The Snecma Group has been completely restructured under the leadership of Jean-Paul Bechat. Acquisitions have played a large part in shaping the industrial empire whose interests run from light aero engines to rockets.
Bechat steered Snecma's acquisition of the UK TI Group's share of Messier-Dowty (landing gear), Messier-Bugatti (wheels, carbon brakes and steering systems), Labinal Group including Turbomeca (engines for civil and military helicopters) and Hurel-Hispano (nacelles and thrust reversers).
The business now covers Snecma Moteurs for civil and military aviation engines to SEP (Societe Europeenne de Propulsion), the Ariane telecommunications satellites space launcher and military missile rockets manufacturer.
Furthermore, Snecma has an equal share with Renault Sports Formula 1 and EADS in SMA, the new French company Societe de Motorisations Aeronautiques which for the first time since the Second World War is building engines for general aviation light aircraft flying on Jet A fuel.
It means almost all of France's aerospace propulsion and equipment manufacturing companies have been brought under Snecma's wing.
Meanwhile, Snecma Services, the thriving maintenance subsidiary which has set up a network of CFM56 MROs around the world, including a site in Miami, Florida, and elsewhere in the United States, is competing against GE Engine Service (GEES), even though CFM International is a 50:50 joint venture between the two companies' parents.
With tie-ups, joint ventures and partnerships, Bechat has captured new markets overseas.
Solid
In China, Snecma has formed a solid relationship with Chinese airlines through its subsidiary Snecma Services which has set up a huge MRO unit there. Of the 14,500 CFM56 engines in service worldwide, there are 800 various models in service in China powering Airbus A320 and A340 and Boeing 737 fleets and performing very well with 15 Chinese airlines.
In India, Turbomeca now has several programmes in place with Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), including the Ardiden next-generation helicopter engine and the TM333-2B2 engine which will power all versions of India's Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv.
In the United States, Turbomeca has received an order from Sikorsky Aircraft for 20 Arriel 2S2 engines to power the new version of its S-76 helicopter.
Snecma Moteurs has also a 50:50 tie-up with Russia's NPO Saturn in a major deal for the development of the SM146 engine to power Sukhoi's Russian Regional Jet (RRJ). The French manufacturer's responsibilities include the design and production of the engine core, or the high pressure section of the SM146 engine in the 14,000-18,000lb (62-80kN) thrust range.
While Sukhoi co-operates with Boeing on the airframe, work on onboard systems and engines is based on co-operation between Russian and leading companies worldwide. Sukhoi projects sales of 600 RRJs over the next two decades in a world market estimated at 7,000 aircraft. The KKnAAPO (Komsomolsk-na-Amure Aviation Production Organisation) has been selected for final assembly of the RRJ-75, -95 and -60.
The RRJ-95 is part of a family of twinjets being developed by Sukhoi with Boeing, Ilyushin and Yakovlev. The family includes the baseline 75-seat variant and a 60-seat shrink.
The original plan to put the RRJ-75 into the market first, followed by the RRJ-95 and RRJ-60 at six-month intervals, has been revised so the RRJ-75 and RRJ-95 will be launched almost simultaneously.
Source: Flight Daily News
