Safran inaugurates two new units in Hyderabad

French Aerospace major Safran announced its plans of setting up its largest aircraft engine MRO (Maintenance, repair, and overhaul) facility in Hyderabad.

Safran Aircraft Engines and Safran Electrical and Power, the group's two new plants, located near the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, were inaugurated on Thursday, in the presence of Telangana IT, industries minister KT Rama Rao.

The Safran Aircraft Engines plant, spanning 162,000 sq ft, will make rotating parts for the LEAP engine from CFM International. This unit would eventually employ 275 people.

Safran Electrical and Power plant makes wiring for LEAP engines and the Rafale fighter. Opened in November 2018, the plant has 150 employees at present, growing to 200 when it reaches full capacity.

During the inauguration of the two units, Jean-Paul Alary, Chief Executive Officer of Safran Aircraft Engines, announced the creation of the new MRO facility for CFM LEAP engines, to be built nearby.

The largest MRO center in the network, it will start operations in 2025 and will eventually offer an annual capacity of 250 to 300 engine shop visits. The LEAP and its predecessor, the CFM56, now power over 330 Airbus A320/A320neo and Boeing 737/737 MAX airplanes used by the airlines in India. More than 1,500 LEAP engines are currently on order in the region, Safran top executives said.

“Our new MRO 4.0 center in Hyderabad will strengthen our global network and enable us to meet the needs of our CFM customers against a backdrop of booming air traffic in India and the region,” said Jean-Paul Alary.

Safran is inaugurating its third plant on Friday in Bangalore, for Safran HAL Aircraft Engines, a 50/50 joint venture between Safran Aircraft Engines and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. This new site featuring state- of-the-art installations replaces the initial plant that dates from 2005. The unit is located in a Special Economic Zone near the Bangalore airport. Spanning 118,800 sq ft, the plant makes complex piping, mostly for the LEAP engine, and has about 150 employees.

Safran has been operating in India for 65 years now and counts 10 facilities and 750 employees nationwide.

The projects together represent more than $ 200 million of investment between 2018 and 2025, "which clearly reflects the group’s seriousness about long-term development". And we are committed to the government’s ‘Make in India’ policy, said Olivier Andriès, Chief Executive Officer, Safran.