Written by Jonny Williamson
Aircelle Maroc manufactures engine casings, thrust reversers and carbon fibre composite components for airliners and executive jets for some of the biggest names in aviation manufacturing – such as Airbus, Gulfstream, and Rolls-Royce. With the recent accreditation, the company has seen a dramatic improvement in efficiency and industry reputation as a direct result, with increased service levels, a reduction in stockholding and formal recognition from Rolls-Royce for its OTIF delivery achievements.
Speaking to the press, Aircelle Maroc’s Supply Chain Manager Ludovic Boisrame, said –
“The savings we have made in stockholding are worth €7.5 million or about €30,000 every working day. One of the key enablers was the breakdown of barriers between functions, underpinned by the Class A work. As soon as everybody was working from a single set of data, it was easy to see where the improvements could be made and measured.”
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Starting in 2005, Aircelle Maroc’s current high-tech plant opened just a year later, comprising of assembly lines, semi-clean rooms and modern offices spread over 20,000sqm. The company has continued to build year on year, with annual revenue growing from €10 to 50 million and employee levels rising from 10 to 450.
Benoit Martin-Laprade, Aircelle Maroc’s General Manager, recognises the importance of the accreditation to future growth in the business –
“Class A is crucial for continuous growth, it gives us a methodology, a structure, and you need that if you plan to grow by 15% every year. Class A is a globally recognised standard and it really means something to our customers all over the world. There’s no doubt that it helps us secure new business. And we know we can do it without having to increase inventory”.
The Class A initiative is part of a wider programme for Aircelle, who have sites in 6 other countries, and the €10 billion, 55,000 employee Safron Group it is a part of. The French-owned Safron has operations across the globe in three core markets – aerospace, defence and security – and Aircelle Maroc is the first non-French site within the Group to achieve the Class A standard.
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