Eurocopter breaks ground at new site

Eurocopter has started construction of a new Paris Le Bourget industrial site.

At the laying of the first stone, Guillaume Faury, Eurocopter CEO, presented a 3D video model of the future site and spoke of the history of the site at La Courneuve, the location for the Group’s very first assembly lines and a center recognized around the world for its expertise in the development, manufacture and repair of helicopter blades.

“The commencement of work on the Paris-Le Bourget site is an integrated part of Eurocopter’s innovation strategy,” said Faury. “In order to maintain our position as a leader, we must benefit from the latest industrial facilities. The move will also position Eurocopter as an industry and research center benchmark in the Ile de France region.”

The project earned the support of the French government at the 2011 Paris Air Show, before receiving the “Grand Paris” seal of approval in February 2012.

The move, which should be completed in summer 2015, will involve all employees at La Courneuve and most of the site’s industrial capability. With more than 4,200 blades manufactured and repaired in 2012, La Courneuve is a vital link in the production chain.

Guillaume Faury, president and CEO of Eurocopter, in the presence of Claude Bartolone, president of the French National Assembly; Vincent Capo-Canellas, senator mayor of the city of Le Bourget and chairman of the Communauté d’Agglomérations; Stéphane Troussel, president of the General Council of La Seine Saint-Denis; and Philippe Galli, prefect of La Seine Saint-Denis

Photograph: © Copyright Eurocopter, Amélie Laurin