Exova

Exova has announced the opening of a new €2.8m flagship aerospace testing laboratory at Aerospace Cluster in Toulouse, France.

The new laboratory, which was officially opened by Airbus engineering executive vice-president Charles Champion, provides advanced materials fatigue testing services to the European aerospace sector.

Exova Europe managing director Mike Pooley said: "Our Toulouse operation is ideally placed to support customers because of its location coupled with the expertise, capabilities and capacity we can now offer."

The 1,650m² site offers eight additional fatigue testing frames and an increase in scanning electron microscope capability, delivering a 25% rise in testing capacity.

A part of Exova’s expansion of aerospace testing business, the new site supports manufacturing primes and supply chain customers.

The company currently has 13 Nadcap-approved facilities in several locations, including the Czech Republic, the UK, US and Sweden.

The new facility will increase workforce to 58 with the addition of several other roles to meet customer demand.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Charles Champion said: "Exova has partnered Airbus for over 25 years and I welcome this significant investment that will support our continued advancement of materials application, engineering and production processes."

Image: Airbus engineering executive vice-president Charles Champion (second left), Exova chief executive officer Ian El-Mokadem (second right), Exova Europe managing director Mike Pooley (left), Exova Toulouse general manager Pascal Escola (right) during the official launch of the new facility. Photo: courtesy of Exova.

Defence Technology