Consultants Forum Advertise
Subscribe
Close

  • Free for qualified executives and consultants to industry

  • Receive quarterly issues of Area Development Magazine and special market report and directory issues

Subscribe Now
Renew

Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

France-Based Safran Opens Factory at Mobile, Alabama, Aeroplex

08/18/2017
France-based aerospace giant Safran plans to open a manufacturing operation at Mobile, Alabama, Aeroplex, and hire 20 employees over the next three years, according to the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce.

To house the facility, the Mobile Airport Authority is building out one of the existing bays at Mobile Aeroplex to 24,500 square feet, according to the Chamber. In addition, the company is investing approximately $1 million in equipment, with an opening planned for November.

The company, home to the Airbus A320 Family assembly line, will produce and install aircraft engine nacelles at this facility. Paris-based Safran is one of the world’s two leading integrators of aircraft engine nacelle systems, which house an aircraft engine and its related components.

“Safran is excited to be part of the growing aerospace community in Mobile,” said Peter Lengyel, President & CEO of Safran USA. “We are pleased to move forward with this investment in Mobile.”

Safran is the 19th company to locate at Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley since Airbus launched production in Alabama, said Mayor Sandy Stimpson. The company joins a growing list of aerospace companies with a strong presence in Mobile, with examples including VT MAE, Continental Motors and MAAS Aviation.

“We are pleased and proud to welcome Safran to the family of aerospace companies choosing to invest in Mobile,” Stimpson said. “Mobile is open for business, and our future has never been brighter.”

The announcement comes two months after a high-level delegation from Mobile met with Safran USA’s executives at the Paris Air Show.

“It’s exciting to see Team Mobile once again successfully recruit another world-class aviation and aerospace industry partner to our area,” Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson said.

“Safran is yet another worldwide company in the aerospace industry to call Mobile home. Their manufacturing presence within our aerospace hub will continue to pay dividends in our future recruitment efforts in the industry,” said David Rodgers, a Senior Project Manager who led the recruitment efforts for the Chamber.

“Alabama is involved in virtually every aspect of the aerospace industry, from R&D activities and raw material production to aircraft assembly and component fabrication,” said Greg Canfield, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “This puts the state in a prime position for sustained growth in a dynamic industry.”

Exclusive Research