Stelia Aerospace (stylized STELIA Aerospace) is an aerospace company headquartered in Toulouse, France.[3] It specializes in designing and manufacture of aerostructures, pilot seats and premium class passenger seats, mainly for the commercial aviation sector.
Stelia Aerospace was created on 1 January 2015 by the merger of two Airbus business units: Aerolia and SOGERMA. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus.
History
Stelia Aerospace traces its origins to the merger of two companies, SOGERMA and Aerolia. SOGERMA (Société girondine d’entretien et de réparation de matériel aéronautique) was a French company founded in 1924 during the early days of aviation.
Before its restructuring in 2006, the company primarily focused on maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO). However, it later directed its resources to its specialist aerostructures and seating activities.
Aerolia SA was founded on January 1, 2009, as a spin-off of Airbus France's aerostructures activities. This involved the Méaulte and Saint-Nazaire industrial plants, along with a design office in Toulouse.
In 2007, EADS' management decided to respond to the weakening US dollar and large investments required for the Airbus A380 and A350 XWB programs by restructuring to streamline, divest several non-core activities, and cut costs. This move was likened to Boeing's recent spin-off of Spirit AeroSystems by aerospace periodical Flight International.
On January 1, 2015, Stelia Aerospace was created via the merger of Aerolia and Sogerma. At the time, Stelia Aerospace employed roughly 6,100 staff across 11 different locations, and the two merged businesses were considered complementary. Contracts previously undertaken by the two firms carried over to the new entity, including those for fitting-out work on Airbus airliners.
In March 2017, Stelia Aerospace inaugurated a new aeronautics factory in Méaulte, Northern France. This facility, which handles production of the forward fuselages of Airbus airliners and central fuselage of Bombardier Aerospace’s Global 7500 series of business jets, had required a €70 million investment. In February 2018, Stelia Aerospace demonstrated a metallic fuselage panel manufactured using 3D printing techniques. The same year, the firm acquired a majority share of Toulouse-based digital modeling specialist Portalliance Engineering.
In October 2019, Stelia Aerospace announced plans to build a new assembly plant in Portugal at a cost of €40 million. In February 2020, the company started a three-year partnership with Bombardier for the AILE (Aile Intelligente et Légère pour l’Environnement, or Intelligent and Light Wing for Environment) research program.
Starting on January 1, 2022, Stelia Aerospace sites worldwide were grouped with other Airbus sites in Nantes and Montoir-de-Bretagne under the newly formed Airbus subsidiary Airbus Atlantic.
Business activities
Stelia Aerospace has three main business segments:
Aerostructures
Premium class airline seats (First, Business, Premium Economy)
Wings of an ATR being delivered to the final assembly line in Toulouse.
Stelia Aerospace designs and manufactures fully equipped aircraft fuselage sections from the nose to the rear, wings, and special Work Packages such as the main landing gear bay, A400M ramp door, and helicopter tail boom.
A major portion of the company's business is the design and manufacturing of aerostructures, including complex detailed parts comprising both composite and metallic materials. Stelia Aerospace claims that it is one of a small number of companies able to provide a fully equipped section (metallic and/or composite fuselage section, with all the tubes and wiring systems integrated), developing the “plug and fly” concept.
Aircraft components manufactured by Stelia Aerospace include:
Wings of the ATR family, which are fully equipped and tested up to the final test benches.
Central section of the Bombardier large business jet Global 7000/8000.
Various sections of the Airbus A220, such as the cockpit and aft fuselage.
Elements of the Airbus BelugaXL, including the nose section, cargo door, and upper fuselage with pre-integrated systems (electrical, hydraulic, air conditioning, oxygen, etc.).
Locations
Stelia Aerospace is a global business with 11 worldwide industrial facilities and supporting offices.[citation needed]
