Advanced aerospace structures Sonaca

ADVANCED AEROSPACE STRUCTURES

Sonaca was formed in 1977 when the British company Fairey Aviation went into receivership. Following this company’s demise it was taken into public ownership by the Belgian Government in order to secure the licensed production of the new F-16 fighter aircraft. From 1979 until 1991 Sonaca produced over 200 F-16 fighters for the Belgian and Danish air forces. in parallel, Sonaca has built a strong slat production partnership with Airbus for the A310 and the successful A320 family. In the early 1990s it became the major partner in the Brazilian Embraer Regional Jet programme. Since 2003 Sonaca has operated a modern manufacturing facility in Quebec, Canada, as well as in Wichita, Kansas, where it is focused on producing wing panels for aviation companies such as Bombardier and IAI/Gulfstream.

More recently in 2011, Sonaca established an assembly facility in Tainjin, China, which is strategically located only a short distance from the new Airbus production plant. Today, in addition to its 100,000 square metre facility located at its headquarters in southern Belgium, the company operates state-of-the-art production facilities in Brazil,Canada, the USA and China. Currently Sonaca employs more than 2300 people worldwide and in 2013 the group recorded sales of over €360 million.

Sonaca is a global leader in the design and manufacture of large aluminium and composite structures for the aviation industry. Philip Yorke talked to Marcel Devresse, the company’s director of marketing and operations, about its on-going investments in Asia and Brazil and the new hightech products being developed for Airbus and Embraer.

Leading in advanced aerospace structures

Sonaca’s core business is centred around the development, manufacture and assembly of aerospace structures and their

associated subsystems. The company leads the field in its chosen niche markets and is the supplier of choice for many of aviation’s most respected OEMs. These include Airbus, Embraer, Dassault Aviation, Bombardier, IAI/Gulfstream and Pilatus. Sonaca Engineering Services also provides end-to-end solutions for the most complex technical challenges in aerospace.

Today the company’s fully integrated services include everything from the initial design to the final build phase. This encompasses project and programme management, engineering design & development as well as material and process qualification, testing and certification. In addition, Sonaca also offers dedicated manufacturing support as well as logistic and supply chain optimisation.

Devress said, “We have more than 250 highly qualified engineers working on the development of new wing configurations and advanced engineering specifications. These include complex wing geometry for the latest Airbus A350 where composite wing components have been introduced for the first time. We have also developed new technology for the de-icing systems

for the latest family of Airbus aircraft. We are pleased to report that the production of the Airbus A330 is likely to continue and we are in the process of developing a new version of this well-known model. We are also contributing to new modifications for the Dassault F7X100 aircraft and these are now being delivered at a rate of three a month.

“When it comes to protecting the environment we are just as innovative. For example we have reduced our overall energy consumption significantly and have been particularly active in the surface treatment and painting of our fixed and moveable wing components. Our sheet metal facility in Brazil is currently using a sulfo-tartric anodising process without any chrome content and is using a painting process with a drastically reduced level of chrome (Low VOC) on A350 components.

“We differentiate ourselves from our competitors in many ways, one of which is our ability to take on everything involved from design to final delivery. This includes the certification and testing of both static and fatigue operations, which minimises the involvement of our OEM customers in these areas. We have also built up unblemished relationships with them through close cooperation and guaranteeing total reliability. Our unique expertise speaks for itself and over

the years we have not had a single difficulty with our customer relations and as a result of this track record we remain the suppliers of choice for the wing sections and components that we develop and manufacture.”

Devresse added, “Today Sonaca is in very good shape both financially and order-wise, as we have business committed to us for the next five years. However, we are not resting on our laurels and are working on a new strategic plan to carry us through to 2020 and beyond. By the end of 2020 we will probably be discussing the successor to the Airbus A320, so we are currently making strategic evaluations to build on our success of the last five years, in order to maximise our future sales. We will also be considering entering into new joint ventures and even acquisitions if the right opportunities present themselves.”

From strength to strength

Sonaca is justifiably proud of its state-of-the-art global R&D centres where it currently employs more than 250 specialist engineers. Thanks to this unrivalled concentration of engineering talent, the Sonaca Group is recognised as a world leader and is a highly regarded partner in the field of fixed and moveable leading edge wing design and manufacture.

Today Sonaca’s activities are structured around three key product lines: wing leading edges, fuselage panels and wing panels. In addition, only Sonaca offers a truly integrated production service from initial design to the finished product. Therefore the company’s extended range of expertise in the development of metallic and composite structures is considered second to none. To underscore this point, Sonaca is cited as a ‘single-source’ supplier to both Airbus and Embraer.

The company’s global operations are going from strength to strength and its on-going commitment to investments in new technology and plant will help to ensure that Sonaca maintains the clear blue sky that it has created between itself and the competition. n

For further details of Sonaca’s innovative products and services visit: www.sonaca.com