Liebherr Aerospace
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Liebherr-Aerospace is the
aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...
equipment manufacturing division of
Liebherr Liebherr () is a German-Swiss multinational corporation, multinational equipment manufacturer based in Bulle, Switzerland, with its main production facilities and origins in Germany. Liebherr consists of over 130 companies organized into 11 divi ...
. The company is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM); its low visibility in the minds of end consumers can be attributed to the OEM nature of all of its operations. Liebherr-Aerospace contributed €1.3 billion ($1.5bn) to total
Liebherr group Liebherr () is a German-Swiss multinational equipment manufacturer based in Bulle, Switzerland, with its main production facilities and origins in Germany. Liebherr consists of over 130 companies organized into 11 divisions: earthmoving, mini ...
sales of €9 billion in 2016. This represented an increase of nearly 5% in turnover for the division. The division was reported to be employing around 5400 people all over the world. It has two primary production and assembly centres: Liebherr-Aerospace
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
and Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg. Some of the other sites include: Liebherr-Aerospace Saline, Michigan, U.S., Liebherr-Aerospace Singapore, Liebherr-Aerospace
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
, U.A.E, Liebherr-Aerospace Laval, Canada, Liebherr-Aerospace Maintenance centre,
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, Liebherr-Aerospace,
Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
, India, Liebherr-Aerospace
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, Campsas site, Liebherr-Aerospace Brasil, Guaratingueta, Liebherr-Aerospace
Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...
(Russia). The Lindenberg and Toulouse centres of Liebherr have been recognized by the
European Aviation Safety Agency The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Commission with responsibility for civil aviation safety in the European Union. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs inve ...
(
EASA The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Commission with responsibility for civil aviation safety in the European Union. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs inve ...
) as a Design Organization Approval (DOA) certified company. This certification encompasses:
landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...
systems, air management systems, and flight control actuation systems.


Production and other activities

Liebherr-Aerospace supplies aircraft flight control and actuation systems,
landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...
, air management systems (
bleed air Bleed air in aerospace engineering is compressed air taken from the compressor stage of a gas turbine, upstream of its fuel-burning sections. Automatic air supply and cabin pressure controller (ASCPC) valves bleed air from low or high stage engine ...
systems, wing anti ice, etc.), on-board electronics as well as gears and
gearboxes A transmission (also called a gearbox) is a mechanical device invented by Louis Renault (who founded Renault) which uses a gear set—two or more gears working together—to change the speed, direction of rotation, or torque multiplication/r ...
for the aerospace industry. These systems are deployed in wide-bodied aircraft, single aisle and
regional aircraft A regional airliner, commuter airliner or feeder liner is a small airliner that is designed to fly up to 100 passengers on short-haul flights, usually feeding larger carriers' airline hubs from small markets. This class of airliners is typically ...
,
business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking coworker, associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more ...
s,
combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...
aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...
,
military transport aircraft A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military aircraft, military-owned transport aircraft used to support military operations by airlifting troops and military equipment. Transport aircraft are crucial to m ...
, military
training aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...
, civil helicopters and combat helicopters. Being in
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, Liebherr-Aerospace benefits from being in close proximity to the base of operations of one of their most important customers,
Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...
. Apart from
manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...
activities Liebherr-Aerospace also services and overhauls in-service components for their
customer In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a Client (business), client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a Good (economics), good, service (economics), service, product (business), product, or an Intellectual prop ...
s (Airlines etc.). It also provides training courses for mechanics,
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
s and other relevant personnel who work with any Aircraft which carries Liebherr products.


USM – Used Serviceable Materials

On 16 July 2018, it was reported that Liebherr-Aerospace was expanding its services in a new direction by setting up a global network for USM parts to be managed from their
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
offices. They plan to source own products and systems from retired aircraft, perform repairs if necessary and redistribute and sell through their network. The serviced parts will be released with appropriate
airworthiness In aviation, airworthiness is the measure of an aircraft's suitability for Air safety, safe flight. Initial airworthiness is demonstrated by a certificate of airworthiness issued by the civil aviation authority in the state in which the aircraft ...
certifications and will come with a "Repaired by Liebherr" tag instead of a "New" tag. It is reported that their initial focus will be on
Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...
fleets and families with a subsequent expansion. The target Customers are those with mature fleets, who will be requiring OEM quality parts at lower operation costs.


Research and development

The firm was reported to have invested in 2017 about €70 million ($82m) in R&D: more than 17% of
revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...
.


B777X Wingtips

One of the most recent developments is the design of folding wingtips which are being implemented on the Boeing 777X. Due to its much larger
wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...
the 777X could not be classified in the same category as the B777. With the folding wingtips 777X will still be in the same
wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...
category as the B777. For take-off, the wing tips will be unfolded back into the horizontal position, providing the benefit of an extended span to increase
fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency (or fuel economy) is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical energy, chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or Mechanical work, w ...
. The folding wing tip system is the first of its kind in
commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...
.


3D Printing and Fuel Cells

The firm uses
3D printing 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...
technology to manufacture some of their products. The firm has also invested in developing tools and parts of their products using
titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
because of the benefits it offers. The firm is working on developing
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
s along with their partners
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
. Liebherr is interested in the use of
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
s to replace APU's (
auxiliary power unit An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115&n ...
) on conventional aircraft, greatly reducing emissions. GM on the other hand is aiming to develop a primary source of energy for
electric car An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger car, passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric motor, electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a p ...
s.


Hyperloop

Liebherr-Aerospace partnered with TransPod for the research, development, and production of new cabin and vehicle thermal systems designed specifically for TransPod’s
hyperloop Hyperloop is a proposed high-speed transportation system for both passengers and freight. The concept was published by entrepreneur Elon Musk in a 2013 white paper, where the hyperloop was described as a transportation system using capsules supp ...
system to ensure safety, efficiency, and
passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...
comfort.


Presence at recent events

Liebherr-Aerospace is among the exhibitors at ILA Berlin Air Show. and was present in the latest edition of the
Farnborough Air Show The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire. Since its first show in ...
as well.


Incidents

On 18 July 2018, an explosion was reported at Liebherr-Aerospace's Toulouse site. According to news reports, a
valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...
on a high pressure air circulation system on the
shop floor The shop floor is the production area, such as in a factory or another working space and is the floor where workers produce goods. The term "shop floor" refers to the area of a factory where production takes place. The shop floor excludes the are ...
failed due to undetermined reasons. According to one of the reports, the explosion of the high pressure air lines was heard kilometres away. The accident took place during work hours, around 2 PM. The pressure of the high pressure line has been reported to be around 25 Bars, which is 25 times the normal
atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1,013. ...
. News agencies report that 39 employees were treated on site by emergency services and the in-house medical teams. Around 12 employees who were in immediate vicinity were affected and had respiratory and hearing problems, Three of them were hospitalised at the Toulouse Purpan Hospital.


Customers

The direct
customer In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a Client (business), client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a Good (economics), good, service (economics), service, product (business), product, or an Intellectual prop ...
s for Liebherr Aerospace are the air frame manufacturers as listed below, but end customers like
Airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...
s also deal directly with Liebherr Aerospace for
maintenance The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastructure and supporting utilities in industrial, business, and residential installa ...
and troubleshooting. *
Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...
*
Airbus Helicopters Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries, holding 48% of the wo ...
* Airbus Defense * Bombardier * ATR *
Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation. It develops and manufactures aircraft and aviation systems, and provides leasing, equipment, and technical support services. Embraer is the third largest producer of civil air ...
*
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
* COMAC *
Dassault Aviation Dassault Aviation SA () is a French Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets. It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Dassault, Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (Marcel Bloch Aircraft Company). After ...
* Agusta Westland * Irkut Corporation *
Antonov Antonov (d/b/a Antonov Company, formerly the Aeronautical Scientific-Technical Complex named after Antonov or Antonov ASTC, and earlier the Antonov Design Bureau, for its chief designer, Oleg Antonov) is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and ...
*
Sukhoi The JSC Sukhoi Company (, ) is a Russian aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and military aircraft. Sukhoi was founded in the Soviet Union by Pavel Sukhoi ...
*
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...


References

{{Authority control Aerospace companies of France Aerospace companies of Germany Manufacturing companies based in Toulouse