French aerospace equipment manufacturer Safran Group has announced a multimillion-dollar investment in the state of Querétaro, according to an announcement made by Governor Mauricio Kuri at the Paris Air Show, which ended on June 25.

With a further investment of US $80 million, the company will expand two of its plants in the country and build a new one to house an aircraft engine test bench. 

The new SAESA Testcell project is part of the Safran/GE-owned CFM jet engine division, which supplies engines to both the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, the world’s two best-selling aircraft. The company was previously best known for providing the engines for supersonic passenger aircraft Concorde.

The expansion will create 800 new jobs in maintenance, production, innovation, development and R&D, Kuri said.

“We are very proud and really appreciate the support of Querétaro in helping us expand our capacity,” said Safran CEO Jean-Paul Alary.

Kuri added that Safran México is interested in continuing its support of government educational programs and projects that strengthen the competitiveness of the company and of Querétaro. 

“Thank you [Safran] for trusting in our state,” Kuri wrote on Twitter. 

Safran, which arrived in Querétaro 16 years ago, is the largest employer in Mexico’s aeronautical industry, with 11,000 employees across 17 production, maintenance, and engineering sites. In Chihuahua, it operates the world’s largest center for manufacturing aircraft electrical wiring.

Querétaro is a hub for aerospace manufacturing in Mexico. As of 2022, it had received 50% of all foreign direct investment in the industry over the last decade and ranked as the world’s eighth most competitive region in the aeronautical sector, offering more than 355 products and services to the global aerospace industry. 

With reports from El Economista and Mexico Industry