Safran may be one of Europe's biggest aerospace companies, but in the US business aviation market it has a lower profile than some of its famous brands such as Snecma, Labinal, Turbomeca and Messier-Bugatti-Dowty.
That is something the French company hopes to change by exhibiting at NBAA (booth 2579) under its group brand. Peter Lengyel, chief executive of Safran USA, says the firm's US industrial footprint is the most extensive outside France, with 31 businesses and joint ventures, with nearly 7,000 employees in 58 locations in 22 states.
That is double the size of the US business three years ago, he says.
"We are identifying ourselves more and more as Safran. There is an increasing focus on the brand," says Lengyel.
Safran - a merger of the former Snecma and Sagem industrial groups - is keen to promote the crossover between its various technologies and products, which include helicopter and fixed-wing engines, nacelles, thrust reversers, landing gear, auxiliary power units, flight controls and wiring.
Among the products being showcased by Safran at NBAA is the Snecma Silvercrest engine, designed to power business jets from the super midsize to the large aircraft categories, developing 9,500 (42kN) to 12,000lb of thrust. Cessna has selected Silvercrest for its new Citation Longitude jet.
Another engine brand, SMA, offers the SR305-230E diesel engine for general aviation aircraft. Cessna has chosen it for its Turbo Skylane XNT.
Featuring in the display at NBAA will be the e-APU from Microturbo, an APU designed, says Safran, to "meet demands of more electric/all-electric" aircraft, and which will be certificated in the first half of next year. Microturbo has also set up a partnership with Pratt & Whitney AeroPower to develop new-generation APUs and systems, the first application being Bombardier's Global 7000 and 8000 business jets.
Source: Flight Daily News
