Shap'In TechCenter To Focus on Aerostructures and Composites Development

Daher has laid the foundation of its new 1/2-acre facility, a development center that will focus on the advancement of aerostructures and composite expertise. The facility will be added to Daher's existing site at Saint Aignan de Grandlieu in the Jules Verne industrial cluster near Nantes, France. The “Shap’in” name, while somewhat silly to some, falls in line with "Log’In", their logistics acceleration platform, and "Fly’In", Daher’s aircraft development center. 

The €7.5 million project received €800,000 in funding from the French Aerospace Industry Modernization Fund, and will focus on addressing the futuristic needs of an industry facing technical, economic, and environmental challenges over the coming years. The Shap'In facility will provide 160 professional jobs to the local industry, half of them making up the research and development cadre. The location leverages the proximity of adjacent thermoplastic production facilities to help integrate new developments on the line. Mingling of personnel and information helps to refine methods and processes before they reach the factory floor, allowing for a more agile process in taking concepts from the drawing board, to concept, and ultimately to mass production. 

Daher has been restructuring some of its leadership arrangements in engineering as it prepares for future sustainability initiatives and increased market competition. The decision to go all-in on alternative structural technology is a wise one, given the expected explosion of advanced air mobility technology in the near future. With battery technology in its current state, the best gains in performance and range are gained the Colin Chapman way: "Simplify, then Add Lightness". At the unveiling ceremony, Daher CEO Didier Kayat mentioned the company's place in the French industrial landscape. In a time where their countrymen are bolstering their domestic aerospace production any way they can under the France 2030 program, Daher is cementing its place among the world's experts. 

"Shap’In further underlines our determination to embrace the future, and will showcase how our technological expertise feeds into a cutting-edge French industry. It also will considerably extend our ability to develop disruptive technologies and their production processes. We are putting the needed resources in place for Daher to remain at the forefront of our industry, while also ensuring our status as a key player in tomorrow’s low-carbon aviation sector," said Kayat. 

FMI: www.daher.com