Our changing production organization
Our production facilities are constantly upgraded to maintain world-class quality and competitiveness, through solutions such as digital innovation, specialized plants and an international footprint.
Made in India
Our first Management Committee meeting held elsewhere than in Saint- Cloud was organized in New Delhi on April 23, 2018. This event clearly reflects the importance of our investment in India as part of our strategic vision. Our choice was based on the need to achieve sustainable competitiveness gains within the scope of the technology and workload transfers as part of India’s order of 36 Rafale fighters in 2016.
Our plant in Nagpur delivered its first Falcon 2000 parts at the end of 2018. The production ramp- up, planned over a five year period, is taking shape with the construction of a second hangar-workshop. At the same time, our teams have trained the first Indian operators and managers.
The growth of our business in India has resulted in a number of partnerships with local companies, as well as a supply chain extended to include new suppliers. More than 150 French SMEs have already been offered development opportunities related to India’s Rafale contract.
Strategic capabilities
The drive to continuously improve our competitiveness is reflected in the organization of an integrated production system, based on an array of facilities specialized in strategic areas: metals, composites, flat products, etc. The aim is to further simplify our production organization and multiply synergies, based on a new software package called Sapriso. This specialization approach also entails the construction of new buildings, already under way or planned, in Mérignac, Martignas and Biarritz. In addition, it is behind the relocation of our fuselage, fully-equipped skin panels and complex metallic pipe activities in a new plant in Cergy-Pontoise, near Paris.
Synergies and new ways of working
Changes to our facilities are also designed to foster new and more collaborative ways of working. For instance, the engineers in our design offices incorporate production and support requirements right from the outset. And our design teams work even more closely with our customers and take a more holistic view of the entire aircraft. We have also embraced the Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) approach.
Work is continuing on the Factory 4.0 concept, in particular through advanced manufacturing and logistics management to create a set of operational standards that will support a sustained improvement in our production performance. These standards will enhance the use of connected production, responsive production organization and robotization.
Industrial ecosystem
We are at the center of an industrial network that has gradually developed over the decades, one that shares knowledge and methods, along with proven design and production tools. In January 2019, we officially renewed our support for defense SMEs, following on an agreement signed with the French Ministry of the Armed Forces in 2014.
Our role is also taking concrete shape with Aeroprint, an agreement signed with the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southern France in November 2018 to support the development of the regional additive manufacturing industry. Among other aspects, this program supports the construction of a collaborative platform in Argonay, slated to start testing in 2020 and production in 2022.