AIN Staff

Since surprising the industry by dropping the Socata name, Daher has embarked on a restructuring aimed at expanding the French group’s aviation business. For the first time in Daher’s history, the company will not be led by a member of the Daher family, which will continue to control 80 percent of its equity. Current executive vice president David Kayat is in the process of taking over from CEO Patrick Daher over the next two years.

 


Daher’s aerospace growth goals are very specific. From revenues of €970 million ($1.1 billion) in 2014, it expects to grow by ramping up its main programs to reach €1.3 billion ($1.42 billion) in 2017 and €2 billion ($2.2 billion) beyond that. In addition to making TBM turboprop singles, including the latest TBM 900 on display here at the Paris Air Show, Daher is one of the main aerostructures suppliers for aircraft such as the Airbus A350XWB and Dassault Falcon 5X. It also provides wing-to-body fairings and landing gear doors for the new Gulfstream G500 and G600.

 


But now the group craves a more international profile, particularly in North America. It is also looking to make its production process more efficient through a plan called Performance 2017.

 


Daher, which is 20 percent owned by French public investment bank BPI, is one of 34 companies included in the government’s industrial development plan and it had been hoping to attract state aid to invest in production modernization. This has not materialized so instead Daher has invested its own capital to “robotize” its thermoplastic production line.

 


“We are looking to the U.S., which is a very important market for us,” Daher marketing director Vincent Chanron told AIN. “We have signed new contracts with Gulfstream to produce carbon-fiber parts for the G500 and G600, but we would love to work more for Boeing, and to do so we need to be present in the U.S.”

 


Daher, which is already present in neighboring Mexico, is now studying the possibility of building or buying its own U.S. factory. The U.S. alone accounted for about three-quarters of the 98 orders Daher now holds for the TBM 900.

 


In addition to the TBM 900, Daher’s exhibit here at Le Bourget also includes examples of its aerostructures work, including a tailboom produced for the new Airbus Helicopters H160. The company is also demonstrating a virtual reality tool that will let visitors experience the TBM 900 production line at Tarbes in southern France.

 


Daher also is involved in the Airbus-led E-Fan project to develop an electrically powered training aircraft. It is expected to be responsible for taking the aircraft into production. “We have expertise in lightweight aircraft that is a huge advantage,” said Chanron. “But we won’t abandon the production of aircraft–it is a guarantee of credibility for our big customers.”

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