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How did the division behave in 2017?
A turning point, particularly important for the teams,
was reached this year since we have crossed the EUR
1 billion threshold. This confirms the robustness of the
organizations and systems we have deployed to support
our development strategy. The market remained well
oriented and air traffic, up 7.7%, still offers good overall
prospects (
see opposite
).
Within the division, the year was subdivided in two
stages. The first half, which is very active both for
fasteners and structural components, was driven by
the ramp-up of new programs. The end of the year, on
the other hand, was impacted by adjustments in the
Airbus Supply Chain for the Europe Fasteners business.
In this context, the division managed to increase its
operating margin using three levers: first, by activating
part of the flexibility reserve we have available for the
Europe Fasteners operations; secondly, by lowering
the current operating expenses involved by the
ramp-up; and finally by maintaining our productivity
efforts, particularly on robotics and digital.
What exactly is your vision of digitalization?
The Internet of Things (IOT), its associated data
platforms and smart mass processing, today make it
possible to acquire and exploit masses of data at a
reasonable cost. We will first strive to optimize the
products, their production process, before we focus
on collaborative work. Our vision of the
Factory of the
Future
is a factory that operates 24 hours a day with a
1-day human presence only. The production processes
are self-regulating, measured and corrected in real
time, and they make it possible to produce 100%
compliant parts because these are tested continuously.
The entire process on a paper-free basis, without human
manipulation, in direct connection with customers and
suppliers so as to share information related to products
and flows. The first bricks of this industrial organization
are being experimented within the division and the
results are very encouraging.
What dynamic do you anticipate for 2018?
We do not expect any fundamental changes, other than
a gradual recovery of the Helicopter segment. The
roadmap will not be very different from that of 2017.
We will maintain our operational performance at the
highest level and maintain our productivity efforts
around robotization and digitization. The quality of
execution, the security of our operations and the level
of service offered to our customers remain our main
objectives.
3 QUESTIONS TO
JEAN-LOUIS COLDERS
CEO, LISI AEROSPACE
“This year, the division crosses the symbolic
threshold of EUR 1 billion in sales
and its operating margin is progressing.”
LISI AEROSPACE
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MARKETS & PRODUCTS