Safran Magazine # 9 - December 2010

8/13/2019 Safran Magazine # 9 - December 2010

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magazineSAFRAN

DECEMBER 2010 – No. 9THE SAFRAN GROUP MAGAZINE

Engines, avionicsand equipment reflectcustomer-centricexpertise

EXCEPTIONAL

HELIBORNETECHNOLOGIES

SPECIAL REPORT


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/safran-magazine-9-december-2010 2/21

MARCHÉSContents

02 _ December 2010 _ Safran Magazine Safran Magazine _ December 2010 _ 03

MARCHÉSEditorial

S afran’s industrial policy aims to give us the production resourcesneeded to manufacture high-quality, high-value-added productsThe opening of new plants in 2010, including Bordes and Bidosin France, and Querétaro in Mexico, reflects our Group’s ongoingefforts to improve and expand our production capabilities. At thesame time, these new facilities reflect Safran’s confidence in future

returns on our investments, and in the sustained growth of our markets.The opening of new facilities and modernization of existing plants is of cours

the most visible sign of changes in our industrial landscape. But that’s not all ware doing. Everywhere we operate, Safrandeploys a continuous improvement policythat draws heavily on Lean Manufacturin

and Six Sigma initiatives. Combiningthese two approaches gives us a powerfulever to improve the Group’s performance. However, improving our internaefficiency is not enough: Saf ran’s enhanced responsibility, which assumes takingan increasingly comprehensive role in relation to our customers, also dependon maintaining greater control over the entire supply chain. This in tu rn meanthat we have to provide continuous support for our suppliers, to improve theirperformance in terms of quality, costs and delivery times. Because it is only undethese conditions that Safran will continue to design and build products with thquality and competitiveness that drive our ongoing success in the marketplace.

Continuousimprovementdrives marketsuccess

24 Markets

Check out the latestSafran group news atwww.safran-group.com

Marc Ventre

Executive Vice President,Aerospace Propulsionbranch, Safran

News breaks P. 04

Tomorrow P. 08Inertial navigation

Special report P. 10Exceptional heliborne technologiesEngines, avionics and equipment reflectcustomer-centric expertise.

Panorama P. 20Combining beauty and efficiencyThe latest Safran plant skillfully couplesaesthetics with high performance.

Markets P. 2424 India launches unique ID number27 SaM146 certification

28 Patroller drone takes off!

30 Submarines: undercover mission

32 Green taxiing: self-propelled landinggear

Insight P. 3333 Safran and the Women’s Forum

34 Senior employee profiles

Interview P. 36Incredible IndiaInterview with Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao,Chairman and CEO of GMR Group

“Greater control over the

entire supply chain”

In India, Safran was selected to participate in theworld’s largest identification program. All residents inIndia will eventually be assigned a unique ID number.

LOCAL ID,

COUNTRY-WIDE!

The Safran group magazine - 2, bddu Général-Martial-Valin 75724 Paris

Cedex 15 - France - Fax : +33 (0)1 40 60 85 01- Publication

Director : Pascale Dubois - Editorial Director: ChristineOrfila - Executive Editor in Chief: Florent Vilbert - Editor inChief:Martin Bellet - Written by: D. Baudier, M. Bellet, L. dela Reberdière, B. Dietz, A. Kovalenko, F. Lert, P. Michaud, A.Papeguay, G. Sequeira-Martins - Translation: Don Siegel, IDCommunications- Production: - Printedby: Imprimerie Vincent, certified IMPRIM’VERT, on PEFC

accredited paper - ISSN 1960-7164 - The articlesand illustrations published in this magazine may notbe reproduced without prior authorization.Cover: © Éric Raz / Eurocopter

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MARCHÉSNews breaks


Unified solid propulsion capabilities

Safran has announced an industrial and commercial collaborationagreement with SNPE Matériaux Energétiques to bolster its solidpropulsion business. The Group could thus combine SNPE’s expertise in

energetic materials (propellants) with the solid rocket motor (SRM) capabilitiesof its subsidiary Snecma Propulsion Solide. “This acquisition should enableus to create a new center of excellence in our Group, one that will have a verypositive technological impact on our businesses, especially in solid propulsionand composite materials,” said Safran CEO Jean-Paul Herteman. The combinedsolid propulsion business consolidated within Safran would have nearly 3,000employees, an R&D unit with over 600 scientists and engineers, and annualrevenues estimated at more than 650 million euros in 2011. Based on the samevertical integration structure as all specialists in solid propulsion, this new unitwould bolster its competitiveness and become No. 2 worldwide in this sector.

WINDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

In October 2009, Aircelledelivered the high-techNAIAD – Nacelle Innovativeand Acoustic Demonstrator– to fellow Group companySnecma, the aero-enginespecialist. Based on theextensive use of compositematerials and innovativeproduction processes(thermoplastic forming,for instance), this nacellewill shortly be testedalong with the MASCOTengine demonstrator forthe integrated powerplantsystem being developed by

CFM International forthe new LEAP-X engine.Aircelle thus confirmsthe major objectives ofits technology strategy,based on new-generationnacelles that are lighter,quieter and easierto maintain.

The number ofFormula OneGrand Prix wonby cars usingMessier-Bugatti(Safran group)carbon brakes.Messier-Bugattihas worked withF1 teams since1984, and alsosupplies carbonclutch disks to allcompetitors.

259

Messier: 3 in 1

The A350, Boeing 787 and othernew aircraft programs increasinglydemand more highly integrated and

innovative equipment packages. Messier-Bugatti, Messier-Dowty and MessierServices, all members of the Safrangroup, are therefore merging intoa single company that offers the depthand breadth to cover all components i nmodern landing systems. Their teamwork,already reflected in work on the A400M,as well as the green taxiing concept(see page 32), also enables them to offermore comprehensive services to airlines.The merger should be completed in thefirst half of 2011, pending approval bythe companies’ respective work’s councils.

WMERGER

Mexico will be in the spotlight in2011, in particular with The Year ofMexico in France, a program chairedby Safran CEO Jean-Paul Hertemanon the French side. This eventcelebrates the many cultural, scientificand economic ties between the twocountries, which the Safran grouphad already spotlighted throughout2010. Mexico holds a very specialrole in the Group’s developmentstrategy, as reflected in events such

as the Pierre Soulages retrospectiveorganized in partnership with the MexicoCity Museum last August, and Jean-PaulHerteman’s participation in the MexicoCumbre de Negocios (B usiness Summit)in Toluca. Safran has been operatingin Mexico for some 20 years, andcurrently has nearly 3,000 employeesin the country, which has become itsbeachhead into South America with theopening of three new production plantsin 2010.

THE YEAR OF MEXICO

NAIAD AT AIRCELLE

Fast growth in the securitymarket

Safran, already a major player in biometrics, has becomethe world leader in this market following an agreementwith L-1 Identity of the United States to acquire

its biometrics, access control and secure ID documentoperations. Safran is counting on the complementaryfit of these businesses to offer the leading high-tech solutionsin the security market, pending definitive approval of theacquisition by U.S. authorities, expected in the first quarter of2011. This acquisition marks a major step forward in Safran’sclearly defined strategy to establish high-tech leadershipin the Group’s three core markets, namely aerospace,defense and security.

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MARCHÉSNews breaks


Celeste Thomasson,Safran Vice President,Legal Affairs“In my job, it’s very important to efficiently manage culturaldifference, and also show a certain degree of flexibility.” Recentlyappointed head of Legal Affairs for the Safran group, Californianative Celeste Thomasson, 43, knows how to put her wordsinto practice. She’s already familiar with the Group, having joined subsidiary Messier Services in 2002 as head of the legaldepartment, before moving to Messier-Dowty the following year asVP, Legal Affairs. Celeste Thomasson then returned to the UnitedStates in July 2008 as Senior Vice President and General Counselfor Safran USA, before returning to Paris a year later to take up thisnew job. Her varied career gives her a solid understanding of bothFrench and American law, a considerable advantage for a globalgroup such as Safran.

Decision-makers

Panoramic eye for

armored vehicles O

n the field of battle, being able to quicklydetect enemy forces is an imperative. NexterSystems has ordered 285 turret-mounted

panoramic observation systems from Sagem(Safran group), giving its VBCI armored infantrycombat vehicles state-of-the-art technology. Thesystem comprises a stabilized platform with a non-cooled thermal imager, giving vehicle crews 360°observation capability, along with target designationfor the gunner. Sagem will also be supplying an equalnumber of stabilized pointing units with this order.

Safranon the podium

After two weeks at sea, single-handed, and with 80 competitors atthe start of the Route du Rhum-La Banque Postale transatlanticrace, Marc Guillemot, the Safran skipper, finished third in the Imoca

Open 60 class. It was a hard-fought battle for Marc, with especially difficultconditions throughout the race, from Saint-Malo in France to Pointe-à-Pitrein Guadeloupe. Once again, Marc and his monohull boat proved their mettle,and dedicated their podium finish to “everybody at Safran”. He added, “Theenergy I put into this race was fed by everybody who helped prepare ourboat and supported me all the way.” Congratulations Marco!

W MOREwww.safransixty.com

WBOATSPONSORSHIP

new orders for CFM56 engines booked duringthe Farnborough international air show.

825

Superjet 100 breakthrough in North America

Russian aircraft manufacturerSukhoi has recorded anorder for six Superjet 100

regional jets, plus four options, fromWillis Lease Finance Corporationof the United States, markinga breakthrough in the Western

market and signaling its return tocommercial aviation after beingabsent for two decades. Thecontract, worth about $300 million,concerns the Superjet 100-95LRlong-range version, with single-classseating for 98 passengers. The

Superjet 100 benefits from Safran’swide range of expertise, since theGroup supplies the engine (via jointventure PowerJet, see article onpage 27), nacelles and landing gear.The American leasing firm will takedelivery of its first aircraft in 2012.

The recently launched projectto revamp public records inMauritania calls on a latest-generation biometrics-basedsystem. To deploy the system,the government chose Morpho,a Safran group company,which will handle the issuanceof secure identificationdocuments for citizensand residents (ID cards,

passports, residence cardsand car registration papers),using the latest version of itsmultibiometric fingerprintand facial recognition system.Biometric registrationoperations kicked off onthe highly symbolic date ofNovember 28, 2010, the 50thanniversary of the country’sindependence.

LATEST-GENERATIONBIOMETRICS INMAURITANIA

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a r n b o r o u g h I n t e r n a t i o n a l A i r s h o w

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MARCHÉSTomorrow


Gyros for navigation

X

Y

Z

Our ancestors used the stars to deter-mine where they were. Today,people still look skyward, but thistime to the GPS (Global Position-ing System) constellation of satel-

lites. But what happens when you can’t pickup a signal, or it’s been jammed? When you’re

driving an automobile, it’s no big deal, but foran airplane in flight, the situation is more criti-cal. One solution is inertial navigation. Thistechnology, which predates GPS, is used to ori-ent a vehicle in space and maintain its positionautonomously.

All inertial reference units work accordingto the same principle. They comprise threeaccelerometers (acceleration sensors) and threeangular speed sensors (gyroscopes) to deter-mine the speed and attitude (roll, pitch, yaw)of a moving vehicle. Fabrice Delhaye, directorof Sagem’s Navigation department, emphasizesthe complementary fit of GPS and inertial nav-igation systems: “In fact, GPS extends the iner-tial market. For example, today’s increasinglydigital battlefield requires precise geo-locationcoordinates. Inertial navigation is indispens-able for extracting the coordinates of enemyforces, and also takes over for GPS under dif-ficult operating conditions, while GPS systemscan be used to periodically correct the positioncalculated by an inertial reference system.”

SMALLER, MORE PRECISEDifferent technologies are still used concur-rently in this market. “We have designedthree generations of inertial reference units todate,” notes Fabrice Delhaye. “The first was amechanical platform, with gyros mounted in aframe, like a child’s spinning top.” Thousandsof these are still in service, including on Mirage2000 fighters, but their complex mechani-cal layout means relatively high maintenancecosts. “The second generation helped reducecost of ownership,” continues Delhaye. “Theseare the laser-gyro based units that are nowinstalled on military aircraft, artillery systemsand ships.” Sagem’s laser gyros are used not only

on the Rafale multirole fighter, but also on theAriane 5 launch vehicle and ballistic mis-siles. To ensure maximum operating integrity,inertial reference units are often installed ina redundant architecture, as on the A400Mmilitary transport plane, or the NH90 heli-copter. They are used for tactical positioning,

weapon operation and self-defense. On artil-lery systems, they enable high-precision aimingof the weapon, while also providing tacticalmobility. Nuclear submarines owe their abilityto remain totally submerged for several daysto the precision of their inertial systems (seearticle on page 30).

Inertial navigation is a center of excellence and major development path at Safran,which is making heavy investments to spur growth.

INERTIA ACCELERATES!

NAVIGATION

“The Gui dance-

Navigation

department in

the DGA’s Project

Engineering division

contributes its

expertise to program

teams working on

various systems for

France’s three

service arms.

We contribute to

current weapon

programs, as well as

working on advanced

technologies to meet

long-term goals.

For instance,

we identified the

hemispherical

resonating gyro

(HRG) as a key sensor

for the future of

inertial navigation.

Today, only two

companies apply

this technology,

Safran and

Northrop Grumman.

Safran made an

excellent choice,

I believe, because

the HRG offers a

host of advantages.

It’s small – with a

bowl only 2

centimeters in

diameter, compared

to the 32 centimeter

optical path in

a high-performance

Safran laser gyro –

and its measurement

of angular speeds

is mostly insensitive

to interference.

Furthermore,

the stability of

the HRG’s error

model means that

it is well suited to

long-duration

inertial navigation

missions, as on

submarines.”

Navigation-guidancedesign engineer,the French defenseprocurement agency(DGA)

w MAXIMILIEN PORTIER

The third generation of inertial reference unitsis based on hemispherical resonating gyros(HRG), which drastically reduce the partscount compared to previous units. “The HRGoffers an excellent tradeoff between size andperformance, with outstanding efficiency ifoperated with some sophistication,” says FabriceDelhaye. Already used in Sagem’s AASM air-to-ground guided weapon, the HRG has been

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identified by Safran as a key future technol-ogy. The Group is making major investmentsin this market, including a new productionfacility at Sagem’s Montluçon plant, spanningsome 14,000 square meters, with 6,000 squaremeters of clean rooms, that will start operationin early 2011. At the same time, this plant hasto keep pace with sustained demand for lasergyro i nertial reference systems.

“The HRG offers a hostof advantages”

million euros invested

in a new facility atSagem’s Montluçonplant

Over

600 laser gyro inertialreference systemsproduced yearly

50

square metersof clean rooms(64,800 sq ft).

© L o r e n z o T i m o n

6,000



Engines, avionics and equipmentreflect customer-centric expertise.

EXCEPTIONALHELIBORNETECHNOLOGIES

100million eurosinvested by Safranin the new JosephSzydlowski plant.

15,200 turbine engines inservice.

3,600hours betweenoverhauls for the Arriel101 engine.


MARCHÉSSpecial report

© N i c o l a s G o u h i e r / E u r o c o p t e r

The EC225 is used to serviceoffshore oil platforms. Safran

supplies the two Makila 2A1turboshaft engines that

power this helicopter, as wellas the landing system, wiring

and autopilot.




Turbomeca’s new Joseph Szydlowski helicopter engine plant, the latest crown jewelat Safran, was inaugurated on June 22 by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and SafranCEO Jean-Paul Herteman. This milestone also allowed the Group to reaffirm itsconfidence in the future and its commitment to meeting ambitious industrial goals.

PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION

EVENT


“Thanks to Joseph Szydlowski,many generations of workers,engineers and managers have jobs.(…) And that’s why you can a ll bevery proud of this name.”N. SARKOZY

“We can producein France and

be competitive inall international

markets.”N. SARKOZY

“This investmentreflects thedynamismand faith inthe future that

helped us standup to the crisis.”J.-P. HERTEMAN

“The world’s development shapesand nurtures our own development.But our industrial roots are, and willremain French.”J.-P. HERTEMAN

“Theinauguration ofa new plant is aspecial moment

in the life ofany industrial

enterprise, sinceit is a door into

the future.”

J.-P. HERTEMAN

“You don’tsucceed simply

by investing,or by carryingout research.

You succeed byworking together

to understand eachother.”

N. SARKOZY

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t i e n n e F o l l e t

Left to right: Alain Rousset (Chairman ofthe Aquitaine Regional Council), Jean-Paul Herteman, Nicolas Sarkozy andFrench ministers Michèle Alliot-Marieand Christian Estrosi, with Pierre Fabre,Chairman and CEO of Turbomeca.



Wiring

Landing system

- Landing gear

- Uplock actuator

Optronics

- OLOSP day/night gyrostabilized

observation pod

- Euroflir surveillance systems

- Sensors

Propulsion

- Engines

- APU (auxiliary power unit)

- FADEC

- Engine cowls

- Avionics sand filters

Navigation

- Flight controls

- Autopilot

- MARS flight planning and mission

replay system

- Inertial navigation unit

- Cockpit display screens


R

educing our engines’ cost ofownership and emissions havebecome prime requirements, on apar with reliability and other per-

formance criteria,” says JacquesBrochet, engineering director at Turbomeca,the helicopter engine specialist in the Safrangroup. “Meeting these goals depends in largepart on decreasing fuel consumption. This isnot only to keep pace with rising oil prices,but also to integrate stricter environmentalstandards and associated taxes. But we alsohave to achieve these goals by using matureand affordable technologies, because other-wise operators would get neither the requiredreliability, nor a reasonable return on theirinvestment.”

A CLEAR VISIONTurbomeca is laying solid groundwork for thefuture, in particular to meet three distinctgoals. Initially, it will build three demonstra-tors, one for each major power class (from600 to 2,000 kW), based on refinements inexisting technologies. These engines shouldhit the market towards 2015, and of fer a 15%

reduction in fuel burn. The second stage,towards 2020, involves more fundamentalresearch that aims to reduce fuel consump-tion by 25% compared to the current genera-

tion of rotorcraft engines. As Jacques Brochetpoints out, “We are going to deliver innova-tive solutions for control system operationand better integration of the engine in theairframe, while still retaining the basic gasturbine concept.”

The third step in this long-term develop-ment vision will involve breakthrough tech-nologies designed to meet even more ambi-tious goals, with applications starting around2030 or beyond. In this initiative, the gasturbine experts at Safran will explore noveltechnologies, such as hybrid propulsion, ormultimode systems combining several differ-ent power sources.

TECHNOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONThe race for innovative helicopter solutionsalso calls on Safran’s expertise in avionicsand optronics. For instance, the Group isgearing up for the technology shift now tak-ing place in rotorcraft avionics. “Our current

Research, innovation and partnerships are the threepillars underpinning Safran’s development strategyin the helicopter market.

HELICOPTERS, FROM THE

COCKPIT TO THE ENGINE

PERSPECTIVES


advanced projects are focused o n new criticalcomputer architectures and inertial sensorsfor flight control, such as the hemisphericalresonating gyro,” explains Philippe Arnaud,sales & marketing director for Sagem’s Avi-onics division. “We are also facing challengesin onboard information systems and associ-ated services. By judiciously managing andanalyzing their flight data, operators can sig-nificantly reduce fleet fuel consumption andcarbon dioxide emissions, while also enhanc-ing flight safety.”

Sagem’s Optronics & Defense division facesidentical challenges. Weapon sights made bythis division are used on all versions of theTiger combat helicopter, and its Euroflir sta-

Partnerships,a springboard tonew contractsFor both helicopter and enginemanufacturers, partnerships areoften a prerequisite for success inthe market. Emerging economiesaround the world want to participatein the development and productionof high-tech systems, as shown bythe collaboration between Turbomecaand Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) of India to jointly develop

the Ardiden turboshaft engine.The growing international characterof major military programs alsoencourages strategic alliances inthis market. Engine-makers areteaming up to share developmentcosts and profits. Turbomeca haslong been a trailblazer in this area, asshown by the success of the RTM322engine developed along with Rolls-Royce for the EH101 and NH90helicopters. The two companies alsoteamed up with German counterpart

MTU on the MTR390 turboshaftengine, which powers Tigerhelicopters. This type of partnershipstrategy has given Turbomeca theopportunity to operate in all marketsegments, with highly competitiveproducts.

wMoreSafran’s development strategyin China and Russia, in the MediaCorner on Safran’s website:www.safran-group.com

“

reduction in specific fuconsumption

reduction in CO2

emiss

reduction in NOxemissions.

35%

35%

80%

Safran helicoptengine objectivfor 2030:

bilized optronics pod has been chosen for awide range of rotorcraft. “We’re working onupgrades to these systems, but at the sametime, we’re developing new building blocksfor an all-out modernization,” says AlbertHadida from the division. “For example,new sensors will help improve detection andidentification performance, and could alsoprovide effective piloting aid under difficultconditions.”

wMoreThe complete interview with Jacques Brochetis in the Media Corner on the Safran website:www.safran-group.com

Safran systemsand equipment forhelicopters

©LorenzoTimon




March 12, 1955: takeoff of theAlouette II, the first productionhelicopter powered by a gas tur-bine. The marriage between arotorcraft produced by Sud-Avia-

tion (the future Eurocopter) and the Artouste IIturbine made by Turbomeca would be the start ofa very fertile family. Underpinned by a proactiveinnovation strategy at both companies, their part-nership would drive both Safran and Eurocopterto their current positions of global leadership. Butwhile helicopters were just getting off the ground ahalf-century ago, commercially speaking, the situ-ation has changed considerably since then.

“Competition has become fiercer and morediversified every year,” says Joseph Saporito, Execu-tive Vice President, Commercial Programs at Euro-copter. While the French-German helicopter man-ufacturer posted record sales of 4.6 billion euros in2009, it must also deal with the global financial cri-sis that is still impacting the entire sector. However,Eurocopter has been able to offset a sharp drop incivil sector sales with robust performance in the

The Arriel turboshaft engine powers several different Eurocopter machines, including the AS350 Ecureuil(opposite) and the EC145.

Turbomeca and Eurocopter have formed very close bonds for more than halfa century. The result is a real feeling of mutual trust, a very useful asset inmarkets where competition never stops.

SAFRAN-EUROCOPTER,

THE LEADING TEAM

PARTNERSHIPS


military market. Today, the helicopter specialist isbetting on technical innovation, environmentalfriendliness and flight safety. International collabo-ration is another development path, and the EC175machine made by a Chinese-European partnershipis the best example to date.

VALUE-ADDED PARTNERS“Our business is going global, the market is chang-ing, and so is the relationship between Turbomecaand Eurocopter, which continues to mature,” says Joseph Saporito. This take on the market is sharedby Bernard Chesson, Eurocopter account managerat Turbomeca: “When we started working together,a handshake was all it took to seal an agreement.Today, nothing gets done without a solid contract,because you have to avoid the slightest ambiguity ormisunderstanding.” Safran is still a vital partner forEurocopter, and is also its leading supplier. All Euro-copter helicopters are powered by Safran engines,except just two models.

“The emergence of new countries as customershas led us to offer a dual source option for engines,”

Eurocopter, the world leaderfrom EuropeEurocopter, a subsidiary of EADS, was createdon January 1, 1992 through the merger ofAerospatiale’s helicopter division with MBB ofGermany. Today, Eurocopter is the world’sleading manufacturer of helicopters for the civilsector. It offers a very broad product range, fromlight civil rotorcraft such as the EC120, to heavymilitary transports like the EC725. Eurocopterinvests heavily in R&D to renew its family basedon innovative solutions, and fully intends to keepintroducing new helicopters for the global market.

different Eurocoptermodels are powered byTurbomeca

The engineaccounts for

10 to20%of a helicopter’spurchase price

15

notes Joseph Saporito. “Qualifying two engine suppliers increases costs and development work, but ialso indispensable if we want to cover the entiremarket.” Even after decades of this extraordinarypartnership, Turbomeca and Eurocopter continue towork together in complete confidence. “At Turbomeca, we have of course realized that we are operating in a much more competitive environment, comprising all helicopter-makers worldwide, includingEurocopter. We are adapting and dealing with thecompetition,” emphasizes Bernard Chesson.

But this situation also means greater freedom foTurbomeca, which has to defend its world leadership in a constantly changing market. The logic iimplacable: Turbomeca is marketing its products toEurocopter’s competitors, and is winning contractthat allows it to continue growing. “Eurocopter mayfind itself in competition with a Russian helicop-ter powered by Turbomeca, and that’s a situationeverybody must accept,” adds Joseph Saporito on

a sober note.

UNIFIED R&D, A NECESSITY But the legacy of the pioneers has not totally disap-peared. This is illustrated by the still strong bondbetween Safran and Eurocopter on Research &Development, although now tightly delimitedby various confidentiality agreements. As Ber-nard Chesson says, “We have signed preliminarycontracts on experimental efforts, and our designdepartments continually analyze the possibility ojoint developments, to ensure that our respectivefforts are unified.”

Joseph Saporito also defends this idea, pointing out his company’s sustained relationship withTurbomeca to develop the gas turbine, continuallyincreasing its performance, optimizing its integration in the helicopter, and even imagining alternative solutions. Experts in the field all agree thathe future of the helicopter depends on a morehighly integrated powerplant, and therefore oneven stronger collaboration between helicopteand engine makers.

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MARCHÉSPanorama


Safran’s new “Joseph Szydlowski”helicopter engine plant.

COMBINING BEAUTYAND EFFICIENCY



MARCHÉSPanorama


At the foot of the mountainsWhen Polish-born

Joseph Szydlowski,

founder of Turbomeca

(Safran group), moved to

Bordes in southwest

France, he could barely

imagine that, 68 years

later, his name would grace an elegant new

production facility, made of steel and glass a nd

bringing together the company’s best engineers

and technicians. Spanning some 42,000 square

meters, with 1,300 employees, this plant is

located in the heart of an aerospace cluster. It is

designed to improve flows in the produc tion

process and foster synergies by moving design

and production teams closer together. Based on

sustainable development principles, the plant

gets its electrical power from renewable energy(wood-fired).

1. Integration unitStaff enjoy optimized working

conditions, fostering real

synergies between different

teams.

2. Main entranceThe Joseph Szydlowski building

is designed to meet modern

production requirements.

3. A sustainable buildingThe new building meets the

most stringent health, safety

and environment standards, to

protect our environment and

the people working inside.

4. Light & shadowAll offices are located along a

central corridor, the backbone

of the plant, some 310 meters

long (over 1,000 ft). A glass

roof runs the whole length,

protecting pedestrians from the

elements.

5. Aerial viewThe new Joseph Szydlowski

plant blends smoothly into the

local environment at the foot ofthe Pyrenees, making it an

integral part of the region

whose lakes and peaks lend

their names to Turbomeca

engines.

6. Rotating assembliesEach center comprises several

production lines, based on

Lean Manufacturing principles,

to reduce cycles.

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a f r a n

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P i e r r e S o u l é d e L a f o n t

521

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3

4



T

he ambitious Aadhaar project,which kicked off in the summer of2009, reflects a deliberate sociopo-litical aim. The Indian governmentplans to give everybody residing

in the country (citizens of course, but alsoexpats, etc.) a unique number which will beinscribed on their ID cards and on all officialdocuments belonging to each person, for life.“The idea is to give an identity to hundredsof millions of Indians who don’t have one,”summarizes Sabine Domenget, head of sales& marketing in Asia for Morpho, the securityspecialist in the Safran group. “It will enablepeople to open checking accounts, apply forloans, insurance, pensions, property deeds,

Safran is one of the companies chosen to take part in an unprecedented program, called Aadhaar, tocount everybody residing in India and then assign each person a unique identification number.

A UNIQUE ID PROGRAM IN INDIA BIOMETRICS


MARCHÉSMarkets

Dutch renew Safran contract for ID docsStarting on October 1, 2011, Safran will produce, personalize and distribute e-passports andnational ID cards for Dutch citizens.

etc. What’s more, the government wants tomake sure that welfare benefits go directly tothe right person.”

The Aadhaar project is in fact the tech-nology facet of a vast census program. “Bio-metrics is the only way of being sure that anumber matches a person,” notes SabineDomenget. “Indian authorities opted for ‘mul-tibiometrics’, which in this case means com-bining a photo, an iris sca n and fingerprints.”Since the program will eventually cover morethan 1.2 billion people, a complete registra-tion process has been developed to recordbiometric data from everybody over 15 yearsold. A limited amount of administrative datais collected at the same time, to protect pri-

Although this is a contract renewal

(since Safran had been performingthese tasks in the Netherlands

since 2001), the latest accord

was still considered a major businesswin, since the Request for P roposals

issued by the Dutch Ministry

of the Interior in Februar y 2010

was totally open. “The EU procedurefor contract awards opens the field

to all European com panies,” notes

Jacques Van Zijp, ID Documentssales director for Morpho in the

Netherlands. “Of course, the

outstanding performance we havedelivered since 2001 also meant

that the customer set the bar very

high, and only a small number ofcompanies were actually capable

of meeting the terms of the RFP.

By the end, the short list onlyincluded three candidates.” Safran

won this fiercely fought com petition

in June 2010. The new contract runsfor seven years, and can be renewed

for three more. It clearly confirms

Safran’s ability to establish long-term

relations with its customers, asshown by similar contracts won in

Lebanon, Mauritania, Colombia and

other countries.

ID SOLUTIONS “We’re n ot just p roducin g thedocuments, either, we’re also

responsible for all associated

services,” points out JacquesVan Zijp. In practice, when Dutch

citizens apply for papers, whether for

the first time or for a renewal, theysubmit a request to their city hall,

which sends Morpho the basic

personal information (name, date ofbirth, etc.), as well as the biometric

data, namely the fingerprint and

photo. Morpho produces and

personalizes the document and sendsit back to the city hall, where the card

holder comes to pick it up. The

standard procedure takes only threedays, and this can be reduced to

under 20 hours in an emergency.

When this contract takes effect,Safran will be turning out some two

million e-passports and 1.5 million

national ID cards a year for Dutchcitizens.

The Aadhaar projectwill eventually involvea database coveringmore than

1.2

billion individuals – asixth of the world’spopulation!

vacy, and all information is centralized in alarge database.

WORKING WITH THE BESTHaving decided to work with several differ-ent suppliers, last May the Indian govern-ment issued a request for proposals (RFP) foran initial phase involving the establishmentof a database limited to 200 million people.Three consortiums were selected and placedin competition (for the next phase), includ-ing one formed by Safran and the Indiancompany Mahindra Satyam. “We wantedto team up with a major national player in

information technology,” explains SabineDemonget. “Mahindra Satyam is a key playerin this sector, and we hit it off right away.”

Morpho is in charge of all technologicalaspects of Aadhaar, and is bolstering its localpresence by creating a dedicated subsidiary.Mahindra Satyam will help install the sys-tem, provide maintenance and train users.Another important part of the project,

Morpho’s biometric terminals areused to record citizens’ ID data even

in the most far-flung villages.

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MARCHÉS


Markets

Safran and NPO Saturn, its Russianpartner on the SaM146, are satisfiedthese days. Their engine was firstcertified by the European AviationSafety Agency (AESA) at the end of

June, then in August by its Russian counterpart,the Interstate Aviation Committee Avia Register(IAC AR). These successive certifications clearlyshow that the engine meets today’s highest stan-dards in terms of performance, fuel burn, noiseand reliability. Certification is the culminationof a comprehensive series of analyses, ground andflight tests carried out over several years. “Thedifferent certification phases proceeded smoothly,and test results for the engine’s robustness evenexceeded our expectations,” says Robert Vivier,head of the regional engine program at Snecma,the Safran group’s aircraft engine specialist.

In fact, certification is just the first milestonefor the SaM146, which now has to demonstrateits qualities in revenue service. Production hasstarted, and the SaM146-powered Sukhoi Super-jet 100 should enter service by the end of 2010,with the delivery of the first aircraft to launchcustomers Aeroflot and Armavia.

A NEW TYPE OF PARTNERSHIPThe SaM146 is a turbofan in the 17,000-poundthrust class. It was originally designed for thSuperjet 100 regional jet made by Sukhoi CiviAircraft Company of Russia, but could easily badapted to other regional jets. In addition to itoutstanding technical performance, the SaM146is also the product of a novel partnership, betweenthe French engine-maker Snecma and the Russian engine specialist NPO Saturn, through a joinventure created for this program, dubbed PowerJet

To build their partnership, the two companiecalled on Saf ran’s long-standing experience withCFM, its 50/50 joint venture with GE that makethe best-selling CFM56 engine. Over the last 35years, CFM has become a textbook ca se in crossborder collaboration.

“For the first time, Snecma is systems integrator for a complete commercial aircraft engine,”points out Paul-André Chevrin, chief engineefor SaM146 support services. “It’s up to us toprove, via PowerJet, that we are capable of providing airlines with the same or better aftersaleservice as that offered by other world-class aeroengine manufacturers.”

The new SaM146 jet engine was certified by both Russian and European aviation safetyagencies this summer, kicking off a brilliant career for the powerplant of the Superjet 100regional jet built by Sukhoi of Russia.

SAM146 READY FOR TAKEOFFPROPULSION

production enginesdelivered in 2010

Superjet 100 regiona jets ordered (firm andletters of intent)

hours of enginetesting, including3,600 in flight

13

164

7,500

Certification testsinvolving bird, ice andhail ingestion.

Scanning fingerprints in an Indian village.

Why is the Aadhaar

project important

for Mahindra

Satyam?

This project is a

perfect example of

what technology cando when it is used to

benefit society.

Supplying secure ID

documents to allIndian residents,

using advanced

biometrictechnologies, is a

gigantic task, one

which has never beendone before on such

a vast scale. Not only

do we have to build adatabase covering

over 1.2 billionindividuals, but this

database has to be

completelydeduplicated,

meaning that it will

guarantee a singleidentity for each

individual by

detecting and

eliminating anyduplicate biometric

data. Mahindra

Satyam hassuccessfully risen to

these daunting

challenges, and theproject team is

especially motivated.

How would you

describe your

collaboration with

Morpho over the

last year?

Our work with

Morpho, an

acknowledged expertin biometric

technologies, has

largely contributed toour confidence in our

ability to succeed.

In fact, we areconvinced that the

combination of our

respective areas ofexpertise and

resources will enable

us to offer solutions

tailored to otherrequirements in

India. We also hope

that this partnershipwill pave the way to

broader collaboration

with the Safrangroup in integrated

engineering services

and informationtechnology.

Chairman and CEO,Mahindra Satyam

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covered by a separate RFP, is the regis-tration and collection of biometric data.Sabine Domenget explains: “Smartchip, aMorpho subsidiary, is one of the 179 enti-ties selected to take the photos, iris scansand fingerprints. Not only will it use Morphoterminals, but it also intends to sell themto the 178 other service providers!” In otherwords, Safran is involved at several levels ofthis revolutionary project.

As soon as a significant part of the data-base is completed, certain applications willbe launched, including transport tickets,secure documents and of course the nationalID cards, since the Indian government hasannounced its intention to start deliveringthese cards in the next few months. “We arealso expecting to take charge of issuing doc-uments,” adds Domenget. “That’s why it wasso important for us to be involved in the pre-liminary stages of the project, which enabledus to establish a real feeling of mutual trustwith the Indian government.” And this con-fidence was justified, since the first actualidentification operations were carried outusing only Morpho technology.

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The Patroller is a drone in a hurry.Barely two years elapsed betweenthe beginning of flight testingin June 2008, in Finland, and itsfourth series of flight tests, com-

pleted in July 2010, which validated overallsystem operation. It then performed a seriesof field trials for the French Civil Securityservice in August, helping prevent forestfires in southern France by detecting firestarts.

Patroller is a medium altitude, long endur-ance (MALE) drone in the 1 ton class, andis designed to meet emerging market require-ments. “The dual capability of Patroller willenable us to target a very broad range of cli-ents,” says Pierre Jorant, director of droneprograms at Sagem, a Safran group company.“By ‘dual’, I mean that it can just as easily

handle military missions in a theater of oper-ations, as homeland security (surveillanceof coasts, boarders, high-value sites, etc.), orcivil security assignments (forest fire detec-tion, monitoring natural disasters, etc.).” Itfeatures a modular design, making it highlyadaptable in terms of communicating withthe ground and carrying a variety of payloads– so that it is a very cost-effective platform.

UNRIVALED EXPERTISEThe Patroller is a very aerodynamic aircraft,cruising at 50 to 120 knots, and able to stayaloft for at least 20 to 30 hours. Accord-ing to Pierre Jorant, “The airframe’s excep-tional performance is due to the expertise ofStemme, a manufacturer specialized in pow-ered gliders, which drew on all of its know-how to develop the aircraft. That also allowed

Thanks to itsgyrostabilizedoptronics pod, thePatroller dronedetected three firestarts in southernFrance last summer.

Sagem to concentrate on our own core areasof excellence, which include the imagingsystem and optronics pod, data transmissionthe mission system with computer and inertial reference unit, and of course all logisticsand other support services. We have built upunrivaled expertise in these areas, thanks toextensive feedback from the Sperwer dronesystem, which has been deployed in varioustheaters of operation, including Afghanistanfor the last six years.”

The Patroller offers another advantagerather unusual for a drone: it can carry apilot, for example if needed to fly in airspacenot restricted to drones, such as over urbanzones. Furthermore, the Patroller has beenauthorized to fly over zones with a popula-tion density of 60 inhabitants per square kilometer – three times more than the equiva-lent military systems – which considerablyexpands its scope of application.

A multipurpose drone, the Patroller isavailable in three different versions: surveillance of theaters of operation; maritimesurveillance; and homeland security. Thelatter version will be operational starting in2011.

The new Patroller unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a scaleable solution that willshortly hit the market to meet the growing demand for a long-endurance dronethat can handle a variety of missions.

PATROLLER: THE MULTIROLE,COST-EFFECTIVE MALE

SURVEILLANCE


MARCHÉSMarkets

The alliance between

Sagem and the

Israeli company Elbit

Systems, announcedon September 15,

will lead to the

establishment of a50/50 subsidiary

in early 2011 to

address the globaltactical drone

market. “Our aim is

to create a Europeanchampion in this

highly competitive

market, which rangesfrom minidrones to

surveillance drones

up to 1.5 tons,”

explains PierreJorant.

Sagem will

contribute itscapabilities in

data transmission,

mission systems and

optronics, while Elbit

will provide its rangeof airframes.

The joint subsidiary

will be formed byequal contributions

of assets from

the two parentcompanies, each

worth at least

25 million euros. “At the st art, t he

new company

will have about120 employees,

and our aim is to

double revenues

within three years,”notes Jorant.

This new venture

will develop productsfor the global market

(except for the

United States and

United Kingdom,

where Elbit alreadyhas partnerships,

and Israel).

Its priorityobjective will be

the development of

a replacement forthe Sagem-designed

Sperwer drone,

now deployed by sixcountries. Dubbed

SDT, the French

acronym for TacticalDrone System, this

new drone should hit

the market in 2016,

and will use the samemission system as

the Patroller – which

will also be sold bythe joint venture.

Teaming up to drive growth

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Submarines are an essential part of the modern navy, beingused for surveillance, attack, deterrence and many othermissions. Safran is a long-standing equipment supplier inthis market, specializing in inertial navigation and optronics-based defense systems.

DEFENSE


MARCHÉSMarkets

Despite the total isolation experienced by my men, their morale is good.But I have to admit that this new assignment is very timely: for the lastfew days, I could feel their frustration beginning to build up. We’ll soonbe sailing over 1,000 nautical miles without surfacing, and we have toremain undetected. Our target is a cargo ship in the Gulf of Guinea.According to our intelligence services, this ship could be awaiting thedelivery of a large amount of enriched uranium.

After two days at sea – or should I say, under the sea? –we’ve arrived at the boat’s last known coordinates. Eventhough being under water keeps us from receiving GPSsignals, the accuracy of our navigation system, featuringan inertial reference unit designed and built by Sagem,means that I am virtually sure of our position. But we stillhave to find out if our target is still there – the suspenseis killing me! I check with my crewman in charge of ourpassive sensors. He’s got two earphones clamped to hishead, no underwater noise can escape his attention! Hisconclusion: no engine is operating anywhere in our vicin-ity. To make sure we’ve left nothing uncovered, I give theorder to raise the optronic tracking mast. Once again, theinertial reference unit does its stuff – it allows us to pre-cisely measure the boat’s trim, and thus make sure thatthe images we’ll be receiving are sharp. In just a few sec-onds, the Sagem-built optronic mast takes a 360 degree

shot of the horizon, and then retracts back into the hull.Dubbed QuickLook, the panoramic vision system is oneof the best features of the mast. During those same fewseconds, a GPS antenna on the mast picks up our coor-dinates from the satellite positioning system, so that ourown navigation system can automatically correct itself.

“No radar activity detected,” reports one of my officers. “Nothing on the screens either.”

It was too much to hope for that they would just wait forus. But I still have a few aces in the hole. I decide to sur-face in order to increase the detection capabilities of ourradar mast, also built by Sagem. Once on the surface, itcan detect the slightest activity within a radius of severaldozen nautical miles.

There’s a “ping” from the northwest – at last! I give theorder to dive, so we can approach the UFO – unidentifiedfloating object – more discreetly.

With six boats being delivered to India, and fourmore ordered by Brazil in December 2009, theScorpène class submarine is now the best selleroffered by French naval shipyard DCNS. Thesesubmarines feature an inertial reference unitand optics by Safran. “We have been working withDCNS for nearly thirty years, and have devel-

oped an excellent relationship,” says Jean-MichelMissirian, maritime optronics sales & marketingdirector at Sagem (Safran group). “For the Brazilcontract, all of our equipment will be integratedin Toulon before being shipped there. And we alsointend to transfer certain maintenance capabili-ties to this customer.”

Export market success

UNDER COVERIN THE GULF OF GUINEA

Logbook of Commander Hugh O’Kelly,captain of the submarine Rorqual.

_ south atlantic / august 5 _

_ gulf of guinea / august 7 _

_ liberian coast / august 9 _

A red light illuminates the gangways, indicating that it’s noutside. On the console, for the past few hours we’ve been studthe images of a rusty old cargo ship that looks more like it’s gto sink than engage in hi-jinks on the high seas. There’s no smcoming from its stacks, the engines are not running. A problemfaked malfunction? Hard to tell… The infrared images have givea few hints. About a dozen crew members, who just seem to be ktime. Their lit cigarettes give us an excellent idea of where eachis standing.

_ liberian coast / august 8 _

We’ve now been monitoring the “wreck” for 24 hours. Although it’sdark outside, the image intensifierin the optronic mast gives us a veryprecise view of our target, in con-

junction with the infrared imagerand the high-def color camera.Ah, things seem to be picking up,and the crew members are movingaround the deck. The engine juststarted up again – if there was abreakdown, it’s been repaired. It’sgoing to be a very long night for theman on watch duty.

The pale light of dawn begins tomake the cargo ship visible. I didn’tget much sleep – I have the feelingsomething’s going to happen. Forthe first time since the start of ourmission, I give the order to raisethe attack periscope. Because ofits powerful optics, I can distinctly

see the men on the deck. There’sabsolutely no chance they’ve seenus: they’re all focusing on some-thing back on the shore. I turn theperiscope 90°, and there it is! Apowerful speedboat is headingtoward the cargo ship. A few min-utes later they dock alongside.To our surprise, they’re wearingNBC [nuclear, biological, chemi-cal] suits. I can see every detail ofthe transfer – heavy cases whosecontent now seems very obvious.Using our color HD camera andthe digital video recording sys-tem in the Sagem-built periscope,I can record everything. In a fewseconds, we’ll be transmitting theevidence to HQ via satellite. For us,the mission is almost over. But it’s

just starting for our heliborne com-mando units…

golfedeGuinée




MARCHÉS MARCHÉSMarkets Insight

Founded in 2005, the Women’sForum is the prime international get-together for today’s most influentialwomen. Its aim is to promote women’sspecific vision of today’s major eco-

nomic and social issues. The event draws people

from 90 different countries, and includes about20% men, a mix that is needed to spotlightthe complementary vision of men and womenfrom around the world. “The unprecedentedfinancial crisis that started in 2008 has forcedus to rethink the old models, and has spurredthe emergence of new values for progress,” saysFrançoise Descheemaeker, head of Safran’s cor-porate philanthropy department.

The 2009 edition of this forum broughttogether a thousand leaders from the worldsof business, politics, education, science, mediaand philanthropy to share their experiences anddiscuss their concepts of innovative, diversifiedleadership. The day before the official opening,Safran welcomed the Asian delegation to theWomen’s Forum, primarily high-level Chineseleaders, to its headquarters in Paris.

BRAINSTORMOne of the highlights of the 2010 forum was

a brainstorming session in the Safran Cor-ner, bringing together about 50 participants toaddress the question of “Sustainable innovation,success and risk factors.” In addition, Marc Guil-lemot, skipper of the Safran ocean racing yacht,and Alain Souchier, a research consultant at

Safran, participated in a discussion on “Hightechnologies and modern adventures,” spot-lighting the predominant role of people in thetechnology equation. Illustrating its high-techcapabilities, Safran displayed an HM7B rocketengine from the Ariane 5 launcher during theforum, along with a model of the Safran oceanracer. The next event in this series is a sympo-sium to be organized in Casablanca, Morocco,entitled “Women, Industry and Development”.According to Pascale Dubois, Saf ran Vice Presi-dent for Communications, “Women are at theheart of Morocco’s modernization policy. Today,as women become more educated, they increas-ingly emphasize higher education for their chil-dren.“ Safran already employs 2,000 people inMorocco, three-fourths of them women, withan average age of 28. For the Group, this newsymposium will be an excellent opportunityto spotlight its employees and their role in thecountry’s development.

Safran once again actively supported the Women’s Forum, held in Deauville,France in October 2010, continuing a partnership that started in 2008.

SAFRAN PARTNERSTHE WOMEN’S FORUM

ENGAGEMENT

Womenat Safran

Women account for25% of Safran’s

global workforce.

Out of 500 engineersrecruited in France

in 2010, Safran aims

to hire at least 30% women.

Announced at the Farnboroughinternational airshow in thesummer of 2010, the conceptdubbed “green taxiing” willenable an aircraft to taxi before

takeoff and after landing without having touse its engines. Electric motors will be added toeach wheel in the main landing gear – whichprovides greater traction than the nose la nd-ing gear – and draw power from the auxiliarypower unit (APU) that already equips all air-planes, with central control from the cockpit.

FUEL SAVINGSGreen taxiing is primarily intended for planesmaking shorter flights, with a large number ofdaily rotations and airport movements. “Our maintarget is the single-aisle aircraft market,” explainsBruno Chiarelli, head of the Systems division atMessier-Bugatti, a Safran group company. Thiselectric propulsion system will also be used forpush back, i.e., moving the aircraft from the gatesto the taxiway, without having to pay for the “bug”,a small tractor that usually does the job.

“This new technology also has environmen-tal benefits,” adds Chiarelli, “since it reduces fuelconsumption by up to 5%, with a concomitantdecrease in carbon dioxide and NOx emissions; italso largely offsets the weight penalty of the addi-tional equipment mounted on the plane. Further-more, by not igniting our jet engines, we reducethe risk of ingesting any debris from the ground.”Another non-negligible advantage is that the elec-tric motors are virtually silent, which will help keepdown noise around the terminals.

A demonstrator is planned for 2012, with the sys-tem entering service towards the middle of 2016.

Green taxiing couldcut fuel use by up to5%.

A concept developed by Safran, based on electric motors installed directly in the landinggear, enables commercial airplanes to taxi without using their jet engines – an idea that is asfriendly to the environment as to the airlines’ bottom lines.

GREEN TAXIING: COMBININGECOLOGY AND ECONOMY

INNOVATION

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Towards more electric aircraft

The trend in cur rent aeronautical research is to replace the traditional

mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatically-driven equipment on aircraft byelectrical systems. Because they are lighter, electrical systems

significantly reduce fuel consumption. In addition, they reduce

maintenance costs, enhance monitoring reliability and, in the case of greentaxiing, reduce weight while still enabling aircraft to taxi at normal speeds.

Marc Guillemot on theSafran stand at the2010 Women’s Forum




MARCHÉSMARCHÉS Insight Insight

Although they come from dif ferent countries,all three of the people interviewed here workfor Safran group companies and have accumu-lated extensive professional experience. These

employees are considered “seniors”, a category

that accounts for a growing share of the activepopulation in developed countries. Over theyears they have built up not only outstandingtechnical skills, but also an in-depth under-

standing of their companies.

The skills built up over time by the people in a company represent tremendous “knowledge capital”.Safran puts this capital to work by facilitating the transmission of skills and knowledge.

TRANSMITTING SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

EXPERIENCE

Martine Quernet, 49, clusterassembly operator, Snecma,France

When she first arrived at Snecma in 1981 on a

temporary contract, Martine Quernet discovered

a world where she would never have expected to

fit in. But it was her interest in her work – the verymanual trade of cluster assembly operator – that

persuaded her to continue her career in aero-

space. With 30 years of experience now underher belt, Martine has seen her profession change,

along with the associated techniques. “Today we

have a wider variety of tasks, and th e professionis constantly renewed,” she says. Transmitting

knowledge is one of Snecma’s strong points,

since each new employee is assigned a men-tor. “I’ve been a mentor a few times, and in that

position you can’t just take things for granted,

since they ask questions that you haven’t askedyourself in a long time,” explains Martine. “This

system benefits the mentor as much as the

intern.” Today, Martine is in a training program to

add a new qualification. She also points out thatSnecma offers training to e mployees of all differ-

ent ages. “We’re not shuttled aside just because

we’ve hit 50,” she emphasizes.Where does experience come in? According to

Martine, “Although our profession has changed

significantly in the last 30 years, seniors havedeveloped an overall understanding that is a

real advantage: not only is it very useful, but

this life experience can be passed on to thenext generation.”

Ricardo GentilPeixoto da Costa, 46, Chief OperatingOfficer, Turbomeca doBrasil, Brazil

Born near Rio in Brazil, Ricardo

Gentil entered university at

16. He started his career justas early, in a sector that fas-

cinated him, namely aircraft

engines. Ricardo joined Turbo-

meca do Brasil in April 2003,after 18 years in engineering

jobs, first in a small local com-

pany, then at GE. “When I arrived, Turbomeca

was starting up its MRO cen-ter in Brazil, which was a verystimulating challenge,” he

recalls. Since then, the com-

pany has evolved, and becomepart of the Safran group. “The

company grew, our scope of

business expanded and we

added people from other com-

panies, so we had to facilitate

the sharing of knowledge andtransmission of skills,” contin-

ues Ricardo, who experienced

the change from within thecompany. “All in all, these very

diverse influences have greatly

enriched our company culture.” “About seven out of ten employ-

ees today are young recruits

or former interns,” Ricardo

adds. When new hires arriveat Turbomeca do Brasil, it’s

not just a question of training

them, but also transmittingthis unique culture – which is

where prior experience reallycomes into its own. “Transmit-ting know-how is important

from the technical standpoint

of course,” notes Ricardo, “but it also concerns our com-

pany culture, image and orga-

nization.”

Nicolas Di Mascia, 51,project manager in theoperations department,Techspace Aero, Belgium

Joining Techspace Aero (then known as FN

Moteurs) in 1979 as a line worker, NicolasDi Mascia is the perfect example of career

development. “I gradually moved up the

ladder, although that wasn’t really my goal.Every three or four years, I changed jobs,

that’s one of the main advantages of work-

ing in this company,” he explains. Today,Nicolas is in charge of a Techspace Aero

project dubbed “equipment and trades

management”, and his long experience is a

major asset. As he says, “I’m familiar withboth the training expectations of the shop

personnel, and the needs of our enterprise:

it’s very important to reconcile these tworequirements. People trust me because I

learned along with them. Before you can

effectively transmit skills, you have to r eallyunderstand what it is you’re transmitting.”

Today, Nicolas Di Mascia is working on a

journeyman program for new machinists ofall ages. The idea is to list all the key points

for any new piece of machinery and make

sure they are understood, so the machine is

operated as efficiently as possible, and thenpass on this knowledge just as efficiently.

An eight-step approach, with associated

checklists, leads to qualification. “Our aim isto provide the conditions needed for people

to succeed,” summarizes Nicolas.

Experience also gives people a broader

perspective, as Nicolas has noticed. “In thetechnology sector, you never stop learn-

ing. There’s something new every day. It’s a

fascinating field, and we’re very lucky to bedoing work that is both fun and stimulating.”

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MARCHÉSInterview


Safran Magazine: What trends do you seeemerging in India over the last two years?G. M. Rao : The most visible is that, despitethe global recession, India’s economy has beenstable. This resilience shows the robustness ofIndia’s financial systems and the strength ofour domestic markets, as well as our infra-structures. The government is focusing a greatdeal on infrastructure and spending heavily inthe sector, since it believes that infrastructuregrowth is a key success factor. Furthermore,public-private partnerships (PPP) are in thespotlight, especially with the success of proj-ects like the Mumbai and New Delhi airp orts.

Today India has one of the fastest grow-ing economies in the world, a trend thatshould continue. How do you see the “new India”?G. M. R. : India, which is basically an agrarianeconomy, is moving towards a service economy.European countries also made this transition,but with an intermediate step as manufacturingeconomies. India shifted directly to the last stage,skipping a step. Many things are in the processof changing. When companies came to India 20years ago, they came asking, “what can we do forIndia?” Now the situation has completely changedand they’re asking, ‘what can India do for us?”

One of the reasons for this trend is our youth-ful population. More than half of India is 25 oryounger, which means the income generatingpopulation will continue to grow for another30 to 40 years. India is in fact an exception tothe global demographic trend [of aging popu-lations]. Consequently, India’s middle incomegroup is growing T he Indian economy is resil-ient because it is driven by dynamic internalconsumption.

What new growth areas in India are attrac-tive to foreign investors and what is thekey to success in the Indian market?G. M. R. : So many things are happening

in India. Services, banking, automobiles,pharmaceuticals, microfinance, power dis-tribution, defense, railways, education, waste

“What’s important is not the size oftheir stake, but the fact of building a realrelationship of mutual trust.”

G. M. Rao

With more than 1.2 billion inhabitants, India is the second most populous countryin the world. This dynamic nation is modernizing at a breakneck pace, includinghefty investments in the development of its transportation infrastructures. G.M.Rao, founder, Chairman and CEO of the GMR Group, a lead partner in theconsortium in charge of the expansion of Indira Gandhi international airport in

New Delhi, is obviously abreast of the latest trends. A member of the Safran IndiaAdvisory Board, which counsels the Group on its development strategy in India,

he shares his vision of the challenges facing his country.

INCREDIBLE INDIA

Interviewwith GrandhiMallikarjunaRao, Chairmanand CEO of theGMR Group

million: annualpassenger capacity athe New Delhi airport.

GMR Grouppurchases a firsttextile factory inChennai

GMR Groupchosen todevelop the newHyderabadairport

Creation of GMRTechnologies &Industries, Ltd.

Inauguration ofSahiba Gokcenairport in Istanbul

Inaugurationof Terminal 3 atthe New Delhiairport

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management… it is such a wide range. Thereare opportunities everywhere you look.Let’s take the infrastructure sector as an exam-ple: ports, airports and energy are open to for-eign investments. This sector will keep growingfor the next 30 to 40 years and the opportunitieswill be huge, with infrastructure investmentsestimated at one trillion dollars.One of the key factors for success in India is therelationships that investors build with Indianpartners. India is a “high-touch” country. Somesectors like infrastructure give high returns, butonly after many years. That’s where buildingdurable relationships with partners really comesinto its own. At GMR, what’s important is notthe size of their stake, but the fact of buildinga real relationship of mutual trust. We make aconscious decision to take everybody along.

India’s high growth rate is accompaniedby a spurt in air traffic. How do compa-nies like yours respond to this growth?


MARCHÉSInterview

India is embarking

on a deep

transformation,

spanning all sectors

of the economy. This

is not only a strategic

challenge for India,

but is also a golden

opportunity for

Safran, in the

security sector of

course, but also in

aerospace and

defense. We have

already formed long-

standing, concrete

partnerships with

the Indian aerospace

industry in the

strategic segments

of inertial navigation

and military aircraft

engines, as shown by

the success of the

Dhruv helicopter.

The domestic civil

aviation market is

also logging enviable

growth, and the

country’s plans

for investment in

infrastructure offer

a unique chance to

promote our

technological

solutions, as shown

by our new-

generation

explosives detection

systems installed at

the Indira Gandhi

airport in New Delhi.

We are also staking

out a position as a

major technology

partner for

biometrics, within

the scope of the

national Aadhaar

project to assign a

unique identificationnumber to all

residents of India

(see page 22). We

know that a stable

relationship has to be

built for the long

haul, so we continue

to bolster our

presence in the

country. In fact,

we have already

established a solid

presence through

Morpho

e-Documents (which

operates the most

modern smart card

production facility

in Asia), Safran

Aerospace India (for

engineering studies),

and joint ventures

for aircraft engines.

Our ongoing success

will depend on the

joint devel opment

and creation of

long-term

partnerships with

skilled, dynamic

companies, as

illustrated by our

collaboration with

the GMR Group, so

that Safran assumes

a long-term role in

the country’s growth.

Executive VicePresident, Defense-Security branch,Safran

Win-winpartnerships

w OLIVIER ANDRIÈS

Indian airports, security is a prime concern.Furthermore, in public-private partnerships,the airport operator has a responsibility. Pas-senger safety and comfort is still evolving inour airports. Each passenger must be checked,but there are so many people to be checkedthat the staff may become less vigilant. Theconcept of the security check in India has tochange and we are addressing that issue. Wehave the same equipment as the best airportsin Europe and t he United States. In fact, Saf-ran offers a wide range of airport systems andall types of security equipment. The Safrangroup is a model we can use from top to bot-tom, and we greatly appreciate the Group’scapabilities.

What makes for a successful airport?G. M. R. :

The airport business hinges onthree revenue streams – aero, non-aero andproperty around the airport. Revenue fromproperty can be significant and may deter-mine the long-term profitability of the air-port. For instance, we are currently developingabout 250 acres of property around the NewDelhi airport to create a new Central Busi-ness District, with a metro line to the citycenter. And there is some 1,500 acres of prop-erty around the Hyderabad airport, includ-ing a Special Economic Zone spanning 500acres. We have created a Master Plan for aworld-class aerotropolis, a new concept. Wewill have an aerospace port providing MROservices for engines and airframes, along withan education port and a healthcare port, plusa convention center, logistics port, residentialand commercial complexes. In short, every-thing that a full-fledged city requires, as wellas entertainment facilities. Earlier, India’s cit-ies had airports. In the future, India’s airportswill have cities attached.

After Hyderabad and Delhi, what will beyour next project?G. M. R. : We have two overseas projects,including modernization of the Malé airportin the Maldives. Similar projects are comingup in several developing countries and we areconstantly tracking new opportunities, like in Navi Mumbai and Nagpur. But we are not justan airport developer. For instance, we signed abuild & operate agreement in New Delhi andHyderabad for the next 60 years. GMR Groupcan build, operate and maintain airports, andalso offer this as a packaged one-source solu-tion to third parties. In short, we offer trulycomprehensive, world-class service.

Inside the newTerminal 3 at theIndira GandhiInternational Airportin New Delhi.

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S t é p h a n e d e B o u r g i e s / A b a c a P r e s s

G. M. R. : Today, airports in India are oper-ated by private companies. We have built ter-minal buildings, set up the best IT and secu-rity systems. But air traffic control is managedby the airport authority, which is a govern-ment agency. In building the airports, wehave projected air traffic growth for the next50 years. The current infrastructure is alreadythree to five years ahead of the demand curve. New Delhi ai rport ha s a capacity of 60 mil-lion passengers per year, although currenttraffic is only 26 million. Earlier, we had adifferent way of looking at this. We createddemand and then ramped up supply. Now itis the other way around.

Security in airports has become a cru-cial issue. What are the main concernsand how would you define your airportsecurity needs?G. M. R. : We are faced with a growing numberof increasingly sophisticated threats. At

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