industry,” said Petitcolin. Rao said: “We are delighted that Safran has selected Hyderabad to establish its aircraft engine manufacturing plant, thus joining the league of other global OEMs who are already manufacturing and exporting from Telangana”. He said aerospace is a focus industrial sector for Telangana and the state government was providing maximum support to encourage the industry. By 2023, the plant will be able to deliver 15,000 parts per year to support the LEAPs sustained production rate. CFM is set to deliver 1,800 engines this year, rising to 2,000 starting in 2020. With more than 17,000 orders and commitments recorded to date, the LEAP is the fastest selling engine in the history of aviation, the release said. The new-generation LEAP entered service in 2016 and has now passed the mark of three million flight-hours. It already powers more than 700 Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX commercial airliners, including 54 operated by Indian Airlines, the release said. Olivier Andris, CEO of Safran Aircraft Engines said that locating the new plant in India reflected the company’s strategy of developing a global supply chain to support the fast-paced ramp-up in LEAP production. Safran has operated in India for about 65 years and has over 600 employees in seven companies, which provide design, production and support services for aerospace and defense,plus a maintenance training center in Hyderabad for CFM engines. Opened in 2010, this center can train more than 500 technicians a year. With this new Safran Aircraft Engines plant in Hyderabad, Safran is expanding its local footprint, while also leveraging synergies with the Indian aerospace industry, the release added.