Saffron: giant contract with China
The Safran Group is Monday affix his signature on a contract worth $ 5 billion (about 3.3 billion euros) for the supply of aircraft equipment manufacturer in China Comac, announced the Chief Executive Safran, Jean-Paul Herteman. The boss of the French group is currently in Beijing with Prime Minister Francois Fillon. General Electric teamed up with Saffron, obtained a contract with a value equivalent.
The initial contract is focused on supplying engines to the X Leap C919 aircraft manufacturer Comac, future competitor of the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, whose launch is expected towards 2016.The latest generation of engines are still being developed by CFM, a joint venture of Safran and GE for aircraft engines.
A contract that could reach 15 billion over thirty years
"This is an important contract, launching a new aircraft that happens every ten, fifteen years," he told reporters Jean-Paul Herteman. The amount of the contract could rise to 15 billion dollars and create between 8,000 and 10,000 direct jobs in France and three to four times more for subcontractors in thirty years. "The Chinese market represents 20% of the aviation market in the world 20 years ahead," stressed the president.
Comac The Chinese group was founded in May 2008 in the optical display to create a major aircraft manufacturer in the country, while the country would need more than 3,000 airplanes in the next twenty years, according to analysts.