Safran Inaugurates New Plant for Aircraft Engine Compressor Blades

Adrien Dolimont, Minister-President of the Walloon Government, Pierre-Yves Jeholet, Walloon Minister of Economy and Industry, and Olivier Andriès, chief executive officer of Safran, have inaugurated Safran Blades, a new Safran plant for the production of compressor blades for aircraft engines located in Marchin in the Province of Liège (Belgium).

Safran Blades specializes in the manufacture of compressor blades made of titanium. This €108 million investment reinforces Safran Aero Boosters' industrial expertise in its flagship product, the low-pressure compressor.

The company was created in partnership with the Walloon and Belgian federal authorities, Wallonie Entreprendre (28%) and the Société Fédérale de Participations et d'Investissement (16%), both shareholders alongside Safran Aero Boosters (56%).

This 10,000 m2 center was built on a former steel industrial wasteland, which has been completely rehabilitated and refurbished. It is now a modern production model.

Safran has partnered with Wallonia and Europe to develop a fully digitalized plant with tailor-made industrial resources and patented processes, allowing large-scale production with manufacturing precision, reducing margins of error.

This 4.0 factory combines automation, robotization, connected objects, artificial intelligence and massive data collection. Production, costs and environmental footprint are thus optimized, which has enabled it to join the circle of the most innovative Belgian companies in 2025, labelled "Factory of the Future" by Agoria (Belgian sectoral federation representing companies in the technology industry).

As part of Safran's strategy to strengthen the sovereignty of its supply chain, Safran Blades will produce 700,000 titanium blades per year by 2026, notably for LEAP and GEnx engines (for Airbus and Boeing aircraft), i.e. one blade every 20 seconds. It will eventually employ 150 highly qualified people.

Chief Executive Officer of Safran Olivier Andriès said, "Today, with Safran Blades, we are doing more than inaugurating a plant. We are ahead of the curve, both technologically, industrially and environmentally. We affirm our desire to control our value chains, while building, with our Belgian partners, a stronger, more innovative and more sustainable Europe of the aeronautics industry.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Minister of Finance and Pensions Jan Jambon commented, "Relocating the production of compressor blades for aircraft engines to Belgium will strengthen Safran Aero Boosters' technological expertise while securing the supply chain in the face of geopolitical and economic challenges. The creation of this state-of-the-art plant is in line with the federal government's desire to reindustrialize the European and Belgian economic fabric in particular. The aeronautics sector is one of the pillars of the strategy of SFPIM, the financial arm of the federal government.”

Minister-President of the Walloon Government Adrien Dolimont said, "With Safran Blades, Wallonia confirms its ambition to remain at the forefront of an innovative, sustainable and sovereign aeronautics industry. This project is one of the concrete examples of the WINGS dynamic, which combines research, companies and innovation to prepare the aeronautics of tomorrow. Given the undeniable strength of this ecosystem for Belgium's international influence, I have decided to grant an additional subsidy of €16.3 million for a new phase of 18 months, thus reaffirming our commitment to making Wallonia part of the sector's decarbonized future.”

Walloon Minister of Economy and Industry Pierre-Yves Jeholet stated, "At a time when new technologies are transforming the industrial landscape, it is important that Wallonia is at the forefront. The inauguration of this plant embodies the industrial Wallonia we want: sovereign, sustainable, innovative and rooted in its territory. This project thus meets our regional priorities and illustrates our ambition for a Wallonia that is fully committed to the industrial transition. Safran Blades has thus been able to benefit from the support of the Walloon Region in the context of some of its investments. Wallonia has all the assets to welcome, maintain and develop an Industry 4.0, at the service of job creation, energy transition and economic redeployment.”

CEO of Safran Aero Boosters François Lepot said, "Safran Blades is a great example of the realization of the aeronautics cluster in Wallonia. The financial support of the Walloon Region and Belgium is essential to create high value-added projects that allow us to be competitive on the global market.”

CEO of Safran Blades Mathieu Deladrière shared, "By surrounding itself with the best partners in Wallonia and Europe, Safran Blades has created a collective dynamic where robotization is transformed into human added value, generating new jobs and strengthening regional industrialization."