Zodiac Aerospace
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| Limited Company | |
| Traded as | Euronext: ZC |
| Industry | Aerospace equipment and systems suppliers |
| Founder | Maurice Mallet |
| Headquarters | Plaisir, France |
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Key people
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Olivier Zarrouati, Chairman/CEO; Didier Domange, Chairman-Supervisory Board |
| Products | interior furnishings and control systems of aircraft. |
| Brands | Zodiac Aerosafety, Zodiac Aircraft Systems, Zodiac Cabin & Structures, Zodiac Galleys & Equipment, Zodiac Seats, Zodiac Aerospace Services |
| Revenue | € 5.2 Billion (2015-2016) |
| € 108.1 Million (2015-2016) | |
|
Number of employees
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35,000 (2015-2016) |
| Website | www |
Zodiac Aerospace is a French aerospace group founded in 1896 that supplies systems and equipment for aircraft. It has around 100 sites across the globe and employs nearly 35,000 people.
Zodiac Aerospace is a Group that is more than 100 years old and that has contributed to the boom in aerospace since the end of the 19th century.
The company was founded in 1896 as "Mallet, Mélandri et de Pitray" by Maurice Mallet and his associates. In the beginning, the company was involved in the production of the first hot-air balloons for sport and tourism. In 1911, the company changed its name to become "Zodiac". It then experienced a boom in the construction of airplanes and airships, especially for the Aérostation Maritime (Naval Balloon Command) and through its participation in the war effort. Until the 1930s, 63 airships would leave Zodiac’s workshops.
In 1934, the company created the first prototype inflatable boats, ancestors of the renowned "Zodiac", which would contribute to the development of the civil and military inflatable boat industry. The company then benefited from the boom in leisure activities after the Second World War, as well as the French infatuation with recreational boating in the 1960s: Zodiac therefore developed inflatable boats for the civil market and gradually gave up the airship market for the more promising water sports market. Zodiac would nevertheless honor a contract in 1966 with CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales - National Centre for Space Studies) for the production of a meteorological balloon, in the scope of the EOLE project. At the end of the 1960s, the Group reorganized and set up its first sales operation for exporting its products overseas more easily. In 1964 it opened its first subsidiary in Spain - "Zodiac Española" - and then "Zodiac North America" in 1970.
At the beginning of the 1970s, Zodiac experienced financial difficulties. Spurred on by its new CEO, Jean-Louis Gerondeau, and with the support of shareholders and the IDI (Institut pour le Développement Industriel - French Institute for Industrial Development), the Group recovered by 1977. In 1983, Zodiac was the first company to be listed on the ‘Second Market’ of the Paris Stock Exchange. The firm conducted an international development policy and increases its acquisitions, thereby enabling it to position itself in niche markets on a global scale. In 1978, it acquired Aérazur Constructions Aéronautiques and thus re-entered the aerospace market. In 1979, it acquired EFA (Parachutes), which led to the creation of the aerospace segment, and continued its development in marine and aerospace with the acquisitions of Bombard-L’Angevinière (ranked second in inflatable boats), Sevylor (leading French producer of light PVC inflatable structures) in 1981 and Superflexit (flexible tanks) in 1983, as well as the takeover of Parachutes de France (sport parachutes). In 1987, Zodiac acquired Air Cruisers (leader in evacuation slides), Metzeler (inflatable boats), B. Kern, and Europool In 1988, it acquired Pioneer, at the time the second American manufacturer of deceleration and engine braking recovery systems through parachutes.
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Wikipedia