World leader
for medium- and long-haul aircraft
Safran Aero Boosters designs, develops and produces modules, equipment and test cells for aerospace engines. Thanks to its high-tech products, the company equips the Ariane launcher and most commercial aircraft engines in all thrust ranges: from the largest engines for long-haul aircraft to the medium-sized and small engines used in regional aviation and most recently in business aviation. Based in Liège (Belgium), Safran Aero Boosters has two subsidiaries in the United States and employs 1,800 people.
Safran Aero Boosters equips most commercial aircraft currently in service, as well as the Ariane launcher.
Safran Aero Boosters is a Safran subsidiary (F-67% of share capital) whose other shareholders are the Région Wallonne de Belgique (B-31%) and the Société Fédérale d'Investissement et de Participation (B-2%).
Safran Aero Boosters's business is overseen by a board of directors representing the shareholders. Together, they determine the company's general policy, main direction and strategy.
The members of the Board of Directors:
Secretary of the Board : Sophie Malbec (Safran Aero Boosters)
François Lepot has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Safran Aero Boosters with effect from February 2019, as Yves Prete leaves for retirement.
François Lepot began his career in 1992 at steel makers Cockerill-Sambre as manufacturing process engineer.
He went on to join Techspace Aero in 1993 as an engineer in the Research Department. In 1995 he took up the role of Project Manager on the development of the CFM56-7 and then is on secondment to General Electric and Snecma. In 1998, he became Technical Brand Manager for the General Electric and Pratt & Whitney engine programs. In 2000, he took on responsibility for a production unit. In 2006, he became Senior Vice President, Operations in charge of production, supply chain and investments.
François Lepot, 49, graduated from the University of Liège in 1992 with a degree in civil electromechanical engineering, specializing in aerospace engineering.
Located near Liège in Belgium, Safran Aero Boosters brings together all the services and facilities required to provide integrated and innovative solutions for its clients all over the world on one site. The company has 4 engine test facilities within 3 kilometers of its headquarters.
Safran Aero Boosters also has two subsidiaries in the United States: Safran Test Cells in Minnesota (test facilities) and Safran Oil Systems in Florida (oil tanks)
As a socially responsible corporate citizen, Safran Aero Boosters undertakes to comply with a number of commitments to its neighbors, local authorities and customers and in relation to its staff.
Safran Aero Boosters has earned worldwide recognition for its expertise and meets the highest industry quality certifications currently in force.
Ensuring health and safety for all.
Safran Aero Boosters is committed to ensuring the health and safety of people on and around its sites, the safety of its facilities and respect for the environment and neighboring communities, as well as incorporating Health, Safety and Environment regulations into its design, development, manufacturing and distribution processes for its products and services.
Safety is one of Safran Aero Boosters's top priorities. The company takes all practical measures to anticipate, prevent, eliminate, reduce and manage all safety risks arising out of its activities. It has developed a culture of anticipation and prevention to ensure that its staff, partners, suppliers, customers and any site visitors benefit from the highest possible level of risk management.
Safran Aero Boosters is working with Safran to implement a continuous professional improvement drive, called Safran +, to provide a framework for improvement initiatives and meet client expectations of excellence.
Safran Aero Boosters continuously seeks ways to improve both its products and services and its internal processes and operating methods. The Executive Board sets out the annual improvement plan then oversees its implementation through performance indicators updated on a monthly basis. A Total Quality specialists unit backed by a group of experts in various fields, both from the company and from the Safran Group, is assigned to co-ordinate and implement this plan.
Safran + is based on recognized tools and methods including Lean Sigma, QRQC, TPM, Visual Factory, SPC, 5S, SMED, etc.
An offshoot of the Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, Safran Aero Boosters began to acquire expertise in aerospace propulsion in 1949, manufacturing Rolls Royce and General Electric engines under license.
The company achieved international acclaim for its F100 Pratt & Whitney engine fitted in F15 and F16 fighters. It manufactured most of the components and was responsible for assembly and testing of over 600 engines of this type.
The 1980s marked a turning point for the future development of Safran Aero Boosters as it took part in major commercial aviation programs. The company's initial experiments in the aviation industry also led to its inclusion from the very outset in the first European space programs. The company gradually extended its R&D to offer clients end-to-end solutions from design to product manufacture.
Since the year 2000, Safran Aero Boosters has concluded numerous partnership agreements for low-pressure compressors and lubrication equipment in aircraft engines across the whole thrust range. With these agreements, the company is playing its part in financing new engines alongside engine manufacturers and takes full industrial responsibility for the modules and/or equipment, which can represent as much as a 10% share of the full engine.
Safran Aero Boosters has today acquired the technological maturity it needs to go one step further, by playing a real part in developing engine architectures within its sphere of responsibility, alongside some of the biggest engine manufacturers in the industry.
To more effectively cater to its customers' needs, Safran Aero Boosters has chosen to deepen and widen its expertise by acquiring two subsidiaries: Safran Test Cells and Safran Oil Systems. Its strategy is already paying off.
Safran Test Cells boasts 60 years of experience in testing aircraft engines. It offers clients both turnkey test facilities and test cell upgrade and refurbishment programs.
Safran Test Cells, a Safran Aero Boosters subsidiary since 2003, designs and produces aircraft engine test facilities for all types of engines, including military and commercial turbofan, turboprop and turboshaft engines.
The Minnesota site hosts 80 Safran Test Cells employees , who work in close collaboration with the 100 staff members at Belgium. Being present on two continents – and in two time zones – makes Safran Test Cells all the more efficient when dealing with customers. These include engine manufacturers, maintenance operators, airlines and the armed forces.
Safran Oil Systems is a Florida-based company specializing in the design, development and production of welded, stainless-steel oil tanks.
An extensive range of oil equipment
Safran Aero Boosters, already the world leader in lubrication pumps at the time, acquired Safran Oil Systems in order to extend its range to all aircraft engine lubrication and cooling equipment. Safran Oil Systems boasts full oil tank design, engineering, manufacturing and repair capabilities and its products currently make up 75% of the world civil market.
Tanks for all engine manufacturers
Safran Oil Systems has made a name for itself on the world stage in its own niche field. Its technique for welding together stainless steel sheet metal performs optimally under weight and fire-resistance constraints, and allows for the creation of oil systems that are perfectly adapted to the needs of all aircraft engine manufacturers, such as Safran Aircraft Engines, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce.
Safran Oil Systems is responsible for the CFMI LEAP, GE Passport, RR Trent XWB, PW1000G and Engine Alliance GP7200 engine tanks.
In partnership with the world's largest engine manufacturers, Safran Aero Boosters has been associated with most major aerospace programs in recent decades.