Safran Landing Systems celebrates ten years of working hand in hand with airframers and airlines from around the world

Just ten years ago, the three companies Messier Bugatti, Messier Dowty and Messier Services were merged within Safran to provide customers with complete aircraft landing and braking systems, backed by proven expertise across the entire lifecycle. The merger created Safran Landing Systems, a global leader in aircraft landing, braking and taxiing. It’s been a long and exciting road, with a very successful outcome that wouldn’t have been possible without the passion, engagement and talent of our people.

Safran Landing Systems is the continuation of a remarkable success story that started over a century ago, shaped by some of the leading names in aviation history, including George Messier, René-Lucien Lévy, Ettore Bugatti, George Dowty, and the Hispano-Suiza company. These men and their companies helped spur the development of air travel during the 20th century. In 2011, they were all united within a single entity, Safran Landing Systems.

?Following the founding of Safran some 15 years ago, combining the complementary skills and expertise of Messier-Dowty (landing gear and associated equipment), Messier-Bugatti (wheels, brakes and associated equipment) and Messier Services (MRO), to leverage the full range of their technological, industrial and managerial synergies, quickly emerged as an obvious move.

This merger boosted our performance and made us stronger and more innovative. It also strengthened our resilience to various crises. Ten years on, thanks to the wealth of our expertise and our powerful industrial capabilities, along with our full array of support services and global presence, we provide aircraft manufacturers and airlines with complete landing and braking systems. We provide a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, custom-tailored solutions and proven expertise across the entire product lifecycle. We work closely with all customers, in both civil and military markets, to give them the best value proposition for all ATA32 components, whether fully integrated solutions or specific subassemblies.

Safran Landing Systems has chalked up some very impressive business wins over the last ten years, reflecting the quality of our customer relations and our ability to meet their specific requirements going forward. For instance, we supply landing gear, wheels and brakes to Airbus for the A320neo and A400M; wheels and brakes to Boeing, integrated landing systems for the Bombardier Global, 7500, 6500 and 5500 family, and landing and braking computers to Dassault Aviation for the F10X. We are also developing an electric taxiing system, and have formed new strategic partnerships, with China Eastern for example, and set up an MRO facility in Xi’an. Our service offering has been revamped and rebranded Landing Life?, and we passed a major milestone this year, with more than 400 Formula 1 victories for racecars using our carbon brakes and other products, while also returning to the podium in the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race.

More recently, the ongoing global health crisis and its economic impact have revealed an astonishing ability to adapt and change across our organization.

For all of our people, the remarkable journey we’ve taken together is a source of confidence, motivation, inspiration and ambition. However, it also means that we share the responsibility of ensuring the future of aviation in Europe and, like our illustrious predecessors, continuing to develop our unrivaled technological and industrial capabilities and maintain our position as the world leader in our field.

We face a number of new challenges, today and in the coming years, especially the accelerated development of technologies and architectures for tomorrow’s aircraft to ensure the timely decarbonization of aviation.

?At Safran Landing Systems, we can count on seasoned teams of passionate professionals, remarkable expertise, independent and agile divisions and of course Safran’s robust processes and methods. Day after day, Safran continues to consolidate its standards and practices for design, project management and operational excellence.

?With our talented and committed workforce, customer trust and the support of a global supply chain, we are uniquely positioned for growth over the next ten years. We are looking forward to further developing our capabilities to provide the best aircraft landing and ground mobility solutions to support air travel that is safer, more sustainable, innovative and competitive than ever.