2016 Safran Innovation Awards spotlight creativity

Paris, March 30, 2016.

Year after year, Safran confirms the strategic importance of innovation. In 2015, Safran invested heavily in Research & Development, including expenditures of more than 2 billion euros (equal to 12% of revenues). Collaborative innovation, reflecting this focus on building solid foundations for the future, is further encouraged by the Safran Innovation Awards. Created in 2005, this annual competition is designed to promote innovation by employees, partners and suppliers. It fosters the emergence of new ideas across the Group, and rewards the most promising concepts.

The 2016 Safran Innovation Awards were held yesterday, March 29, at the Safran Aerospace Museum in Villaroche, near Paris. The ceremony kicked off with a forum allowing the prizewinners and candidates for the Field Innovation award to present their projects and discuss innovation with all guests.

The jury, comprising members of Safran?s Executive Committee, awarded the 2016 Grand Prize to a team from Turbomeca (Safran) for their project on a rotating combustion chamber. The Field Innovation award, for which Safran employees voted online during the previous two weeks, was won by a team from Hispano-Suiza (Safran), in partnership with the company Disco-Lab, for their project on an eco-friendly degreaser.

Safran?s Innovation Awards recognizes the best collaborative innovation projects, whether for the development of innovative machining techniques, the creation of new production tools, or improvements to existing technologies via innovative processes. Teams competed in four categories this year: Product-Technology-Patent; Customer Satisfaction; Performance and Competitiveness; and Field Innovation.

?For Safran, it is absolutely essential that we support and spotlight the promising ideas developed by our teams, who express their ability to anticipate the future through this contest, and ensure that Safran delivers world-class performance in all of our markets,? said Philippe Petitcolin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Safran. ?We also make it a point to include our suppliers in this initiative. Safran will continue to invest heavily in research and innovation so we can develop the disruptive technologies that will deliver high added-value to our customers for their future programs.?

Safran develops key technological solutions and undertakes large-scale R&D programs to keep pace with its fast-evolving markets and meet upcoming challenges. Safran is ranked second in France for the most patents filed (according to INPI, the national institute for intellectual property), and 21% of the Group?s workforce is involved in R&D.