75 years anniversary for Issoudun (France)!

It is on October 19, 1944 that Robert Georges Maréchal created the Industrial and Commercial Company of Aeronautical Equipment (SICMA). Discover its history...

Initially, the company assembles and dresses aircraft wing tanks for Marcel Dassault. Then, in the 1960s, it explored other activities: cabin assembly for Alouette helicopters; the creation of luggage ramps, crew rest stations, pilot and passenger seats, and even skis! By becoming SICMA Aero Seat in 1971, the company clearly specializes in the design and manufacture of seats.

Production explodes in the 1980s and the company is positioning itself on the high end by opening a new unit in Issoudun (Indre) to manufacture crew seats. At that time, Issoudun provides seats for Air France Concorde. 1993 marks a turning point: SICMA Aero Seat joins the Zodiac Aerospace Group. It teams up with its former competitor, Weber Aircraft, now Safran Seats USA specialized in economy class seats, and then in 2012, Contour Aerospace now Safran Seats GB specialized in business and first class seats.

At the turn of the 2000s, the business class seat market is in full swing and the Cirrus will be a bestseller. The latter will equip Cathay Pacific and Air France. 2018 is a new turning point with the integration to Safran Group.

Finally, the year 2019 marks the first flight of Fusio and the launch of Versa. At the dawn of its 75 years, the company still demonstrates its know-how and its capacity for innovation!