Dassault Aviation plant in Bordeaux-Merignac: inauguration of the new building dedicated to design and operations

Dassault Aviation inaugurated the new building at its plant in Bordeaux-Merignac (Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France) which is to accommodate the design, development and after-sales support teams for the firm's civil and defense activities. Construction of the new building began in May 2019.

"Widespread use of digital tools must be supported by the development of a more deep-rooted, concrete aircraft culture. This shared culture will allow us to effectively integrate, from the design stage onwards, all the business units involved in the product life cycle: industrialization, procurements, manufacturing and support", explains Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation. "With this aim, our transformation plan includes the transfer to Merignac of certain operations based in Saint-Cloud, to be closer to our aircraft in production and in service. This new building, along with some existing ones, will therefore accommodate the defense customer support, Falcon aircraft services, industrial operations, procurements and design office teams. However, for the design office, the center of gravity will remain in Saint-Cloud."

With a total capacity of 26,000 sq. m, the new building offers 1,650 workstations, 24 modular collaborative work spaces and nine project offices. It also features a Falcon Command Centre, rooms for aircraft system test benches, an interior street and a 268-seat auditorium. The highest environmental standards have been applied with smart lighting and energy management, solar panels (1,400 sq. m), green roofs, heat recovery system, and power distribution integrated into the floor. Five hundred trees have also been planted on the site.

Presided over by Eric Trappier, alongside Hugues Chambonniere, Merignac Site Manager, the opening ceremony was also attended by the Prefect of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, Fabienne Buccio, and many other local elected representatives, particularly the President of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, Alain Rousset, and the President of Bordeaux Metropole and Mayor of Merignac, Alain Anziani. Representatives of the armed forces, as well as the region's aviation ecosystem and the media were also present at the event.