Engines
Safran Enlists Mexico To Support Massive Leap Engine Output
Safran is investing around $75 million in a new factory at Queretaro.
French engine maker Safran has a factory in Mexico, as do many U.S. aerospace firms. But for American companies, a new 20 percent tariff on manufactured goods shipped north into the U.S. could be damaging to the viability of their supply chains. [Photo: Safran]
French engine maker Safran has a factory in Mexico, as do many U.S. aerospace firms. But for American companies, a new 20 percent tariff on manufactured goods shipped north into the U.S. could be damaging to the viability of their supply chains. [Photo: Safran]

Safran’s recently announced $75 million investment in a new factory in Mexico is part of the French engine maker’s concerted response to meeting the exceptionally high levels of demand for the Leap engines it produces through its CFM International joint venture with GE Aviation. By the end of 2017, the new plant at Queretaro, 125 miles north of Mexico City, will start producing 3-D woven composite fan blades for the Leap turbofans. By 2021, the facility, which is being built in partnership with U.S. company Albany International, is expected to reach an annual output rate of more than 20,000 blades.