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 astrona ...

company headquartered in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It specializes in the design 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 secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a rang ...

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'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

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

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...

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

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

History

Stelia Aerospace can trace its origins back to the merge 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 w ...

(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 of Airbus France's aerostructures activities. This involved the

Méaulte Méaulte () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D329 road, some northeast of Amiens. Population Personalities * Henry Potez (1891–1981), aeroplane maker, w ...

and

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...

industrial plants, along with a design office in

. In 2007, EADS' management decided to respond to the weakening

US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

and large investments required for the

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

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

Flight International ''Flight International'' 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", it is the world's oldes ...

compared the move to

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

's then-recent spin-off of

Spirit AeroSystems Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc., based in Wichita, Kansas, is the world's largest first-tier aerostructures manufacturer. The company builds several important pieces of Boeing aircraft, including the fuselage of the 737, portions of the 787 fu ...

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

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

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 its new aeronautics factory in

, Northern

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

Bombardier Aerospace Bombardier Aviation is a division of Bombardier Inc. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada. Its most popular aircraft included the Dash 8 Series 400, CRJ100/200/440, and CRJ700/900/1000 lines of regional airliners, and the newer CS ...

’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. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pub ...

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 Manufacturing, construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design, CAD model or a digital 3D modeling, 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is ...

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 ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

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 The Airbus A400M AtlasNamed after the Greek mythological figure. is a European four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military (now Airbus Defence and Space) as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabi ...

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 Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...

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. - 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. It was originally designed by Bombardier and had two years in service as the Bombardier CSeries. The program was launched on 13 July 2 ...

, 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 to move oversized aircraft components, such as wings. The aircraft made its first flight on 19 July ...

, 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