On the 26th of June the “roll-out” (leaving the hangar) of the A400M took place in the EADS-CASA installations in the FAL, Seville. The A400M is the largest European military transport aeroplane. Manufactured by the EADS aerospace consortium, it is a model for future international strategic transport. The event was attended by King Juan Carlos, who was accompanied by the Industry Minister, the presidents of EADS and EADS-CASA, the president of the Autonomous Government of Andalusia, the mayor of Seville, and several high-ranking representatives of the armed forces and the Ministry of Defence.

This has undoubtedly made Seville the third most important centre of aeronautical activity in Europe (after Toulouse and Hamburg). This is a significant step in the industrial development of Andalusia. There are currently 192 orders for the A400M from the member countries: Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Luxemburg, Great Britain, Turkey, South Africa and Malaysia.

MP aims to become a first-rank Engineering firm

Our President, Gonzalo de Madariaga, was asked to attend the event since MP has made an important contribution – specifically through our Process Engineering and Tooling departments - in achieving this milestone. This contribution continues to be consolidated, not only through the ongoing contracts for assembly stations (70/72, 40 and 60), but also with new contracts signed this year for projects such as:

• Management of the SIs (Special Instructions) which are the responsibility of the A400M FAL.
• Process Preparation for FTC (Fly Test Centre).
• Process Preparation for STA15. Definition of assembly processes for the Line of Flight station.
• Preparation of processes for STA30/35. Tasks involved with the process commissioning phase and workshop support.
• Updating and completing process modifications and commissioning.
• Workshop support tasks.

Additionally, MP aims to become a first-rank Engineering firm in the field of Tooling and Process Engineering, and in other fields of aeronautical engineering which encompass complete product delivery. These long-term aims have been formulated in close collaboration with EADS.

Alfonso Vargas Sánchez
Engineering and Industrial Services Director