Leonardo is closing on a decision over the future of its struggling aerostructures unit and is lining up an international joint venture to create an industrial “champion” in the sector.
Speaking at the Paris air show on 17 June, Leonardo chief executive Roberto Cingolani described the effort as a “work in progress”.
“We are working on a daily basis with a team of more than 30 people on the creation of an international JV, to expand the size and profile of the aerostructures division.”
This would create a “sort of champion” which would primarily serve the commercial aircraft industry “and other big markets that are not presently covered by our production”.
Leonardo is “at the end of a very long road,” Cingolani adds, but says he is “rather confident” than a deal can be hammered out.
“I’m optimistic but the devil is in the detail,” he says. An announcement is expected in July.
Leonardo has been struggling for several years to return the aerostructures business to profitability.
It had been hopeful that the post-Covid rebound would lift the business, but slower than expected production at major customer Boeing last year further delayed breakeven and caused it to slow production at its Grottaglie site in southern Italy where it makes composite centre fuselage sections for the 787.
As a result, the Italian aerospace firm has been considering its options for the unit, including at one point a potential carve-out.
Leonardo has also been looking to expand the work performed at Grottaglie and has signed production agreements related to several in-development programmes, including the Otto Aviation Phantom 3500 and Vertical Aerospace VX4. However, these will not enter full-rate production for several years.
