Diehl Aerospace is the result of a 2006 merger of Diehl's avionics unit and its electronics unit. As part of the deal, France's Thales Aerospace transformed its 49% stake in Diehl Avionik Systeme into an equivalent share of Diehl Aerospace. These complex machinations, combined with the continuing favour of Airbus, have propelled Diehl Aerospace to number 97 in the Top 100.
The Airbus relationship dates to the 1970s, when Diehl became a supplier of cabin lighting to the airframer. In the 1980s, Bodenseewerk Gerätetechnik (BGT) - later subsumed by Diehl Avionik Systeme - designed the A320's flight control unit, which was subsequently adapted for both the A330 and A340.
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© Diehl |
Diehl Avionik Systeme was created in 2000. In 2002 it won a contract to supply the A380 with doors, a slides management system and a slat flap control computer. It also, in partnership with Thales, contributed to development of the A380's flight control unit, integrated modular avionics and cockpit and display systems. Diehl Luftfahrt Electronik also won an A380 contract, to supply mood lighting systems.
Post-merger, Diehl Aerospace was selected to supply highlift control systems for the A320, and its ties to Airbus have continued to strengthen. In May, it was selected as the preferred bidder for the airframer's Laupheim site. In July, it won a €2 billion ($3.15 billion) contract to supply the A350 XWB with remote data concentrators. It has also been selected as the preferred bidder for Airbus's cabin-focused Laupheim site.
Yet it is not just an Airbus subcontractor. To Boeing, it supplies a cabin lighting system for the 787. To Eurocopter, it supplies an operator control panel and cabin lighting system for the NH90. Bombardier and Embraer also feature on the customer list.
Five major sites in Germany are supplemented by customer service centres in Toulouse, Alabama and Singapore. In July 2007 Singapore Airlines became a sponsor of Diehl Aerospace's move into A380 maintenance when it awarded a component support contract to OEMServices, a partnership between Diehl Aerospace, Thales, Liebherr-Aerospace and Zodiac. In November, Emirates Airline followed suit, awarding the group a 15-year contract covering the carrier's 58 A380s.
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© Manfred Kennel |
Given Diehl Aerospace's heavy involvement in new civil airframe programmes, the 247 Airbus orders and 35 787 orders racked up at Farnborough will have cheered chief executive Manfred Kennel and his team.
Source: Flight International
