Safran Magazine #12

Transcription

Safran Magazine #12

aPril 2012 – # 12
the safran group magazine
special report
China today
40 years of partnerships
with Safran
p. 18 PANORAMA: PATROLLER DRONE, LONG-ENDURANCE OBSERVATION / p. 26 MARKETS: SMART CARDS FOR HEALTH
Contents
marchés
Editorial
marchés
News break
p. 04
Special report
p. 08
Building confidence
for the long haul
China today
40 years of partnerships with Safran.
Panorama
p. 18
Long-endurance observation
Markets
p. 22
22 Safran in the UK
25 The A400M’s inertial navigation
system
26 Health card a success
28 High-tech missiles
Insight
p. 30
Interview
p. 32
Jean-Paul Herteman
Chairman and CEO of Safran
S
Recruitment: a more attractive
employer
Tunisia takes off
Interview with Mohamed Frikha,
Chairman and CEO of Telnet.
22 United Kingdom
The Safran group magazine - 2, bd
du Général-Martial-Valin 75724 Paris France - Cedex 15 - E-mail : safran.magazine@safran.fr
- Publication Director: Pascale Dubois - Editorial Director:
Florent Vilbert - Executive Editor in Chief: Céline Groult Editor in Chief: Martin Bellet - Written by: A. Attali, D. Baudier,
M. Bellet, B. Dietz, S. Ghorbal, F. Lert, G. Sequeira-Martins
- Translation: Don Siegel, ID Communications - Production:
- Printed by: Imprimerie Vincent, certified
imprim’vert on PEFC accredited paper - ISSN 19607164 - The articles and illustrations published in
this magazine may not be reproduced without prior
authorization. Cover: © Corbis
02 _ April 2012 _ safran Magazine
Four decades
of mutual
trust
A similar cultural and industrial heritage, as well
as geographical proximity, have fostered Safran’s
development in the United Kingdom, enabling it
to deploy a broad array of expertise.
© Jérome Deullin / Eurocopter
You can also check out the
latest Safran news on:
• www.safran-group.com
• www.facebook.com/GroupeSafran
© Roberto Frankenberg / Safran
The Patroller drone is the most cost-effective
solution for long-endurance surveillance
missions.
afran has been especially successful in recent months. The newgeneration aircraft engine LEAP has really taken off, having already
logged more than 3,000 orders and commitments. LEAP is indeed a
worthy successor to the CFM56, which continues at record business
levels. We have also staked out exceptional positions to anticipate
changes in the air transport industry, by investing in “more-electric”
aircraft and green taxiing, for instance. Other major developments are cause
for satisfaction as well, in particular the completion of the Herakles project to
create the world’s second largest solid rocket propulsion company, our link-up
with Thales in optronics and infrared sensors, and the acquisition of the U.S.
company L1 Identity Solutions, making
Safran one of the world leaders in security
“We are very proud of
technology.
our efforts to help develop
Each of these developments plays
employment in industry.”
a fundamental role in our Group’s
organization, harbors expanded synergies
and future growth, and strengthens us over the long term. To keep pace with
ongoing growth, we continue to modernize our production facilities in France
and around the world. We are also very proud of our efforts to help develop
employment in industry and attract today’s top talents, who will obviously
underpin our future success.
Many questions remain up in the air, of course, as we move forward. Europe’s
current financial difficulties will impact the real economy. Safran will rise to
these challenges because we operate in global markets, we deploy a resilient
strategy, and we have a very clear vision of where we are going.
The companies that will emerge from this crisis as winners are those able to
create a distinctive difference by leveraging innovation and competitiveness.
And that’s why, with full confidence in the future of our Group, we are going to
further amplify our focus on R&D and increase our capital expenditures.
safran Magazine _ April 2012 _ 03
News Breaks
marchés
wEXPORT
wUnited States
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden,
a prestigious guest
O
n January 26, 2012, the Vice
President of the United States,
Joe Biden, visited Safran USA
and Albany Engineered Composites in
Rochester, New Hampshire,
accompanied by Safran’s Chairman and
CEO, Jean-Paul Herteman. Following
the visit, Vice President Biden gave a
speech on U.S. policies to boost
employment, especially via measures
designed to encourage partnerships
between the private sector and
universities. Safran and Albany, which
expect to hire some 400 employees in
the United States over the next ten
years, have teamed up with Great Bay
Community College in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, to set up a training program
that meets their skills requirements.
This project also includes the opening
of another plant specialized in the 3D
woven RTM process, in the Lorraine
region of France. Safran has operated
in the United States for 40 years, in all
three of its core markets, through 31
different companies. About 20% of
Safran’s consolidated sales are
generated in the United States.
On January 30, 2012,
Safran and Thales
acquired Areva’s 20%
stake in Sofradir, their
equally-owned
subsidiary specialized in
infrared detectors. Each
partner now owns 50%
of Sofradir. This
transaction was planned
as part of the
partnership agreement
signed by Safran and
Thales on December 20,
2011 to bolster the
national infrared
detector industry. It will
also expand their access
to international markets,
a key objective to ensure
the financial viability of
this industry.
Rafale soon to be
deployed in India
D
assault’s Rafale has been selected by India to
start exclusive negotiations for the “contract of
the century”, concerning the country’s
requirement for 126 modern fighters. Estimated at
more than 10 billion euros, this is one of the largest
contracts in military history. It also redefines France’s
position in the global defense market. Combat proven in
Afghanistan and Libya, the Rafale is now in the process
of earning its first export contract. Safran provides the
engine and many other systems and equipment for this
state-of-the-art multirole fighter.
W Learn more
For details on Safran’s contribution to Rafale,
see the Aerospace Applications section on the Safran website:
www.safran-group.com
1 million
flight-hours logged by Arriel
and Makila helicopter engines
in Malaysia.
© D.R.
© D.R.
An interview with Bernard Decré, president
of the association La Recherche de l’Oiseau
Blanc, in the Media section of Safran’s
website: www.safran-group.com
new employees will
be hired worldwide by
Safran in 2012.
1 million
Morpho issued its one-millionth biometric
device to an Indian customer during
the Biometrics trade show in London.
“It’s both an immense chance and a great responsibility to be chosen
for one of the most impressive production programs in the history
of aviation, also the keystone in our exceptional transatlantic
partnership with GE*. Having reached the ‘age of maturity’, like CFM
in fact, I am very proud and very enthusiastic about being able to
directly contribute to building foundations for the future, through
the development of the LEAP engine. Following in the footsteps of
its predecessor, the CFM56, the LEAP engine is already staking out
a position as the market standard for single-aisle jets in the next 25
years.”
Cédric Goubet, 40, supervises CFM-led programs, and provides an
essential liaison between GE and Snecma. After several years with
the French government, in particular contributing to the definition and
deployment of the “competitiveness clusters” policy in 2004, he joined
Safran in 2010, reflecting his firm conviction that industry would
remain a key to the future of France and its world-class position.
Safran’s heritage. The
company Lorraine-Dietrich was
founded in 1871, and was
acquired by Gnome & Rhône in
1941. Gnome & Rhône was
nationalized in 1945, along with
other French engine-makers
reaching back to the dawn of
aviation, and renamed Snecma.
W Learn more
6,000
Cédric Goubet,
Executive Vice President,
CFM International
In search of the White Bird
S
More than
Decision-makers
wHERITAGE
afran signed a two-year
partnership agreement in
December 2011 with the
association La Recherche de l’Oiseau
Blanc (“In Search of the White Bird”)  
to participate in the fourth search
operation to find the wreckage of the
Oiseau Blanc (White Bird), the
legendary plane flown by French pilots
Charles Nungesser and François Coli,
that may have crossed the Atlantic  
12 days before Lindbergh in 1927.  
The association will try to find the
Lorraine-Dietrich engine that powered
the White Bird, an important link to
© Dassault Aviation - S. Randé
© Michael Hemberger / Safran USA, Inc.
Safran
increases stake
in Sofradir
* CFM International is a 50/50 company of Safran and GE.
News Breaks
marchés
W Learn more
A video of the concert given during
the award ceremony, in the
Commitments section on the
website: www.safran-group.com
Strong rise in
2011 earnings
Vega lifts off!
Despite the financial
crisis and the current
crisis of confidence in
Europe, Safran
posted very positive
financial results in
2011. Recurring
operating income
jumped 35% to 1.2
billion euros, equal to
10.1% of sales, and
net income rose 27%
to 644 million euros.
The Group’s order
book also reached an
all-time high of 43
billion euros. Safran is
also looking forward
to a continued
improvement of its
results in 2012 and
beyond, and will
continue to invest in
cutting-edge
technologies and
innovative products.
E
urope’s new Vega light
launcher, intended for small
satellites, made a successful
first qualification flight on February
13, 2012 from the Guiana Space
Center in French Guiana. Safran
contributed to this success through
technological innovations provided
by its companies. Europropulsion,
the joint subsidiary of Snecma
Propulsion Solide and Avio,
makes the solid rocket motor for
the launcher’s first stage – the
largest single-piece SRM with a
filament wound structure. Snecma
Propulsion Solide also provides
the nozzle and the igniter casing.
Expected to perform one or two
launches a year, this new rocket
developed by ELV, a joint venture of
Avio and EADS, gives Arianespace  
a complete family of launchers.
wPropulsion
Upgraded SaM146 version
O
n January 25, 2012,
the French-Russian
consortium PowerJet
announced that the 1S18 version  
of its SaM146 engine had been
certified by the European Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA). The SaM146
powers the Sukhoi Superjet 100
© Superjet International
On October 3, 2011,
Wenjiao Wang received the
Safran Foundation prize for
music. This young pianist
started her international
career in France in 2003.
Born in China in 1985,
Wenjiao Wang entered the
Conservatoire National
Supérieur de Musique et de
Danse, winning a First Prize
(2008) and earning a
Master’s in piano with a
unanimous vote by the jury,
along with a First Prize in
chamber music (2010). Her
first album, Duo Azar,
inspired by Spanish music
and tangos, was issued by
PAI Records in 2011.
wSpace
© ESA/CNES/Arianespace
Safran Foundation
awards music prize
regional jet. The new SaM146 1S18
version offers higher takeoff thrust
(16,100 lb, versus 13,500 lb  
for the baseline version), enabling  
the Sukhoi Superjet 100 to operate
at higher maximum takeoff weight
and thus carry more fuel to increase
its range.
wCapital expenditures
New French wiring plant
© Pierre Soissons
Karen Bomba, along with Jean-Paul
Herteman, Chairman and CEO of
Safran, and Louis Gallois, Chief
Executive Officer of EADS and
Chairman of the new industry think
tank, La Fabrique de l’Industrie,
Henri-Michel Comet and Martin
Malvy, respectively prefect and
president of the Midi-Pyrénées
region. Safran invested some 12
million euros to ensure the longterm local presence of Labinal, the
world’s leading supplier of electrical
wiring solutions for aircraft. The
plant has 730 employees. It
produces wiring harnesses and
electrical cabinets for EADS,
provides product support services
for Airbus, and is also the
company’s worldwide production
coordination center. Villemur-surTarn, the sixth Group plant opened
since 2010, clearly reflects
Safran’s industrial strategy, which
seeks to safeguard key
technologies and skills by investing
in its historic homeland.
Decision-makers
Kening Liu,
Chief Executive Officer, Safran China
“When China awakes… In fact, China woke up at the dawn of this
century, and has become a pivotal market in all sectors, especially
aviation and security. Safran has been anticipating this development
for over 20 years, and is investing in this Asian giant. The Group has
formed very close relations with both public and private customers,
as well as universities.”
Kening Liu, CEO of Safran China, supervises Safran’s business in
China, and is very pleased to see that the Group’s efforts to expand
to his native land are bearing fruit. After studying in France and then
working as a commercial banker in Asia, he was named managing
director of the bank Arjil et Associés (Lagardère group). Kening Liu
joined the Group in 2004 to support its development in China.
© D.R.
T
he new 13,500 square meter
(145,800 sq ft) “Jean Labinal”
plant, named after the founder
of Safran group company Labinal,
was inaugurated on February 21,
2012 in Villemur-sur-Tarn,
southwest France, by the
company’s Chairman and CEO
Special report
marchés
China today
€4 .48
trillion
GDP in 2010
4,004
new single-aisle jets
in China by 2030
1.3
billion inhabitants, the
most populous country
in the world
© Image100 / GraphicObsession
The world’s second leading
economic power, China is
betting on high-tech to win
new markets.
Special report
marchés
ECONOMY
The remarkable rise
of the Chinese economy
Biometrics and
detection systems
under development
second largest
economy in the world
since 2010
10%
average annual growth
since the early 1990s
$183
billion trade surplus
in 2010
C
Energy giant
“China is also investing heavily in nuclear power,”
adds Raffarin. “This is vital for a country that has
“Chinese industry is now betting on high
technology to grow.”
Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French prime minister and senator
to import a large share of the energy resources it
needs to ensure growth. But this focus doesn’t
prevent it from also looking into technologies
needed for sustainable development, because
China is fully aware that it is a major producer
of carbon dioxide (CO2), and that this situation
cannot be sustained over the long haul.”
Reflecting this awareness, in 2007 China
became the world’s leading producer of photovoltaic solar panels, with total production capacity of 1.18 GW. By 2010 four Chinese companies
were among the top ten worldwide in this sector,
and two of them accounted for 28% of global
production. China has also embarked on the
construction of eco-cities, including “positive
energy” buildings with smart waste management. Last but not least, China’s auto industry
is already working on an electric vehicle.
A pivotal player
China has been investing in its aviation industry
for many years to support its development and
capitalize on strong domestic demand. As early
as 2004, China was already the world’s third
largest air transport market, in terms of number
of passengers and freight carried. By 2020, the
Chinese government plans to have 244 airports,
including 13 capable of handling 30 million passengers a year. Over the next decade, the government has projected average annual growth
of 10% in passenger traffic and 14% for cargo.
Jean-Pierre Raffarin, heavily involved in
cooperation between France and China, confirms that the latter has become a pivotal economic player. “But we shouldn’t be afraid,” he
adds. “China is not seeking domination at any
price, but wants to collaborate with Europe to
ensure its development. It will play a major economic role because of the size of its domestic
market and its weight in international trade.
Furthermore, it will have a decisive impact on
the energy, sustainable development and transport markets, and on high technology markets
in general. So we have to team up with Chinese
companies, not only to gain access to this huge
domestic market, but also to benefit from the
international reach that these companies will
inevitably gain. And that’s how our technologies will endure in the global market.” ■
Single-aisle commercial aircraft orders by region, until 2030
Europe
18%
(3,447 aircraft)
China
North
America
23%
(4,004 aircraft)
19%
(3,638 aircraft)
Rest of the world
40% (7,660 aircraft),
including Latin America 9%,
Asia-Pacific 14%
Trends in the three leading passenger markets from now to 2030
Billions of
passenger-km
per year
Europe domestic flights
+3.6%
1,430
North America
domestic flights
+2.6%
1,337
China domestic flights
+7.3%
1,328
0
2%
4%
6%
Increase
vs. 2010
© Antoine Levesque
2nd
hina’s gross domestic product
(GDP) jumped 10.3% in 2010,
reaching $5.88 trillion and moving
it to second place worldwide, ahead
of Japan, its leading trade partner.
Former French prime minister and senator
Jean-Pierre Raffarin is an acknowledged specialist on China, a country he has visited
regularly since 1971, forming solid ties in both
government and academic circles. He quickly
corrects an old preconception about China,
pointing out that “Chinese industry is no longer developing according to a low-cost model.
It is now betting on high technology and added
value to drive its growth.”
While still discreet, this trend nonetheless
started many years ago, underpinned by massive investments both in China and in international markets. As far back as 1999, China was
the world’s tenth largest exporter of high-tech
products. The transition was also very rapid.
While high-tech products only accounted for
10% of Chinese exports in 1992, they rose to
25% ten years later, a rate already very close to
that of developed countries.
© GraphicObsession
Now the world’s second leading economic power, China has only realized part of its huge
potential. But it has already reached a level of technology comparable in many ways to today’s
developed countries.
The 12th Chinese 5-year plan,
launched in early 2011 and
running until 2015, provides for
a modernization of the country’s
civil governance, as well as the
associated tools and documents.
“This will result in the large-scale
distribution of biometric ID cards
and passports, along with the
deployment of the corresponding
enrolment and management
systems,” points out Jean-Luc
Hidalgo, Chairman and CEO of
Morpho China. His company
hopes to duplicate its major
achievement in India, where it
contributes to the one million ID
numbers issued every day.
Morpho China’s teams are
already gearing up for the official
publication of the request for
proposals (RFP), expected by the
end of 2012.
Morpho also plans to develop
its business for explosive and
illicit substance detection
systems. “China wants to
purchase latest-generation
equipment to be sure that its
airplanes can fly anywhere in the
world,” notes Emmanuel Mounier,
Chairman and CEO of Morpho
Detection International. While
the growth of air traffic favors
sales, current laws and
regulations are still an obstacle.
For the moment, they only
stipulate X-ray detection
systems, whereas Morpho’s
systems use the higherperformance computed
tomography technology. But
these regulations should change,
opening a market for Morpho
that is three times greater than
its current market.
Source: Safran
Special report
marchés
PARTNERSHIPS
When the Chinese aviation
industry awakens
Over the last 30 years
Safran has formed strong
ties with the major
players in the Chinese
aviation industry. Today,
this mutual trust has
been rewarded by several
strategic partnerships.
T
here’s China… and the rest of
the world! According to Muriel
Duthon, director of the Asia zone at
Safran, “In a few short years China
will be the global leader in aviation,
in terms of industrial development, airport
capacity and number of aircraft in service. In
fact, China will eventually account for some
20 percent of the global aviation market.”
Bruno Cotté, Safran Executive Vice President, International, notes that “The Chinese
aircraft industry is strategic, and is one of the
priorities in China’s industrial development. It
therefore enjoys an array of financial support,
to help the country’s aim of eventually taking
a place comparable to that of the European
and American manufacturers.”
These efforts culminated in 2008 when the
Chinese government created the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac).
Various entities were transferred to this new
company, including sections from different
aeronautical institutes of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC, the country’s aviation conglomerate), Avic Commercial Aircraft (ACAC) and parts of Shanghai
Aircraft. In exchange, AVIC received 26% of
Comac’s shares. Since then, Comac has been
in charge of the production of the ARJ21
regional jet, as well as the design and construction of the C919, China’s first mainline
commercial jet. “The first flight of this jetliner will mark the birth of a future aviation
giant,” says Jean-Luc Doublet, C919 program
director at Safran. “China wants to develop
comprehensive capabilities to make Comac
the world’s third leading commercial jet
manufacturer, behind Airbus and Boeing. So
they are looking for partners who can help
them meet this challenge.” Comac has already
chosen the engine to power this new jet: the
LEAP-1C made by CFM International, the
joint venture of Safran and GE.
Strategic partnerships
Fully aware of the extraordinary opportunity
offered by the Chinese market, Safran sought
to tighten its links with different players. In
November 2010, this culminated in a general
partnership with AVIC, coordinated by a
strategy committee comprising corporate officers from both companies who meet regularly.
The original agreement was then implemented in 2011 with the signature of three
Memorandums of Understanding (MoU). The
first defined the foundations for collabora-
Comac has already
booked 235 orders for
the C919 (including
60 options), which
should make its first
flight in 2014. It will be
powered by the LEAP1C from Safran and
GE, the sole Western
engine for this aircraft.
5
joint ventures formed
by Safran and Chinese
companies
tion on new-generation turboprop and other
turbine engines for the Chinese and international markets. The second MoU defined the
collaboration between the two companies on
avionics for helicopters and airplanes. The
third set out the conditions for collaboration
on training programs between Safran Corporate University and AVIC University.
The two companies’ partnership bolsters
the ties that were established some 30 years
ago on helicopters, based on the sale of a
production license to China for the Arriel 1
turboshaft engine. Safran helicopter engine
specialist Turbomeca took advantage of the
reenergized relationship between Safran
and the Chinese aviation industry to sign a
contract in 2010 for 90 Arriel 2C engines to
be delivered to China Aviation Technology
Import-Export Corporation and AVIC.
In early 2011, wiring specialist Labinal created a joint venture with Comac subsidiary
Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co. Based
in Shanghai, this new company will design,
develop, produce and support electrical wiring interconnection systems (EWIS). It was
also chosen to produce the complete wiring
system for the C919, a landmark contract
since Comac projects the production of some
© Safran
© Safran
2,000 jetliners in this family. “Following the
selection of Safran to supply the complete
propulsion system for the C919, this contract
marks another major step forward in Safran’s
role in the success of this new aircraft,” notes
Yves Leclère, Safran Executive Vice President,
Transformation. The new Safran entities
being created in China to handle all of this
work will be even more effective, since they
can capitalize on the experience of established
local entities, including Snecma Xinyi Airfoil
Castings, Co. Ltd, the turbine blade casting
company located in Guyiang, and Sichuan
Services Aero Engine Maintenance Company
(SSAMC), the CFM56 maintenance, repair
Signature of a general
strategic partnership
between Safran and
AVIC on November 16,
2010 in Zhuhai.
Special report
marchés
LOCATIONS
Production of CFM56
jet engine parts at
the Snecma plant in
Suzhou.
Long-standIng industrial
collaboration
© Zhou JunXiang / Imaginechina / Safran
Solidly established in China for more than 40 years, Safran can speak with a single voice
to both its partners and the government.
and overhaul (MRO) specialist in Chengdu.
Chinese nacelles
At the end of 2010
Aircelle signed a
partnership
agreement with Xi’an
Aircraft International
Corporation (XAIC), a
subsidiary of AVIC,
creating a joint
venture dubbed SAVI.
This new company will
manufacture and
assemble nacelle
components on behalf
of Nexcelle, the joint
venture between
Aircelle and Middle
River Aircraft Systems
(MRAS), a subsidiary
of GE. Based in Xi’an,
SAVI will supply
nacelles to Comac for
its new C919 jetliner.
SAVI calls on three
decades of
collaboration between
AVIC and Safran to
fulfill this mission, a
key to the transition
from design to
production. “We need
solid foundations,
because this is a very
heady challenge. Our
joint venture will be
the first supplier in
China for commercial
aircraft nacelles.
Capitalizing on the
long experience and
expertise of Aircelle
and XAIC in turning
out high-quality
aircraft components,
this new company will
fill the current ‘nacelle
gap’ in China.”
The creation of the
new joint venture is a
very promising first
step: “This agreement
gives us an excellent
outlook for meeting
C919 production
requirements, which
could expand even
further with work for
other aircraft
programs.” SAVI does
indeed give Aircelle a
major advantage,
namely favored
access to the booming
Chinese market and a
sterling opportunity to
expand its global
presence.
© Zhou JunXiang / Imaginechina / Safran
Chairman
and CEO, Aircelle
© Henri Brauner
Flight data at hand
Another Safran company, electronics specialist Sagem, signed a landmark agreement
in June 2011 with the Center of Civil Aviation Safety Technology (CAST), a division of
the Civil Aviation Administration of China
(CAAC). Safran will be supplying its Analysis
Ground Station (AGS), and will also support
CAST to improve the analysis of flight data
from Chinese airlines. By enhancing maintenance management, this semi-automatic
flight data analysis system will help airlines
reduce their costs and improve safety. Already
used by 500 operators worldwide, including
135 airlines, the AGS is the world leader in
this market.
In exchange for this support, CAST has
pledged to support Sagem in its efforts to
certify its aircraft condition monitoring systems (ACMS) and wireless data transmission
systems. The two organizations also plan to
develop Sagem’s innovative range of Cassiopée flight data management services for airlines in China, to enhance their flight operations and reduce costs.
The booming China aviation industry offers
a host of opportunities, and Safran should
have an advantage in seizing these opportunities because of its long-term partnership with
key players in the industry. ■
w Vincent Mascré
I
n China, local production is a real
advantage! While cost is obviously a
factor, Safran’s presence in China is
above all due to the need to be close to
its end-customers, and better meet their
expectations. Today six Safran companies are
located in China: Safran entities are based in
Beijing and Shanghai near Comac, MessierBugatti-Dowty and Snecma in Suzhou, and
Turbomeca in Beijing and Tianjin. Rounding
out Safran’s presence are five joint ventures,
in Guiyang, Chengdu, Xian and Shanghai.
This strategy allowed Snecma to strengthen
its position in China, by expanding operations to Guiyang, where the precision foundry
Snecma Xinyi Airfoil Castings, Co. Ltd.
makes turbine parts for CFM56 engines.
Long-standing presence
Safran’s presence in China actually dates
back to the early 1970s. The Chinese navy
had recently acquired Super Frelon helicopters and chose Turbomeca turboshaft engines
– the Group’s first major contract in China.
The pace picked up in the 1980s, as Safran’s
predecessor companies signed an agreement
with AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation
of China) concerning the production under
license of Arriel 1 turboshaft engines and
autopilot systems for the Z9 helicopter. At
that point, the Group decided to open an
office in Beijing to facilitate contacts.
The number of agreements has multiplied
since then, and Safran has become a toptier partner to the Chinese aviation industry.
More than half of the mainline commercial
jets now operating in China are powered by
CFM56 turbofans, for a total of 2,800 engines
in service, and Turbomeca engines power
half of the helicopters in the country. Other
Main entrance of the
Messier-BugattiDowty and Snecma
site in Suzhou.
Safran in China
1,000
employees
6
companies
2,800
CFM56 engines
in service
Special report
marchés
UNIVERSITIES
Beijing (Pékin)
Xi'an
Tianjin
Turbomeca Helicopter
Engines Co., Ltd (TTHE)
Snecma Suzhou Co. Ltd, Tianjin
Branch
Chengdu
Aero engine maintenance
Training center AEMTC
Shanghai
Shanghai SAIFEI Aviation EWIS
Manufacturing Co. Ltd
Guiyang
Suzhou
Morpho Security System Co., Ltd
Snecma Xinyi Airfoil
Castings Co., Ltd
Messier-Dowty Co., Ltd
Snecma Suzhou Co. Ltd
Office/
Company
J.V
Industrial
Site
Services
Suzhou SME-CQ Automotive Safety
Technology Co. Ltd
University cooperation
training center
Safran group companies have expanded their
presence at the same time, including Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, which outfits about onethird of the commercial jets in China with
its landing gear and carbon brakes.
Growth of the Safran brand
In 2008, Safran decided to better coordinate its
companies in China. This move was designed
to meet two primary objectives according to
Kening Liu, Safran China CEO: “We had to
group our forces to more effectively counter
our American and British competitors. And
it was also important in dealings with the
authorities, who naturally have a different
attitude depending on whether they are dealing with isolated companies, or a world-class
group capable of providing a broad, unified
offering of products and services.”
All personnel from Safran companies in
China were therefore grouped in the same
premises, part of Safran China. In particular,
this office consolidated the support functions
and relations with opinion leaders and public
authorities. “We have to focus on promoting the Group’s name so we can increase its
recognition,” explains Liu. Building on this
new strategy, Safran can start the Year of the
Dragon girded for battle. ■
w Joseph Lim
General Manager,
Messier-BugattiDowty, Suzhou
© D.R.
© Antoine Levesque
Xi’an Savi Nacelles Co., Ltd
Beijing Turbomeca Changkong
Aero-Engine Control Equipment
Co., Ltd
Efficient talent
management
"After seeing
production triple
between 2002 and
2009, it should
double again by 2014.
We have taken various
measures to ensure
that we have the
required resources to
meet this challenge.
For example, our new
numerical control
machine tools will be
fully prepared in the
factory so that they
can be up and running
as soon as we install
them. We have also
set up a program to
detect high potentials
so that we can be sure
of keeping our top
talents. The aim is to
identify the most
talented employees as
soon as possible, so
that we can provide
special training. This
training may include
periods in other plants
for periods of up to
one month. In 2011,
we sent several
groups of people to
our legacy plants so
they could familiarize
themselves with some
of the best machine
tools deployed by
Safran."
partnerships, the key to
long-term relations
By teaming up with the two leading aeronautical engineering schools
in China, plus the corporate university run by the country’s leading
manufacturer, Safran is further bolstering its credibility.
N
o company can play a role in the
development of the aerospace
industry without having engineers
and managers who are specifically
trained to address the issues of this
leading-edge sector. Safran Corporate University has therefore formed solid partnerships with
leading counterparts in Chinese academia.
Since 2004, for instance, Safran has supported
the education of Chinese students at leading
French engineering schools (Ecoles Centrales),
and in 2005 it helped create the Ecole Centrale of Beijing as part of the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The first
class graduated in January 2012, in a ceremony
attended by a number of political and industry
leaders from both France and China, including
Marc Ventre, Deputy Chief Executive Officer
for Operations at Safran.
An active partner in this school, Safran Corporate University contributes to the education
of Chinese engineering students by providing
supplementary expertise in both scientific and
managerial subjects, through courses given
by the Group’s experts and senior managers.
“Safran is heavily involved, and we expect a lot
from this program, because our objectives match
those of the young engineering graduates,” notes
Marc Ventre. “A graduate of the Ecole Centrale
of Beijing school offers outstanding skills, plus a
multicultural, multilingual background. These
three qualities make them invaluable assets to
help companies develop innovative projects in
an international environment.” Safran of course
promotes the quality of the courses given by
contributing its specific competencies, and also
supports the professional integration of these
engineers by offering internships and jobs.
Bringing students closer
to industry
Safran has signed another major partnership with
the Civil Aviation University of China (CAUC),
with support from the Sino-European Institute of
w Jiang Wenchao
Student at Ecole
Centrale of Beijing
© DR
Turbomeca Helicopter
Engines Trading Co., Ltd (TBHE)
Safran China
Safran Beijing liaison office
“I discovered the necessary
collaboration between
industrial partners”
“Thanks to my sixmonth internship at
Safran, I discovered
that the aerospace
Aviation Engineering (SIAE). In addition to offering internships and participating in conferences,
Safran Corporate University runs a media library
specialized in aerospace. “Safran is now helping
develop a propulsion course as part of the Institute’s program,” says Aude Guo, Asia relations
manager at Safran Corporate University. “We
are setting up a hands-on teaching unit, where
students can practice what they have learned in
the classroom. In 2006 a CFM56-3 engine was
even donated to CAUC so students could become
more familiar with how it operates.”
These types of training partnerships will also
help strengthen industrial ties between Safran
and its Chinese partners, including Comac and
AVIC. For example, Safran Corporate University
and AVIC University signed an MoU in 2011 to
formalize a collaboration that had already existed
for many years. “These training actions have been
carried out for AVIC since 1998, but this agreement marks a new stage in our collaboration,”
notes Guo. “It is part of the strategic agreements
signed with AVIC, and is designed to develop
shared managerial methodologies, and support
future industrial teaming arrangements between
our two companies.” ■
industry isn’t limited to
research and
production. It also
means collaboration
with partners,
resulting in real winwin agreements. In the
West, this sector has
made tremendous
progress. Now it’s up
to China to accelerate
its development and
contribute to the
growth of the global
aerospace industry.”
10,000
students at the Civil
Aviation University
of China
23,000
students at Beijing
University of
Aeronautics and
Astronautics
Panorama
marchés
long-endurance
observation
© Pieter Bastiaans / Safran
The Patroller drone is the most costeffective solution for long-endurance
surveillance missions.
Panorama
marchés
A multirole, cost-effective drone
Featuring low production and operating costs,
because it calls on technologies already
developed by Sagem for the Sperwer MkII
tactical drone system, the Patroller meets
requirements for border and coastal surveillance,
homeland security (major public events, highvalue sites), and civil security (natural disasters,
environmental protection).
Capable of operating in different airspaces,
thanks to its manned-flight capability, this drone
is deployed quickly by a reduced crew. The
ground control station is designed to be installed
either in a building, or on a light all-terrain vehicle.
The Patroller also features a highly modular
design to fit a wide range of sensors. Depending
on the customer’s needs, it can be purchased,
leased or operated on a “by the hour” basis,
including maintenance.
4
2
© Philippe Wodka-Gallien / Sagem
1
5
3
1. Flight plan
4. Control
The aircraft’s design means that
Patroller can be flown either as a
drone or with a pilot, depending
on needs and regulations.
The ground control station is the
same as for Sperwer, the tactical
drone system produced by Sagem
(Safran), already deployed by
several NATO armed forces.
Patroller’s optronics pod means
it can operate day or night. Its
powerful onboard sensors allow
it to read a car’s license plate
from a distance of several
kilometers.
5. Equipment
3. Aircraft
6. Maintenance
The aircraft offers excellent flight
qualities, enabling it to cruise at
over 20,000 feet for 30 hours,
with two extra fuel tanks under
its wings.
The Patroller’s airframe is certified
to EASA civil aviation standards.
All-composite, it is robust and
highly reliable, and is powered by
a proven, quiet engine.
The Patroller can be fitted with a
number of other sensors: maritime
radar or a synthetic aperture
radar (SAR), or even a radio
eavesdropping system.
2. Optronics
6
Markets
marchés
UNITED KINGDOM
Four decades
of mutual trust
engines in service in the United Kingdom.” This
success is due to investments aimed at developing
a strong local presence in terms of both manufacturing (turbine oil pumps, air starters for the
Eurofighter, components for auxiliary power
units, etc.) and technical support. The company’s
long-standing partnership with Rolls-Royce on
the RTM322 turboshaft engine has also made
an important contribution.
Safran’s strategy of establishing a strong local
presence underpins its comprehensive service
offering in the UK, exemplified in the support
now being provided for the Arriel, Arrius and
Makila 2 engine fleets. “Our recently acquired
Makila 2 capability allows us to provide better
support for EC225 helicopter operations over the
North Sea,” notes Frédéric Fourciangue. Turbomeca is also part of a consortium bidding for
the support services contract for the Makila 1
engines powering the RAF’s Puma Mk2 helicopters. “Budget constraints will continue to present
a major challenge in the next few years. Which
means we have to propose innovative solutions,
such as “support-by-the-hour” contracts, which are
particularly valued in the UK,” adds Fourciangue.
A similar cultural and industrial heritage, as well as geographical proximity, have fostered
Safran’s development in the United Kingdom, enabling it to deploy a broad array of expertise.
T
he UK is a very important market for
Safran, as David Oldroyd, Safran’s
UK Director, explains: “The Group is
a long-standing supplier here, and our
companies have set up a number of
local operations to stay in close touch with our
customers. At the same time, we have formed
partnerships with schools such as the University
of Sheffield.”
employees in the UK
10
local subsidiaries
(two working in
partnership with
Rolls-Royce)
Innovation and a strong
industrial base
Other Safran group companies also operate in
the United Kingdom. Sagem, for example, has
supplied infrared sights for the Challenger 2 tank
since the early 2000s. This first success has now
been followed by a contract to supply JIM LR
infrared binoculars. “Initially, small quantities
UK biometrics market forges ahead
© Airbus
Snecma, a long-standing
partner
Safran company Snecma’s British adventure
began back in 1964, when it partnered the
aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce on the Olympus
jet engine powering the Concorde supersonic
transport. The technical and human achievements of this era paved the way for the success
enjoyed today by the CFM56 engine, manufactured by a GE-Snecma joint venture. “Around
700 CFM56 engines are in service in the UK,”
explains Bruno Castola, Snecma’s Regional
Sales Director. “The sheer size of this fleet is
driven by the UK’s strong travel culture, which
has given rise to a number of major tour operators as well as sophisticated and successful lowcost airlines. With more than 200 aircraft from
the Airbus A320 family, for example, EasyJet is
the world’s leading operator of the CFM56-5B.”
All different versions of the CFM56 are in service in the UK, starting with the CFM56-2 that
powers the Royal Air Force’s AWACS planes.
Snecma signed a through-life maintenance contract for this engine in June 2003, scheduled to
run until 2025. CFM56-3, CFM56-5 and CFM5
6-7B engines are also present in the UK, equipping Boeing 737 Classic, Boeing 737NG and
Airbus A320 single-aisle twinjets operated by
airlines like Thomson Airways, Thomas Cook,
British Airways, British Midland Airways, Monarch and Titan, as well as Virgin Atlantic’s Airbus A340s.
Snecma has also gained a foothold in the UK
2,056
maintenance market, previously dominated by
GE. “Snecma and GE have set up a partnership
to provide joint maintenance services under the
CFM banner,” says Bruno Castola. “The agreement covers new CFM56 orders, as well as the
upcoming LEAP engine, already being commercialized in this market.”
A strong local presence
Helicopter engine manufacturer Turbomeca
(Safran group) is also a key player in the British
On this British Airways
Airbus A380, Safran
notably provides the
nacelles, wiring and
avionics equipment.
market. It owes its original presence in the country to subsidiary Microturbo, which supplies the
propulsion system for the Storm Shadow cruise
missile. Turbomeca has considerably expanded
its footprint in the UK in recent years, so much
so that “the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) is
Turbomeca’s second-largest customer after the
French military,” according to Frédéric Fourciangue, CEO of Turbomeca UK. “If we add offshore operators, police departments and private
customers, we have a total fleet of some 1,200
With the August 2012 start date for the London Olympics fast
approaching, homeland security – particularly at airports – has become a
major headache for the UK. Morpho UK (a Safran group company) has
more than a decade’s worth of experience in partnering British
government agencies in biometric identification applications. In addition to
its involvement in providing security systems for Olympic facilities in
London, the company is also a key stakeholder in the UK’s IRIS automated
biometric border control system. Based on recognition of the unique
pattern of the iris in each person’s eye, the system has already been used
by almost four million passengers at airports in London, Birmingham and
Manchester. Morpho UK also supplies the IAFS (Immigration and Asylum
Fingerprint System) in use at UK borders. Finally, the explosive detection
systems used for baggage screening at London Heathrow and
Manchester airports are also supplied by Safran.
Markets
marchés
of aircraft at its facility in Gloucester. This year
got off to a great start when the company secured
a contract from British Airways to produce the
wheels and carbon brakes for its fleet of 24 Boeing
787 aircraft, scheduled to enter service in 2013.
Labinal’s experience, unusually, cuts across
both the aerospace and automobile industries.
Having worked closely with Airbus in Bristol,
and subsequently with Bombardier, the company
was renamed Safran Engineering Services UK in
2010. Its activities currently encompass engineering support for landing gear, nacelles and thrust
reversers in collaboration with Messier-BugattiDowty and Aircelle. Techspace Aero also operates in the UK via test bench and test equipment
contracts, notably for Rolls-Royce, delivered
under the Cenco International brand.
Safran’s diversified presence in the United
Kingdom constitutes a powerful asset, allowing the Group to balance its activities across
the civil/military and manufacturing/support
sectors – a surefire recipe for measured and sustainable growth. ■
Inertial
navigation
system
NAVIGATION
Bond Offshore
Helicopters
specializes in
transporting people
and equipment
between Aberdeen in
Scotland, and the oil
platforms in the North
Sea. The AS 332
Super Puma shown
here is powered by
twin Turbomeca Makila
2A1 engines.
A400M passes
certification milestone
The new Airbus A400M military transport has been certified by the European civil aviation
authority, a major milestone for the aircraft and for Sagem, the Safran group company that
designed and built its inertial navigation system.
T
© Bond / Eurocopter
he new-generation A400M airlifter,
slated to enter service in early 2013,
is a multirole transport that can
perform both tactical and strategic
missions. The military transport has
been certified by the European Aviation Safety
Agency (EASA), including its vital inertial
navigation system, designed and built by Sagem.
Each aircraft has three of these systems, each
weighing about ten kilos (22 lb). But although
small, the inertial navigation system is still a
key to successful missions. The aircraft has to
be able to navigate accurately in all theaters of
operation, day or night and under all weather
conditions, and this performance in fact
depends on its navigation systems.
Hybrid but autonomous
“The A400M’s navigation systems comprise
laser gyros and accelerometers based on proven
technologies,” explains Fabrice Delhaye, head
of Sagem’s Navigation department. “They
also collect data on airspeed, and are set up in
a hybrid configuration with a latest-generation
military GPS receiver, also designed by Sagem.
This is the only military GPS unit developed
to civil aviation standards.” Of course, Sagem’s
inertial navigation system can also operate
independently, without using the data from
GPS, whose signals remain under American
military control.
“These systems feature purpose-designed
algorithms, coupled with computing power
twenty times greater than on previous generation systems,” notes Fabrice Delhaye. “What
this means is that the aircraft permanently calculates its precise position in space, an absolute
necessity if it is to avoid all threats.”
With this certification, Sagem has passed a
very important milestone, one that may well
open the door to a potentially huge civil aviation market for many years to come. ■
174
A400M aircraft
ordered by eight
countries
3 ,700
flight-hours needed
for EASA certification
Safran at the heart of the A400M
Nine Safran companies play a pivotal role on the A400M, as supplier
of the engine, landing systems, wiring, navigation system and
maintenance-aid system. One of the Group’s main contributions is of
course the 11,000-shaft-horsepower TP400 turboprop engine, with
four of these powering each aircraft. This engine is designed and
produced by Europrop International, a consortium grouping Snecma
with three European counterparts. The 12-wheel landing gear,
produced by Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, enables the A400M to take off
and land in short distances, even on unprepared airstrips.
© Eric Drouin / Safran
were supplied for use by special forces,” explains
Pascal Brossard, head of the land combat department. “These binoculars have received a very
positive performance assessment, opening the
door for bigger orders of several hundred units
for conventional forces.” Peter Schmid, program
director at Vectronix, a subsidiary of Sagem,
explains that his company is supplying more
than 4,000 Commander Target Locator (CTL)
systems for the UK’s FIST (Future Integrated
Soldier Technology) program, as well as 2,300
laser rangefinders and ballistic computers for the
FIST grenade launcher, deliveries of which are
slated to begin in 2013.
In the aviation sector, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty,
Labinal and Aircelle between them employ
almost 2,000 people in the United Kingdom,
providing a strong industrial base. Aircelle,
which manufactures nacelles for aero-engines,
has its second largest operation in the UK, with
over 800 employees.
Messier-Bugatti-Dowty designs, develops and
manufactures landing systems for a wide range
Markets
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Electronics
Smart cards for healthcare,
a successful initiative
Germany has opted for a smart card to manage its healthcare
services, like a number of other countries that want to give
their citizens a more cost-effective health system.
Global presence
In terms of national systems, Morpho now
has three main clients, namely India, France
and Germany. India created a health insurance program in 2008, targeting citizens living
in poverty, or about 300 million persons. A
smart card including the beneficiary’s rights, as
well as a biometric module to prevent identity
theft, is issued to each eligible family. Morpho
was one of the companies chosen in 2009 to
Smart card security
manager, Morpho
The challenge of data
protection
“Despite these diverse needs, expectations are
the same,” notes Didier Sérodon. “By that I
mean security and confidentiality across the
entire system, and a reliable, efficient production facility. Our operating systems are systematically tested by outside labs to be officially certified, so we can guarantee maximum security
for our customers. We can call on seven production facilities around the world, in Germany, the
Netherlands, Brazil, India, Mexico, Russia and
© D.R.
handle enrolment of eligible
persons and the production
and distribution of cards. To
date it has issued more than
six million cards, giving some
25 million people access to
healthcare services.
In France, Sagem signed
a contract with the SesamVitale consortium in 2004 to
supply the operating system for
the Vitale 2 healthcare card,
and this contract was renewed
at the end of 2004. Sagem also
won a four-year contract in September 2011 to produce and personalize these cards.
Furthermore, in August 2011, Morpho was the first manufacturer to be
authorized to produce Germany’s new
healthcare e-card – and it will deliver
over 30 million of these cards. Dubbed “eGK
Generation 1 plus”, this card will be produced
at the Flintbek plant in Germany, near Kiel.
Ten percent of eligible Germans have received
their new cards to date, and Morpho has
already established itself as a market leader in
terms of the total number of cards produced.
Safeguarding data
© Tino
I
t’s just a small plastic card a couple of
inches square, but it has an embedded chip, making it a smart card. And
that makes it perfect for today’s complex
national healthcare systems, since it can
store data on the cardholder’s identity and social
benefits and securely transmit this data to the
appropriate administrative centers.
“It’s a real win-win situation,” says Jérôme
Boudineau, ID Documents product line manager at Morpho, a Safran company. “By making
the healthcare document and reimbursement
process paperless, we reduce processing costs
for insurance providers. Going electronic also
simplifies procedures and guarantees users that
administrative procedures will be faster. Last but
not least, the inherent security in a smart card
helps limit fraud.”
Each country has its own specific requests
in fact. “Unlike electronic payment or telecommunications, for instance, we do not yet have
interoperability standards for healthcare systems,” says Didier Sérodon, director of ID documents and payment programs at Morpho. “So
each country has its own strategy and product needs. Some only ask us to produce and
personalize the card; others buy the operating
system, for which we develop custom-tailored
functions to suit their needs; and still others
get a turnkey package.”
w Thanh Ha Le
2
million smart cards/
day produced by
Morpho
33
million healthcare
e-cards to be issued
by Morpho in Germany
Colombia, plus eight personalization units. All
of these facilities meet the demanding security
requirements of our customers.”
Morpho is now Number 4 worldwide in this
sector, and is gearing up for the future by continuously improving its chips, in terms of security,
transfer speed, contactless detection and more.
As Jérôme Boudineau says, “A number of innovations are possible. All depends on what the
governments are willing to invest to develop the
associated management infrastructures.” ■
How do you protect
the data embedded
in a healthcare
e-card?
First, remember that
these cards don’t
contain the patient’s
medical file, but just
personal data, such as
a social security
number, the affiliated
center, etc., along with
security components
such as
authentication and
signature keys. To
ensure data
protection and
integrity, these
security mechanisms
are used on both
hardware and
software. Hardware
countermeasures,
such as sensors to
detect disturbances,
are embedded directly
on the chip. Software
countermeasures
bolster security by
encrypting data for
instance, as well as
checking integrity and
controlling access.
Where is Morpho
focusing its efforts?
When we design a
system, not only do
we take into account
the product-related
security risks, but also
functional constraints
such as processing
time, the size of the
code, etc. At the same
time, we are
continuing our
research on smart
cards. We keep our
eyes open, and use
new scenarios and
attack methods to
improve our analysis
of product
vulnerability. And we
are working on new
measures to protect
our products from
these attacks.
Markets
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STEP
1
The operator identifies a target
using the thermal imager
in the launcher station.
DEFENSE
high-tech
Missiles
Mo
ve
The gunner locks-in
the seeker its target.
LAUNCHER STATION
SIGHT EQUIPPED WITH
THERMAL IMAGER
LAUNCHER STATION
STEP
2
Missile launch:
the sensors in the
seeker take over.
O
Combining technologies
There are different types of seekers, tailored
to different targets, using infrared, laser, inertial-GPS, electromagnetic or other technologies and combinations of technologies. While
Sagem has developed expertise in most of these
technologies, it is more specialized in infrared
seekers, capable of tracking a target by following its thermal signature. What this means is
simply the heat it emits, like the hot exhaust
from a jet engine or a tank engine.
For a seeker to be effective, it has to combine
several advanced technologies, mainly optronics
(electro-optical), inertial sensors and electronics. “We developed expertise in sensors as well
as the corresponding optics,” points out Hélène
Lecœuche, director of the guidance program at
TARGET
The information is transmitted
to the missile's seeker.
From navigation to optics and
optronics, Safran marshals cuttingedge expertise in many areas to
develop the missile homing heads,
also known as seekers. With the
objective of being ever more
accurate, to increase efficiency and
eliminate collateral damage.
of
the
tar
ge
STEP
Franco-British teamwork
t
3
Missile flight:
the closer the missile,
the more accurate
the sensors.
STEP
4
The target
is destroyed
Sagem teamed up with Selex Galileo Ltd. of
Great Britain to carry out a study on how to
attenuate development risks on the seeker for
the upcoming FASGW(H)/ANL missile (Future
Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (heavy)/AntiNavire Léger), to be jointly developed by MBDA
France and MBDA UK. Its seeker will feature a
non-cooled infrared channel and, on option, a
semi-active laser channel, Offering a range of
about 20 kilometers, this new anti-ship missile
will be fired from helicopters and should enter
service in 2016.
DATA GATHERED
BY SENSORS
MISSILE
© Sagem
SENSORS
SEEKER
© Lorenzo Timon
ver the last three decades, movie
blockbusters have familiarized
the public with the redoubtable
efficiency of missiles using homing heads to hit their target with
unerring precision. But behind this fiction is in
fact a level of real technical expertise that few
manufacturers can achieve. One member of
this select club is Sagem, the Safran company
that designs and produces seekers. These are in
fact sophisticated systems that enable a missile,
after being fired, to home in on its target.
“We have produced more than 30,000 seekers over the course of our forty year partnership
with MBDA France, the leading missile manufacturer in Europe,” says Dominique Lévy, sales
manager for major accounts in Sagem’s Avionics division.
The heat released by the
tank's engine enables the
missile to locate its target.
Sagem Avionics. “We also master the complex,
high-speed cooling systems needed for these
sensors, which generally operate at temperatures
down to -200°C.” Sagem is also developing the
image processing software needed to give the
missile a clear, high-resolution image of its target under all conditions (vibrations, heat, movement, etc.), without being tricked by the decoys
or countermeasures deployed by the target to
throw its attacker off track. Another area of
expertise at Sagem is platform stabilization systems, which enable the missile to stay locked on
its target under all circumstances. Fast and agile,
these systems are very similar to those used in
the gyrostabilized pods carried by drones.
“While infrared detector technology was
30,000
infrared seekers
delivered
More than
40
years of experience
long reserved to air defense missions, where
the heat sources are very distinct from the sky
background, this technology has made such
progress that it will be increasingly used in
ground-based systems, where the environment
is often much more complex,” notes Dominique Lévy. Adds Hélène Lecœuche: “Sagem
should supply the seeker for a new-generation
medium-range antitank weapon, offering a
range of up to four kilometers, which should
enter service towards 2017.”
Looking ahead
Sagem provides other equipment for missile
launcher stations, including thermal imagers for the Milan, Eryx and Mistral missiles.
For the Mistral, explains Luc Thépaut, sales
& marketing manager at Sagem’s Optronics
and Defense division, “The imager will soon
be replaced by an optronics sight that is more
complete, since it integrates night vision via
an infrared channel, daytime vision and geographic readings for the target. We’re already
working on more highly integrated launcher
stations, capable of processing the data sent
by the missile’s seeker, and communicating
with other systems, such as the FELIN soldier
modernization system.” Hélène Lecœuche and
Dominique Lévy agree that tomorrow’s seekers will be increasingly multimode, combining
infrared and laser detectors for instance, or
they will operate using non-cooled infrared
detectors, which are much more robust, as on
the upcoming MMP medium-range missile.
It looks like missiles may continue to be
blockbuster hits for many years to come. ■
Insight
marchés
RECRUITMENT
w Catherine Ibanez
A MORE ATTRACTIVE EMPLOYER
© Eric Drouin / Snecma
Safran is growing in all markets, generating extensive demand for new employees. But to bolster
its attractiveness in the eyes of candidates it has to enhance its employer brand.
the aerospace
industry,” she explains.
“I had done an
internship in a major
industrial group, and I
was very interested in
how engines operate.
So I answered an ad
and joined the
Systems division at
Hispano-Suiza.”
Contrary to what was
recommended by her
school, Catherine did
not change companies
after three years to
move up in
System architect,
Snecma
“We never stop
developing”
Catherine Ibanez
joined Safran in 2006
after graduating from
the Supelec electrical
engineering school.
“I wanted to work in
S
“
afran is recognized for the quality of
its products, its employees’ passion
for their work and a proven ability
to innovate, but we want to further
boost our recognition in the coming
years because we will have to hire many new
employees to keep pace with our growth and
the many new contract wins,” says Jean-Luc
Bérard, Corporate Senior Vice President for
Human Resources. An analysis of the expectations of young engineers shows that they are
not only passionate about high technology, but
they want their professional lives to have meaning. As Pascale Dubois, Safran Vice President
for Communications, explains, “For them, it’s
fundamental to be able to contribute to the
growth of an enterprise where everybody has
a role and feels they are useful, and to embrace
the company’s mindset and management style.
At Safran, we believe that we can legitimately
meet all these expectations, but we can also
further improve our recognition by spotlighting
what sets us apart, making us one of the most
attractive employers in our market.”
Safran has therefore started the work needed
to shape its employer brand. The current
tagline, Key Missions, Key Technologies, has
added a third facet, Key Talents. The Group
has also launched a large-scale advertising
campaign, targeting all potential candidates,
whether new graduates or experienced hands,
across different media: daily newspapers, the
general and trade press, billboards in train stations, and of course online, on high-traffic sites
around the world, as well as the main job sites
in France.
Safran is also on Twitter of course and its
job offers are accessible via the Group’s Facebook page. Furthermore, along with this new
recruitment ad campaign, Safran revamped
its own job board and gave it a new name and
address: safran-talents.com
© Eric Drouin / Snecma
© James Hardy / PhotoAlto / GraphicObsession
Recruitment “2.0”
In addition to these job boards, now considered almost classic, Safran is also building
out its “Recruitment 2.0”, based on social
networks and collaborative working tools.
The priority is to establish a dialog with candidates, by calling on the Group’s experts
to interact with all interested communities.
Safran’s e-ambassadors will provide straightforward answers to all the questions asked by
these young candidates. The dialog will be
hosted on social network platforms dedicated
to human resources, Viadeo and Linkedin.
responsibility and
remuneration. “Career
development at
Safran was natural,
facilitated by the large
number of
opportunities and an
HR department that
takes a real interest in
people’s objectives.
When I wanted to
change jobs, HR
perfectly understood
and offered me a
position at Snecma, as
contracting authority
for the electrical
Strengthening excellence
in training
Safran is also maintaining its focus to ensure
that current training programs address evolving professional needs, for instance by extending its traditional recruiting targets beyond
engineering schools. At the end of 2011,
Safran began building the foundations for a
long-term partnership with Pierre et Marie
Curie University (Paris VI), creating an Innovative Programs Management chair in partnership with the HEC business school and
ISAE aerospace engineering school. The aim
is to strengthen excellence in training tomorrow’s engineers-managers, and also to attract
candidates to the aerospace sector.
Furthermore, the Safran network of ambassadors, comprising about 150 employees, is
tasked with cementing ties between Safran
and leading universities and schools. These
Group representatives, generally graduates of
the schools in question, may develop a strategic relationship with the institution, make
a presentation on their job, or even teach
classes, while continuing their managerial
function at Safran. ■
thrust reverser
actuation system on
the LEAP-1C.”
Catherine also points
out that, while certain
companies
comparable to Safran
are sometimes more
aggressive in starting
salaries, career
development does not
keep pace. “At Safran,
we never stop
developing, as long as
we’re willing to invest
our time and energy in
learning new jobs.”
More than
6,000
new employees to
be hired by Safran in
2012, nearly half in
France
25%
of new hires
will be women
70%
of all employees take
at least one training
course a year
Interview
marchés
Tunisia takes off
On December 17, 2010, Tunisia entered a new era. That was when Mohamed Frikha, 47, rose to
a new challenge by creating Syphax Airlines, opening up access to Tunisia’s second largest city,
Sfax – an impressive achievement given the post-revolution conditions in Tunisia. Last year’s
initial public offering for Telnet, the company he had founded back in 1994, was a success. His
company, a partner to Safran since the outset, is now North Africa’s leader in technological
innovation and the development of onboard systems. A graduate of France’s prestigious
Polytechnique engineering school, Mohamed Frikha is deeply attached to his country, and
believes in its medium and long-term growth potential because of Tunisia’s robust economic
foundations. However, this growth will depend on striking a new balance in regional trade and
changing the mentality of business leaders.
© Sophia Baraket
Safran Magazine: You took delivery of
your first two Airbus A319 jets on March
14, 2012 and Syphax Airlines started
operation three days later. What inspired
you to create this airline and what is your
business model?
Interview
with Mohamed
Frikha,
Chairman and
CEO of Telnet
1982
Presidential
Baccalaureate
Prize (recognizing
the very best
candidates)
1984
Admitted
to Ecole
Polytechnique
in Paris
1989
Joins Alcatel
1994
Starts Telnet
2011
Creates Syphax
Airlines
Mohamed Frikha: Sfax is the country’s second largest city, with 600,000 inhabitants,
and also the second leading industrial and
economic center in Tunisia. It has excellent
infrastructures, but the airport, which cost
some 20 million dinars (10 million euros), is
underutilized, offering only two flights a week
to Paris and links to very few other destinations. Since Tunisair does not offer daily flights
from Sfax for reasons of profitability, we think
we can meet this goal by setting up operations
directly in the city and drawing inspiration
from low-cost carrier management techniques.
In terms of our market position, Syphax Airlines is offering scheduled flights at very competitive prices, so we’re somewhere between a
legacy airline and a low-cost carrier. Initially,
we’re going to be offering flights to Paris, Lyon,
Marseille and Nice, as well as Casablanca,
Tripoli and Istanbul, and possibly Rome and
Milan. We signed a leasing agreement with Air
Berlin for two Airbus A319s, for a total budget
of about $55 million. The aircraft are just a
year and a half old, so they’re like new. Leasing
was the best choice for us because the average
time needed to take delivery of a new aircraft
of this type is three years – and we couldn’t
wait that long!
You’re an engineer, with proven expertise in new technologies through your
company Telnet. Where did you get the
idea of starting an airline?
M. F.: In fact, this project is the result of an
extraordinary set of circumstances. It first
came up about ten months ago following a
discussion with a group of businessmen, especially Monsour Moalla, a former minister and
banker, who is from Sfax, like me. I took the
idea seriously, studied its feasibility and learned
about the procedures involved. For instance,
I talked with the transport minister in the
provisional government, Salem Miladi, who
encouraged me, as did Béji Caïd Essebsi, the
Prime Minister. The recent initial public offering for Telnet generated cash and enabled me
to finance the operation myself, and advance
much more quickly than if we had had to find
a group of investors through the banks. My
“The private sector must play a full-fledged role
in the national recovery effort.”
Mohamed Frikha
Telnet
• 600 engineers at six sites, in Tunisia, France and Germany
• 28 million euros in revenues in 2010
Interview
marchés
cially from abroad, do have certain fears and
they want to see how the political situation will
play out. They are awaiting positive signals from
the government and the Constituent Assembly, which is a legitimate expectation. Without
being a blind optimist, I would like to emphasize
how the Tunisian people clearly showed their
maturity during the revolution, and then the
elections. Every time tensions rose, reason won
out and we avoided the irreparable. Tunisia is a
fundamentally moderate country, capable of setting up civil institutions anchored in democracy
and a market economy.
© Petr Volek
M. F.: Absolutely. We also need a revolution in
mentalities, to anchor and develop a real spirit
of entrepreneurship, innovation and audacity.
We have to get rid of certain reflexes of entitlement. In short, we have to once again learn
how to be daring, and that may well depend on
a generational transition. The business spirit
was in fact killed by the cronyism and closedmindedness of the old regime. Performance
and innovation must now be recognized for
their full worth in Tunis. Where are the new
wellsprings of growth? In new technologies. I
have submitted to the different administrations
that have taken power since the revolution a
request for certification of this new airline was
approved on September 15, in record time!
Under president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali,
the airline industry was the private preserve of the presidential family. Would
you say that Syphax is a child of the revolution?
M. F.: Yes, and all the more so since the project gestation took exactly nine months! The
revolution opened previously unimaginable
prospects and liberated entire sections of the
economy, which had been “confiscated”. We’re
lucky, of course, but it also implies responsibility. Because everyone can now see the degree
of social injustice and above all the imbalance between regions. The Tunisian revolution started in isolated regions, in cities like
Sidi Bouzid, Kasserine and Thala, ravaged
by unemployment, where people had lost all
hope of a dignified life. How can we restore
hope? By starting a virtuous circle of regional
development and breaking their isolation. The
creation of Syphax Airlines thus aims to be a
solution that will address the new challenges
facing Tunisia. Development depends on the
regions. Each one must do its utmost, within its
possibilities. We can’t expect everything from
the government, the private sector must also
play its part in the national recovery drive.
For the moment, the revolution has
instead had a negative impact. Tunisian
GDP is down 1.8% in 2011 and the economic outlook is uncertain. Is this the
right time to invest?
M. F.: On the contrary. I believe that the Tunisian economy has stood up remarkably well.
Which proves that our foundations were healthy
and robust. Of course, we did experience a
recession. But that can be explained by the loss
of 2.5 billion dinars (over 1 billion euros) due to
work stoppages within the Tunisian chemicals
group, the phosphate mining company Gafsa
and social unrest in the mining areas. Excluding this one-time loss, our GDP increased 2.5%
in 2011, which leads me to conclude that our
economy is still moving forward. Most foreign
partners have maintained their confidence in
Tunisian companies. However, investors, espe-
w Jean-Jacques van der Slikke
Safran Vice President,
International, North
Africa and Middle East
© Rémy Guillaumot / Safran
This Syphax Airlines
Airbus A319 links
Sfax to Paris, Istanbul
and Casablanca.
“Contribute our
professional skills”
Tunisia is almost an
island: you mainly
travel there by plane
or boat. Since the
country does not have
any raw materials,
succeeding
administrations have
chosen to focus on the
knowledge industry,
so it can export this
type of expertise.
Safran teamed up with
Telnet in 2009 to call
on this wealth of
capabilities and start
© Thinkstock
Will Tunisian employers, who lived for too
long under the shadow and the protection of those in political power, now have
to undergo their own aggiornamento?
five-point digital economy development plan,
based on e-governance, e-health, e-education,
e-commerce and e-banking. The government
must act as the catalyzer, it has to energize this
movement and start major projects to support
the digital economy. This new momentum
could well create some 5,000 jobs for highly
qualified managers. And the expertise developed through this initiative could then be
exported to other nascent democracies in the
Arab world and in Africa. 
long-term operations
in the country. Our
partnership is threepronged. First, we
have created the
CEMA (Centre
d’Excellence des
Métiers de
l’Aéronautique)
training center to train
aerospace engineers
and technicians.
Safran will contribute
its professional skills
in these areas, and
Telnet will be in charge
of developing the
project through local
contacts with
ministers, federations
and various ad hoc
organizations.
Recognized for its
expertise in
electronics, Telnet
also works with Safran
Engineering Services
on various R&D
projects, especially
digital test benches.
And that’s our second
major development
objective. The third
objective best
encapsulates the
shared goal of Safran
and Tunisia. For the
last few years, the
country has been
considering the
deployment of a
“universal” card, to be
used as a national ID
card, healthcare
system card, etc. If
this project comes to
fruition, Tunisia
already has some
experience in this
area. This will give
Safran a re-export
platform for the
domestic market, as
well as Africa and the
Middle East. At the
same time, Tunisia
would be able to
leverage its key
competencies for the
benefit of its citizens,
which makes this a
real win-win
partnership.

Safran Magazine #12

Transcription

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