MOROCCO – Le Piston Français (LPF), a French aeronautics company, has launched the second factory in Morocco, near Casablanca, for the production of mechanical aeronautics parts, as part of the future aircraft engine’s ecosystem in Morocco.
The LPF factory cost an investment of MAD 55 million (US$6.16 million). It was built over a total area of 6,828 square meters, including 4,078 square meters of covered surface, and it is expected to employ 100 workers by 2024.
Located in Nouaceur, 33 kilometers south of Casablanca, the new production unit is the first one in Morocco specialized in manufacturing circular hard metal parts for aircraft engines.
LPF expects the new production unit to help the company conquer new markets and attract new customers.
“This investment will allow the creation of quality jobs for engineers and specialized technicians.”
Ali Seddiki – Senior official, Ministry
Several representatives from Morocco’s Ministry of Industry attended the factory’s inauguration ceremony.
Ali Seddiki, a senior official at the ministry, said the inauguration of the new unit marks a major step in making Morocco’s aeronautical industry more integral.
“This investment will allow the creation of quality jobs for engineers and specialized technicians,” he added, stressing that such projects confirm the quality of the Moroccan labor force.
Given its focus on the manufacturing of highly-technical parts, the new factory contributes positively to the technological aspects of the aeronautical ecosystem in Morocco, argued Adel Bidaoui, the director of LPF Casablanca.
The production unit constitutes the “first brick” for Morocco to begin producing aircraft engines, Bidaoui continued.
LPF was one of the first aeronautical operators to expand in Morocco, having opened their first factory in the country in 1999. The new production unit is their second in Nouaceur.
The group’s investment shows the resilience of the Moroccan aeronautic industry, the trust of foreign investors in the Kingdom’s future thanks to its political stability, incentives granted to businessmen, open market economy, good governance, fast-track procedures…
The seven-decade-old company currently operates seven production sites in three different countries — France, Poland, and Morocco.
Morocco has attracted some big aeronautics investors in recent years, including Boeing, Airbus, Safran, Eaton … The aeronautic industry employs in the country about 20,000 people and grows annually by 15 per cent.
The Moroccan government seeks to push up its exports to over US$2 billion per year and increase to 45 per cent the proportion of locally-produced or assembled components.
More than 200 companies are operating in Morocco’s aeronautics sector, which ranks 15th worldwide in terms of attracting aviation industry investments.
Liked this article? Subscribe to DealStreet Africa News, our regular email newsletter with the latest news, deals and insights from Africa’s business, economy and more. SUBSCRIBE HERE
