Assahafa.com
By deciding to establish the new Safran aircraft engine industrial complex in Morocco, the Group has made the choice of “a country endowed with talent, modern infrastructure and a stable macroeconomic framework,” said the CEO of the Safran Group, Olivier Andriès.
In a speech delivered during the presentation and launch ceremony of the construction works for the Safran Group’s aircraft engine industrial complex, chaired, on Monday in Nouaceur, by HM King Mohammed VI, Andriès stressed that the choice of Morocco is also guided by the confidence inspired by the Momentum initiated by the Sovereign to make the Kingdom “a globally competitive industrial platform.”
Recalling that Safran’s Moroccan factories are at the heart of the Group’s global production and maintenance system, which “we want to be efficient, robust and to the best industrial standards,” he indicated that this complex is part of the production and marketing of the LEAP engine, which is the latest generation engine that powers the most recent Airbus and Boeing aircraft in particular.
This engine is experiencing very strong growth, after its entry into service in 2016, since it is now operational on more than 4,000 aircraft worldwide, with an order book of more than 11,500 engines, he pointed out.
According to Andriès, the Safran Group is today facing a considerable challenge: “to create and organize a global assembly and maintenance network for this growing fleet of LEAP engines, a colossal stake to which this new installation, whose first stone we are laying, primarily responds.”
He added that this new installation will eventually employ more than 600 people and will have a maintenance capacity of 150 engines per year, noting that its location in Morocco, in strategic proximity to the three major geographical areas, namely Africa, the Middle East and Europe, is “an asset for meeting the needs of airlines.”
“We are going to build two reference sites here, efficient, innovative and sustainable. Two sites which will, I am convinced, strengthen the already excellent relationship of friendship and partnership between Safran and Morocco,” he welcomed.
Andriès also recalled that in 1999, the first Safran factory to be set up in Morocco was also an aircraft engine maintenance workshop. Created in partnership with Morocco’s flag carrier, Royal Air Maroc, it aimed to support the growth of the predecessor of the LEAP engine, the CFM56, the best-selling aircraft engine in the world, he said, stressing that in 25 years, this site has become a major center of expertise, recognized worldwide.
And he reiterated that the Safran Group is delighted to continue this “technological and industrial epic” with Morocco, placing the Kingdom at the center of the LEAP engine adventure.
Furthermore, Andriès highlighted the creation in Casablanca of an assembly line for the LEAP engine, which will be the largest aircraft engine assembly line outside of France, with 300 people who will assemble up to 350 engines per year there, intended to equip the Airbus A320neo family for airlines around the world.
Similarly, he maintained, Morocco will be associated with the Safran Group’s most ambitious industrial challenge to date: serving aircraft manufacturer customers, and particularly Airbus, in the ramp-up of the production of medium-haul aircraft.
Noting that these two projects mark the continuity of a fruitful partnership centered on the development of an aeronautical industrial ecosystem in Morocco, the French executive said that this ecosystem relies, first and foremost, on talent development.
In this sense, the Group will recruit 2,000 people in all its sites within five years, he indicated, adding that in partnership with the Moroccan State, industrialists and universities of the Kingdom, Safran is pursuing an active policy in favor of aeronautical training in Morocco, notably through its participation in the creation of the Institute of Aeronautical Professions (IMA) in 2011 and the establishment of a Safran university in 2023.
This ecosystem then relies on the Group strengthening its Moroccan supply chain, he said, while encouraging Safran’s historical French suppliers to set up here in Morocco.
Finally, it relies on sustainability, explained Andriès, who announced that in a country like Morocco, which has unique resources and aims to become a major stakeholder in renewable energies, the electricity supply for most of the Safran Group’s sites will be covered by a memorandum of understanding guaranteeing access to decarbonated energy in 2026.
“The conditions are met for Safran to pursue its development in Morocco. Today, these two projects and the ongoing extensions in three of its other sites represent an investment of more than €350 million and will create thousands of jobs for the entire aeronautical ecosystem of the Kingdom,” he concluded.
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