Stelia Aerospace (stylized STELIA Aerospace) is an

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 ...

company headquartered 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 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It specializes in designing and

manufacture 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 to a r ...

aerostructure An aerostructure is a component of an aircraft's airframe. This may include all or part of the fuselage, wings, or flight control surfaces. Companies that specialize in constructing these components are referred to as "aerostructures manufacturer ...

s, pilot seats and premium class passenger seats, mainly for the commercial

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

sector. Stelia Aerospace was created on 1 January 2015 by the merger of two

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 ...

business units: Aerolia and SOGERMA. The company is a wholly owned

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

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 amid the early days of aviation. Prior to its restructuring in 2006, the company largely focused on

maintenance, repair and overhaul Aircraft maintenance is the performance of tasks required to ensure the continuing airworthiness of an aircraft or aircraft part, including overhaul, inspection, replacement, defect rectification, and the embodiment of modifications, compliance ...

(MRO), but subsequently directed its resources to its specialist aerostructures and seating activities. Aerolia SA was founded on 1 January 2009 as a

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

of Airbus France's aerostructures activities. This involved the Méaulte and

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

industrial plants, along with a design office in Toulouse. In 2007, EADS' management decided to respond to the weakening

US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

and large investments required for the

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...

and A350 XWB programs by restructuring in order to streamline, divest several non-core activities, and cut costs. Aerospace periodical

Flight International ''Flight International'', formerly ''Flight'', is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", i ...

compared the move to

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 ...

's then-recent spin-off of

Spirit AeroSystems Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. is an American Manufacturing, manufacturer of aerostructures for commercial airplanes, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. The company produces fuselage sections for Boeing's Boeing 737, 737 and Boeing 787 Dreaml ...

. On 1 January 2015, Stelia Aerospace was created via the

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

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

; this facility, which handles production of the forward fuselages of Airbus airliners and central fuselage of

Bombardier Aerospace Bombardier Aviation, a division of Bombardier Inc., is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada. The company currently produces the Global and Challenger series of business jets. At its peak, Bombardier operated manufacturing plants in 27 c ...

’s Global 7500 series of

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, had required a €70 million investment. In February 2018, Stelia Aerospace demonstrated a metallic fuselage panel manufactured using

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 ...

techniques. The same year, the firm acquired a majority share of Toulouse-based digital modelling specialist Portalliance Engineering. In October 2019, Stelia Aerospace announced plans to build a new assembly plant in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

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 programme. Starting on 1 January 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 seat An airline seat is a seat on an airliner in which passengers are accommodated for the duration of the journey. Such seats are usually arranged in rows running across the airplane's fuselage. A diagram of such seats in an aircraft is called an ...

s (First, Business, Premium Economy) * Pilot seats Stelia Aerospace also manufactures aircraft interiors.

Aerostructures

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 The Airbus A220 is a family of five-abreast narrow-body airliners by Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (ACLP). It was originally developed by Bombardier Aviation and had two years in service as the Bombardier CSeries. The program was launche ...

, such as the cockpit and aft fuselage. * Elements of the

Airbus BelugaXL The Airbus BelugaXL (A330-743L) is a large transport aircraft based on the Airbus A330-200F built by Airbus to replace the original Airbus Beluga, Airbus BelugaST (Super Transporter) to transport very large aircraft components, such as wings. The ...

, 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.

References

External links

* * {{Airbus Airbus subsidiaries and divisions Aerospace companies of France Aircraft component manufacturers of France Airliner seating Manufacturing companies based in Toulouse French companies established in 2015 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2015