"I cannot imagine that either Boeing or Airbus will continue
to have just one source each for such an important system as the
landing gear," Le Portz told Show News back then. "My
challenge is to penetrate Boeing, but maybe that means we must leave
room for our competitor at Airbus."
And now it has happened. Goodrich won its first landing gear contract
with Airbus with its selection for the main gear for the giant A380
airliner, while Messier-Dowty has been pre-selected for the nose
gear. Meanwhile Messier-Dowty is already making its proposals to
Boeing for its next new program, the Sonic Cruiser.
But Le Portz is surprisingly nonchalant about not winning the A380
business. That is because he didn't want to.
"The terms and conditions demanded by Airbus were completely
unacceptable," he told Show News on the eve of this
year's Paris show. "They wanted risk-sharing, for us to bear
full liability for the system, with no cap. The investment would
have been huge, and the risk to the company was too high."
Airbus, Le Portz says, wanted Messier-Dowty to amortize its costs
(and therefore set the price) on the landing gear over 250 aircraft
through 2015. "That would have been act of faith for us,"
he explains. "As chairman of Messier-Dowty, responsible for
this company, I shared this with the board, and the board was not
enthusiastic."
Goodrich has estimated the A380 main gear business could be worth
$2 billion over the next 20 years.
"For Goodrich it was crucial to enter Airbus," says Le
Portz, "and they could put up a lot of money to buy their market
share.
"I can understand the Goodrich strategy," he continues.
"They have to be on Airbus; it is a flagship for them but not
for us as we are already on almost every Airbus and the A380 with
the nose gear.
"So, we are not totally unhappy, considering the amount it
would have cost us to win," he says. "I prefer to put
this investment into winning something with Boeing Commercial."
(Messier-Dowty is already responsible for the landing gear design
and system on the Boeing Joint Strike Fighter).
Le Portz says he's prepared for criticism from those who say he
is not entrepreneurial. "I say I am," he insists. "But
I must not jeopardize the company on one program."
A final consideration was the overall exposure to the A380 of the
Snecma group, to which Messier-Dowty belongs. With Snecma Moteurs
a risk-sharing partner on the GP7000 engines offered by the GE-P&W
Alliance, Messier-Bugatti on wheels and brakes, Hurel-Dubois on
nacelles and thrust reversers, Hispano-Suiza on aerostructures and
Labinal on electrical equipment, Snecma already had a great deal
of money invested in the new airliner before the risk-sharing demands
for the landing gear pushed the group's exposure over the top.
Le Portz expects life with Airbus will become even tougher now it
has two landing gear suppliers, and that will be true for Goodrich
too if Messier-Dowty penetrates Boeing. In addition, airframers
are looking for cost savings of 3% to 4% a year from their suppliers-without
inflation-forcing suppliers to find efficiencies and improve their
processes. This too, he says, takes investment.
At the same time, Messier-Dowty is investing heavily in ramping
up production rates for Bombardier's regional jets, for Eurofighter
as it enters production, and for Dassault's fast-selling Falcon
Jets. And it is a risk-sharing partner on the Airbus A340-500/600,
responsible for the design and supply of the entire landing gear
system.
Then there is the A400M European transport.
"That will not be any easier than the A380," Le Portz
predicts. "But at least the orders will be assured."
By John Morris
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