Safran celebrates expansion of Sarasota, Florida facility

Sarasota, United States – October 13, 2017

Safran Electrical & Power celebrated the expansion of its facility in Sarasota, Florida during a grand opening.

The ceremony was attended by Manatee County administrator, Ed Hunzeker, by representatives from the offices of Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Vern Buchanan, as well as customers, suppliers, and Safran employees.

With 125,000 square feet of surface area, the Sarasota facility provides high performance, mission critical power distribution, power management and switch components and subsystems for commercial aerospace, military and industrial end markets. Its 249 employees are dedicated to manufacturing switches, circuit breakers, contactors and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) activities for aircraft electrical equipment, particularly backup systems such as Ram Air Turbines (RATs) and Air-Driven Generators (ADGs).

The development of Safran’s Sarasota facility began in 2014 with the purchase of the Eaton business in Sarasota. To provide optimized, innovative, and made-to-measure solutions for its customers across the aircraft electricity chain through an integrated offer, Safran Electrical & Power relocated the Aerosource business during the course of 2016.

The strategic decision to expand allowed Safran to optimize its US footprint and thereby strengthened its MRO business and customer relationships. It helped the company to increase its competitiveness thanks to the County Board’s support and its ties with universities. Florida is a main aerospace hub with highly qualified employees and is perfectly in line with Safran’s ambition to strengthen its position on the US market.

"Safran's continuing research with aeronautical power and electrical systems is working to improve aircraft today," said U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). "The multiple facilities your company has in Florida and your ambitious research programs ensure that your company will continue to be a first class partner for several aircraft manufacturers."

As a world leader in electrical systems, Safran Electrical and Power is building the future of aerospace with ‘more electric’ aircraft. The grand opening underscored Safran Electrical & Power’s growth in the scope of service-supply activities for more electric aircraft initiatives, and highlighted the facility’s evolution in terms of building improvements and business growth.

“The transition from Somerset to Sarasota for Aerosource has been a great success. The strategic decision to collocate Aerosource’s operations with Safran Electrical & Power has enabled us to enhance the company’s marketing capabilities for new business, while significantly reducing costs,” stated Alain Sauret, President, Safran Electrical & Power.

“The great State of Florida, Manatee County, and the Bradenton Economic Development Committee have all been committed to Safran’s future. This transformation was made possible through their support and through the dedication of our employees who contributed tremendously to the remapping of the Sarasota site,” said David Vollrath, General Manager of the Sarasota facility. “We would also like to thank our customers and suppliers, whose support has ensured the successful development of our business in Sarasota.”