Constellium signs multiyear contract with Airbus

Constellium N. V., based in Amsterdam, has announced that it has signed a contract with Airbus to support all of the aircraft manufacturer’s leading aircraft programs. The agreement is currently under Airbus Group Corporate approval.

Constellium says the agreement further solidifies the company’s longstanding partnership with Airbus and confirms its position as a leading partner for aerospace aluminum products and solutions. Under the new agreement, Constellium will supply Airbus with a broad range of advanced aluminum rolled products for airframes, including wing skin panels and aero-sheets for fuselage panels, as well as rectangular and premachined plates for structural components.

Constellium and Airbus say they will deepen their cooperation in logistic and recycling solutions to reduce inventories along the supply chain and support the ramp up of key Airbus programs such as the A320neo and the A350 XWB. In support of Airbus’ continuous improvement targets, Constellium says it is committed to increasing the buy-to-fly ratio by developing and implementing near-net shaped and premachined products.

This contract builds on the partnership agreement signed with Airbus in 2010 that marked the introduction of the AIRWARE™ technology on the A350 XWB.

“I am proud to see Airbus and Constellium continuing to build on their long track record of successful relationship in the context of the high order backlog ahead of our industry,” says Ingrid Jörg, president of Constellium’s aerospace and transportation business unit. “By refining the way we work together, and thanks to the technology and industrial investments we made over the last years to increase our operational and business performance, Constellium is in a strong position to support Airbus in the execution of its key aerospace programs.”

Constellium says it will supply Airbus with innovative and high-quality products mainly from its plants in Ravenswood, West Virginia, and Issoire, France. The specific terms of the contract were not disclosed.