Dassault Aviation inaugurated Tuesday a new facility, in Cergy, northwest of Paris. The opening ceremony, presided over by Chairman and CEO Éric Trappier, alongside the plant’s employees, was attended by Philippe Court, the Prefect of Val d’Oise.
Numerous elected officials attended this event, including Valérie Pécresse, President of Paris Regional Council, Marie-Christine Cavecchi, President of Val d’Oise Departmental Council, and Jean-Paul Jardon, Mayor of Cergy and President of the Urban Community. Military authorities and representatives of the regional industrial ecosystem.
Éric Trappier stated: “This is Dassault Aviation’s first new production facility since the 1970s. It sends a positive signal to the aerospace sector and to industry as a whole. France possesses unique expertise that we must preserve and develop within our national territory. This is a question of sovereignty, which is particularly vital in the current context. It is also an economic and social imperative, to meet the challenge of reindustrializing our country and creating jobs.”
Operational since summer 2024, the state-of-the-art Cergy facility has taken over operations previously carried out at the now-outdated plant in Argenteuil: assembly of Falcon and Rafale skin panels and small parts; forward fuselages assembly; Rafale fuselage outfitting; and metal hose production.
The new facility hosts more than 600 engineers, technicians, foremen and skilled workers, mostly transferred from the company’s former plant in Argenteuil.
The Dassault Aviation Cergy facility has a total size of 110,760 m² and a production space of 39,700 m². Other features include a roof fully equipped with solar panels, green space integrated into the plant, innovative ventilation system for halls and offices as well as smart lighting.
Backed by a workforce of more than 600 employees, the principal activities of the new facility include:
- Assembly of Falcon and Rafale skin panels and small parts
- Rafale and Falcon forward fuselages assembly
- Rafale fuselage outfitting: installation of circuits (electric, fuel, hydraulic, air) and certain equipment (computers, actuators, landing gear, etc.)
- Metal hose production
NB: Cergy has taken over the Argenteuil plant’s operations (except for production of small primary parts, transferred to the Seclin facility).
Background
- Project launch: 2019
- Ground-breaking: 2021
- Completion: July 2024
- Transfer of teams and machinery from Argenteuil: July 2024-January 2025
With over 10,000 military and civil aircraft (including 2,700 Falcons) delivered in more than 90 countries over the last century, Dassault Aviation has built up expertise recognized worldwide in the design, production, sale and support of all types of aircraft, ranging from the Rafale fighter, to the high-end Falcon family of business jets, military drones and space systems.
In 2024, Dassault Aviation reported revenues of €6.2 billion. The company has 14,600 employees.
