Liebherr-Aerospace is the aerospace equipment manufacturing division of Liebherr.
Liebherr-Aerospace contributed €1.3 billion ($1.5bn)
Some of the other sites include: Liebherr-Aerospace Saline, Michigan, U.S., Liebherr-Aerospace Singapore,
The Lindenberg and Toulouse centres of Liebherr have been recognized by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
Production and other activities
Liebherr-Aerospace supplies aircraft flight control
and actuation systems,
,
air management systems
(
bleed air systems,
wing anti ice, etc.), on-board electronics as well as gears and
gearboxes for the aerospace industry. These systems are deployed in wide-bodied aircraft, single aisle and regional aircraft,
,
Fighter aircraft aircraft, military transport aircraft, military
Trainer aircraft,
Helicopter and
Armed helicopter.
Being in Toulouse, Liebherr-Aerospace benefits from being in close proximity to the Headquarters of one of their most important customers, Airbus.
Apart from manufacturing activities Liebherr-Aerospace also services and overhauls
USM – Used Serviceable Materials
On 16 July 2018, it was reported that Liebherr-Aerospace was expanding its services in a new direction
by setting up a global network for USM parts to be managed from their
Dubai offices. They plan to source own products and systems from retired aircraft, perform repairs if necessary and redistribute and sell through their network. The serviced parts will be released with appropriate
airworthiness certifications and will come with a "Repaired by Liebherr"
tag instead of a "New" tag. It is reported that their initial focus will be on
Airbus fleets and families with a subsequent expansion. The target Customers are those with mature fleets, who will be requiring OEM quality parts at lower operation costs.
Research and development
The firm was reported to have invested in 2017 about €70 million ($82m) in R&D: more than 17% of
revenue.
B777X Wingtips
One of the most recent developments is the design of folding wingtips
which are being implemented on the Boeing 777X.
Due to its much larger
wingspan the 777X could not be classified in the same category as the B777. With the folding
Wing tip 777X will still be in the same
wingspan category as the B777. For
takeoff, the wing tips will be unfolded back into the horizontal position, providing the benefit of an extended span to increase fuel efficiency. The folding wing
tip system
is the first of its kind in commercial aviation.
3D Printing and Fuel Cells
The firm uses 3D printing technology to manufacture some of their products.
The firm has also invested in developing tools and parts of their products using
titanium because of the benefits it offers.
The firm is working on developing
along with their partners
General Motors. Liebherr is interested in the use of
to replace APU's
(auxiliary power unit) on conventional aircraft, greatly reducing emissions.
General Motors on the other hand is aiming to develop a primary source of energy for
.
Hyperloop
Liebherr-Aerospace partnered with
TransPod for the research, development, and production of new cabin and
Thermal system designed specifically for
TransPod’s
hyperloop system to ensure safety, efficiency, and
passenger comfort.
Presence at recent events
Liebherr-Aerospace is among the exhibitors at ILA Berlin Air Show.
and was present in the latest edition of the Farnborough Air Show as well.
Incidents
On 18 July 2018, an explosion was reported at Liebherr-Aerospace's Toulouse site. According to news reports, a
valve on a high pressure air circulation system on the
shop floor failed due to undetermined reasons.
According to one of the reports, the explosion of the high pressure air lines was heard kilometres away.
The accident took place during work hours, around 2 PM.
The pressure of the high pressure line has been reported to be around 25 Bars, which is 25 times the normal atmospheric pressure. News agencies report that 39 employees were treated on site by emergency services and the in-house medical teams. Around 12 employees who were in immediate vicinity were affected and had respiratory and hearing problems, Three of them were hospitalised at the
Toulouse Purpan Hospital.
Customers
The direct
for Liebherr Aerospace are the air frame manufacturers as listed below, but end customers like
also deal directly with Liebherr Aerospace for maintenance and troubleshooting.
