Aeronautics in Hauts-de-France
With 160 companies and a workforce of 10,200, the aeronautics industry is thriving in Hauts-de-France. Our complete ecosystem has the infrastructure and skilled employees you need to set up and grow your business.
Aeronautics in Hauts-de-France
With 160 companies and a workforce of 10,200, the aeronautics industry is thriving in Hauts-de-France. Our complete ecosystem has the infrastructure and skilled employees you need to set up and grow your business.
France is a key player in the European aerospace industry
Together with the UK and Germany, France is a leader in European aircraft manufacturing. In 2018, the French aeronautics industry alone generated output of $76 billion, putting it in the #1 spot Europe-wide, with exports outside Europe accounting for most of its sales.
Fast facts: The aeronautics industry in Hauts-de-France
- 10,200 direct jobs
- 160 businesses
- 8 world-class aeronautics companies: AD Industries, Airfoils Advanced Solutions, Dassault Aviation, MBDA Missile Systems, Safran, SKF, Stellia Aerospace and Thalès
- 34 subcontractors with European reach – Including 2 that are ranked among the 5 best subcontractors in France
What Hauts-de-France offers
Hauts-de-France has been an aerospace hub with solid industrial expertise since the early 20th century, when French aircraft manufacturer Henry Potez built his factory in Albert-Méaulte.
Make the most of our strategic location
Located midway between Toulouse and Hamburg, Hauts-de-France enjoys a strategic position near aeronautics decision-making centers in Northern Europe.
The southern end of the region is only 20 km from Charles de Gaulle airport, putting us close to key players in the Paris region.
There’s a place for you in the Hauts-de-France ecosystem
Like the national industry, the Hauts-de-France aeronautics sector is highly diversified, focusing primarily on:
- producing assemblies for leading equipment manufacturers
- machining parts
- tool-making
Recruit qualified employees
Hauts-de-France offers you a highly qualified labor pool, thanks to a wealth of aeronautics training programs that are hard to find anywhere else in France.
We’ve got every kind of educational institution—from vocational and technical schools to universities and schools of engineering—right here in the region.
Close-up: Compiègne University of Technology (UTC)
UTC’s international perspective makes it one of the best engineering schools in the world. It offers:
- 4 specialized Masters’ degree program
- 8 research units
- 1 innovation center
Build your aeronautics R&D capability in Hauts-de-France
In Hauts-de-France, we bank on innovation to hone our competitive edge and keep pace with the industry’s challenges and technological needs. The region is home to a variety of world-class R&D centers and centers of excellence.
IndustriLAB
IndustriLAB is an innovation hub for the aeronautics industry, dedicated primarily to Stelia Aerospace and its suppliers.
- 2,500 sq m of office space
- 5,000-sq m workshop
- 1,000 sq m training center
CETIM
The Technical Center for Mechanical Industry (CETIM) offers businesses the tools and skills they need to boost competitiveness and forge ties between research and industry. CETIM focuses on:
- Boosting production capacity without compromising the reliability of your industrial processes
- Cutting manufacturing and operating costs
- Developing tomorrow’s Clean Sky-compatible planes and launchers
Altytud
Based in Albert-Méaulte, Altytud is the leading aeronautics cluster in Hauts-de-France, delivering the technical and technological support businesses need to diversify output and stand out from the crowd.
Its 58 members include:
- a majority of manufacturers
- partners in education and training
- consulting firms
ONERA
ONERA is the French aerospace lab, dedicated to research in aeronautics, space and defense. In Hauts-de-France, it focuses primarily on mechanical research related to aircraft safety.
- 90 employees
- 45 engineers et senior executives
- 5 doctoral candidates
- Europe’s largest array of wind tunnels
- Model design and fabrication
UPJV
The laboratory at the University of Picardy Jules Verne is home to research professors in IT, automatic control engineering, robotics and computer vision.
- 4 research teams
- 40 teacher-researchers
- 30 doctoral candidates
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