JEAN-PAUL BECHAT has become Snecma's new chairman and chief executive, replacing Bernard Dufour, who leaves after only two years, mainly because of deteriorating relations between the French aero-engine builder and General Electric, its 50-50 partner in CFM International. Bechat left Snecma two years ago, to become chairman and chief executive of state-run explosives company SNPE.
Bechat will have to win over Snecma's engineering and administrative personnel, who have been clamouring for a bigger role in national relations with the military and civil aerospace authorities and its international partners. He will also have to tackle immediately the sale of two of Snecma's subsidiaries, that of Messier-Bugatti to US company BFGoodrich, and of SEP, which builds Ariane space-rocket motors, and which supplies the French armed forces with nuclear- and conventional-missile engines. Snecma plans to sell SEP to Aerospatiale , before the latter's planned merger with Dassault.
Snecma senior executives are confident that Bechat will restore the once-privileged relations with GE, and eventually join GE and Pratt and Whitney in future joint engine programmes.
Source: Flight International
