Story ID: 418-Figeac-Aero
French Airframer Boosts Presence in Americas Region
By: AIN Staff
Caption: The company is building on its commitment to the Americas.
Word Count: 349
Figeac Aero (Hall 4 41152), a French airframe-component manufacturer, inaugurated a new factory in Hermosillo, Mexico, last May. This 8,500-sq-m (91,493-sq-ft) facility, where Figeac Aero has invested €20 million ($23.3 million), is producing light-alloy parts for Boeing Dreamliner 787 passengers doors. These parts are shipped to a nearby factory belonging to French company Latécoère, which is responsible for the 787’s passengers doors. Figeac Aero Mexico currently employs 160 people, and that number will grow to 200 by year-end. The company plans to expand the workforce at the site through 2023, when it is expected to employ approximately 700 people, according to communications director Nicolas Geneteaud.

This new factory is part of the company's plan to expand its presence in the Americas. It bought a facility in Wichita, Kansas, in 2014, where it produces parts for Boeing. Under a contract signed last year, Figeac Aero is machining and making surface treatments for the large wing parts of the Boeing 777X. "Being in Wichita is very practical, because we are close to all our partners and customers, like Spirit Aerosystems, Textron, Triumph or Bombardier," added Geneteaud. In 2016, Figeac Aero open a commercial subsidiary in Dallas,Texas, employing five people.

Figeac Aero, funded and run by Jean-Claude Maillard, is a fast-growing company. Revenues grew from €162 million in FY2014 (ending March 31) to €370 million in 2018, a 128 percent increase in five years. Airframe manufacturing accounts for 87 percent of the company's revenue. Figeac's main customer is Airbus, with 59 percent of the turnover coming from Airbus commercial programs, followed by Safran (12 percent). Boeing accounts only for 4 percent of the revenues, but that number will grow with the recent 777X contract. For the future, the growth scenario is to reach a turnover beyond €650 million. This increase will be mainly driven by the ramp-up of A350XWB, A320neo, and Leap engine programs. The Boeing 787, Bombardier Global, and Embraer E2 are also expected to boost growth. Figeac Aero won several contracts last month:  a €21 million contract for titanium sheet metal parts for the A320neo and a $300 million contract to supply large aluminum and titanium parts to the Embraer E2 program.