EADS chief tours Strata factory in Al Ain

Louis Gallois, chief executive of EADS the parent company of Airbus visited Al Ain to see first hand how the Mubadala manufacturing subsidiary Strata is progressing.

Strata is the advanced composite manufacturing plant set up by Mubadala as part of an initiative to develop high-technology aerospace industry in the UAE.

Gallois accompanied by a delegation of senior management from EADS and Airbus, and representatives from the French Embassy, toured the Al Ain facility, which has now become the sole manufacturer of flap track fairings for the Airbus A330/340 and is on track to produce other critical parts such as the ailerons and spoilers for the Airbus aircraft.

He met members of the management and operational teams and praised Strata for the rapid progress it has made, having delivered its first products in September 2010, just twelve months after the plant construction commenced. During the visit, Monsieur Gallois also met more than 80 UAE nationals currently undergoing a customised training program for Strata. He highlighted the fact that STRATA has one of the most modern and technologically advanced composite aerostructures facilities in the world.

The visit of Gallois to the plant was described by Ross Bradley, chief executive of Strata as signaling “a step change in the aviation community’s view of STRATA as a dynamic and new entrant in the composite aerostructures manufacturing business. Having recently dispatched shipset number thirty, a remarkable achievement in a short space of time, the visit is a clear recognition of the hard work and commitment shown by our entire team,” he said.

Homaid Al Shemmari, Chairman of Strata and Executive Director, Mubadala Aerospace, said that “establishing an aerospace industry in the Emirate is an important part of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 and I’m delighted that we’re able to attract leading -stakeholders from around the world, like EADS and Monsieur Gallois, to STRATA.