Safran begins expansion of Safran Aero Composites in Querétaro

Safran began construction on the Safran Aero Composites (SAC) expansion project to add production lines for the leading edge that integrates the LEAP 1A and 1B engines.

This project represents an investment of $48 million and 268 jobs, said Alejandro Cardona Seemann, president of Safran Mexico, highlighting the strategic importance of the French group's operations in the state.

“This plant, which is set to expand today, manufactures fan parts, motor fans, mainly blades made of carbon fiber—in conjunction with our partners at Albany—(...) The expansion means that these titanium leading edges will now be manufactured here, instead of being purchased abroad,” he explained in an interview.

The construction of this expansion (7,500 square meters) is expected to be completed in the summer of next year.

“And today we are starting the third source of production of highly specialized components for the fan module of our LEAP engines, which are manufactured with composites such as carbon fiber and highly specialized metals such as titanium,” he said during the start of construction.

With nearly two decades of sustained growth, he added, Querétaro plays a unique role in the company's history, establishing itself as a benchmark state in the aerospace industry in Latin America and forming part of a global network.

“Today we are laying the foundation stone for an expansion that goes beyond infrastructure; it represents the natural evolution of what Safran has built in Mexico, an industry that is moving toward increasingly advanced technologies and cleaner processes that care for our planet,” he said.

In recent years, he said, the French company has strengthened its presence in Mexico with the addition of new projects, investments, and an industrial network that he said forms one of the most important ecosystems for the group globally.

The director of Safran Aero Composites in Querétaro, Jean-Baptiste Vaney, highlighted that the start of the expansion project marks a key moment for the plant, which began operations in 2017 with the vision of becoming a benchmark site for the manufacture of composite materials components.