To support its strong business growth in the Asia Pacific region, French airline brakes maker Safran selected Malaysia as the location of the new Messier-Bugatti-Dowty carbon disk facility, to address the needs of this region, where the aircraft fleet is posting strong growth.

Messier-Bugatti-Dowty first introduced carbon brakes on commercial jets 30 years ago. It is now said to be the market leader, bringing electric brake technology to air framers and airlines alike. Electric brakes are now available on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Jean-Paul Herteman, Chairman and CEO of Safran, inaugurated the new Messier-Bugatti-Dowty (Safran) plant in Sendayan, Malaysia. Located near the Kuala Lumpur international airport, the plant will span 10,000 sq m and is specialised in the production of carbon brakes for commercial airplanes, especially the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families of single-aisle jets. It will have about 150 employees by 2018.

The Safran company, specialised in landing and braking systems, already provides equipment for more than 6,000 commercial airplanes worldwide, a figure that should surpass 10,000 by 2020. In Asia as a whole, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty provides carbon brakes for more than 2,000 airplanes, and this figure should exceed 5,000 by 2032. Messier-Bugatti-Dowty currently works with 18 different operators in Malaysia. It now outfits about 200 airplanes in service, with equipment for another 400 under order.

The new Sendayan plant is an ideal complement to Messier-Bugatti-Dowty’s existing carbon disk facilities, including two in France (Molsheim in Alsace, and Villeurbanne, near Lyon) and one in the US (Walton, Kentucky). The plant was inaugurated after a year and a half of work, starting in July 2013, and represents a total investment of US$130 million. The new plant will bolster Safran’s industrial presence in Malaysia, alongside facilities operated by two other Safran companies, Morpho (security sector) and Turbomeca (helicopter engines).