Testia, an

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 ...

company, is a training, services and products provider for

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 ...

testing and

Non-Destructive Testing Nondestructive testing (NDT) is any of a wide group of analysis techniques used in science and technology industry to evaluate the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage. The terms nondestructive examination (NDE), n ...

(NDT). It has been fully owned by Airbus since 2013.

Current activities

Testia (under "NDT Expert" name at that time) was launched by Aerospatiale (now Airbus) research center in 1991 as 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 ...

-specialized player for Non-Destructive Testing. After several partnerships with industrial players as well as research centers, the company became the internal and external provider for inspection, training, consulting, engineering, periodic verification, fluids testing, Go/No-Go tools, multi-purpose equipment, augmented reality, drones, and remote assistance. These activities are leveraging the different techniques of NDT like

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound with frequency, frequencies greater than 20 Hertz, kilohertz. This frequency is the approximate upper audible hearing range, limit of human hearing in healthy young adults. The physical principles of acoustic waves apply ...

radiography Radiography is an imaging technology, imaging technique using X-rays, gamma rays, or similar ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation to view the internal form of an object. Applications of radiography include medical ("diagnostic" radiog ...

tomography Tomography is imaging by sections or sectioning that uses any kind of penetrating wave. The method is used in radiology, archaeology, biology, atmospheric science, geophysics, oceanography, plasma physics, materials science, cosmochemistry, ast ...

, penetrant,

infrared thermography Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared im ...

magnetization In classical electromagnetism, magnetization is the vector field that expresses the density of permanent or induced magnetic dipole moments in a magnetic material. Accordingly, physicists and engineers usually define magnetization as the quanti ...

shearography Shearography or Speckle pattern shearing interferometry is a measuring and testing method similar to holographic interferometry. It uses coherent light or coherent soundwaves to provide information about the quality of different materials in no ...

or Eddy current that allow the detection and assessment of a defect on metallic or composite materials ( CFRP, ALM, HRD). IRNDT fig 03 en

The company is a

NADCAP Nadcap (formerly NADCAP, the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) is a global cooperative accreditation program for aerospace engineering, defense and related industries. History of Nadcap The Nadcap program is admin ...

organization for manufacturing and an

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 ...

/ FAR PART 145 organization for in-service activities. In 2018, the company had 250 employees across 7 countries: France, UK, Spain, Germany, Canada, Singapore and Mexico. Due to the NDT market growth, the company is planning on opening in China and Middle-East in 2019.

History

In 1991

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale () was a major French state-owned aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as () through the merger of three established state-owned companies: Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation ...

, in collaboration with Bureau Veritas and

Sogerma Stelia Aerospace (stylized STELIA Aerospace) is an aerospace company headquartered in Toulouse, France. It specializes in designing and manufacture of aerostructures, pilot seats and premium class passenger seats, mainly for the commercial avia ...

, established the NDT Expert company within its R&D department at the histori

lériot plant in Suresnes. This initiative aimed to support the aerospace sector by providing training and certification for NDT inspectors in compliance with the EN4179 standard. A secondary objective was to stay at the forefront of advancements in NDT technologies developed at the Aérospatiale research center, ensuring aircraft structural reliability, performance, and quality in accordance with regulatory requirements. In 1996, the company moved from Suresnes to Toulouse to be closer to industrial activities. Around the same time,

sold its shares to EADS, the new name for

. in 2012 Following the creation of

EADS 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 defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...

then

a strategic initiative was launched, bringing together several key aerospace companies, including

(France), Deutsche Airbus (Germany), Hawker Siddeley (United Kingdom), and CASA (Spain). At that time, it was decided to seize the opportunity to harmonize non-destructive testing (NDT) training and certification across the company in accordance with the European standard EN4179

idier Simonet, who was then head of Airbus Group Innovation in Toulouse, was appointed to establish this structure. 2015, NDT Expert rebranded as Testia, aligning with Airbus's strategic focus on non-destructive testing (NDT) services. I

une 2015, Airbus Group acquired the 20% stake held by Bureau Veritas, making Testia a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus Group Across the following years, the company developed in being as well a provider for NDT training & certification (NAS410/EN4179), services and products. This led to the creation of several Testia sites in France, Mexico (2011), UK (2013), Germany (2013), Spain (2013), Singapore (2014) and Canada (2018). In 2016 Testia was recognized for the launch of several products and software, like its NDT tool for A350XWB composite, the Augmented Reality to Spirit AeroSystems and its contribution to Airbus 'Hangar of the Future". In 2017, Testia started business in Structural Health Monitoring and was granted Customer Value Leadership award. As of April 2018, Testia is the launching partner of Airbus Advanced Inspection Drone.

References

{{Airbus Airbus subsidiaries and divisions Technology companies established in 1991 Aerospace companies Nondestructive testing French companies established in 1991