AEROSPACE SUBCONTRACTING IN FRANCE: NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS

Chicago, January 29, 2010 (word count: 545)
With nearly €37 billion ($52 billion USD) in sales, and €2.4 billion  ($3.4 billion USD) in R&D spending, French aviation has long been a power player within the aerospace industry. Additionally, France’s aerospace subcontracting industry generates more than €10 billion in sales, provides jobs for 80,000 people and encompasses a broad range of specialized equipment manufacturing. However, given that 40 percent of Airbus A-380 components are produced in the United States, international collaboration is essential to the sector.

“France boasts a network of companies specializing in producing Europe’s leading aerospace equipment, thanks to the longstanding presence of Airbus and the recent creation of cooperative organizations, innovation clusters and alliances. This ability to pool expertise is a key factor in France’s appeal to foreign investors,” observes David Appia, Chairman and CEO of the Invest in France Agency.

Partnership Trends for Tomorrow’s Technology
Recent alliances forged between small to medium-sized companies (SMEs) in the aerospace subcontracting industry have resulted in a growing number of companies joining forces. At the most recent International Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, for example, SMEs such as Meca’Com, AeroTeam, Induxial and Ingéliance held a joint exhibition.

Technologies of the future are of vital importance to aerospace subcontracting. The aviation industry increasingly relies on composite materials, especially polymer materials used to develop new wing technologies for next-generation aircraft.  More companies are choosing to develop their latest technologies in France. The Japanese company Toray, for example, has opened Toray Films Europe, a new facility devoted to producing biaxially oriented polypropylene film previously manufactured in the United States. On October 1, 2009, the aerospace subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems, headquartered in the U.S., began constructing an assembly plant for composite components in Montoir-de-Bretagne, in the Loire-Atlantique département – an investment amounting to several tens of millions of euros.

Expanding Opportunities While Going Green
The sustainable development goals set for the air transportation sector under the Act of August 3, 2009 (“Grenelle I”), which specifies the measures to be implemented as a result of the French Environmental Round Table Talks (“Grenelle de l’environnement”), include reducing fuel consumption by 50% per passenger-kilometer, reducing carbon monoxide emissions by 80%, and halving noise pollution by the year 2020. The new technological challenges generated by these environmental requirements are expected to stimulate research and development.

Innovation Attracting Leaders from Around the Globe
Innovation clusters provide further advantages and make an important contribution towards aerospace research and development. 94,000 people, including 8,500 in research positions, work in Aerospace Valley (Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrénées regions) which is home to a large number of major international companies including EADS, Freescale Semiconductors, Goodrich, Honeywell, Rockwell Collins and Siemens. Companies in the ASTech Paris Région cluster (Ile-de-France) employ 100,000 people, accounting for the majority of R&D jobs in the French aerospace industry, and count major players among their number such as Dassault Aviation, Safran and Astrium. 35,000 people, 30% of whom are in research positions, work in the Pégase cluster (Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region), which brings together more than 250 aerospace companies.

About Invest in France:
The Invest in France Agency (IFA) promotes and facilitates international investment in France. The IFA network operates worldwide. The IFA works in partnership with regional development agencies to offer international investors business opportunities and customized services all over France.

For more information, please contact:

INVEST IN FRANCE NORTH AMERICA
Amanda Hilson
810 Seventh Ave.
New York, NY 10019
Tel: (212) 757-9340
Fax: (212) 757-1568
E-mail: amanda.hilson@investinfrance.org
Web: www.investinfrance.org/northamerica

or:

FRENCH TECHNOLOGY PRESS OFFICE
205 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 3740
Chicago, IL 60601
Tel.: (312) 327-5260
E-mail: contact.ftpo@ubifrance.fr