All the turbulence between Boeing and Leonardo on the 787
Boeing is finding defects on parts of the 787 Dreamliner. The rumors of Reuters on Leonardo, the effects on the stock on the stock exchange and the version of the group headed by Profumo which indicates the responsible subcontractor
Sudden fall on the stock market for Leonardo stocks yesterday in the wake of media reports on Boeing.
On Thursday afternoon, the prices of the former Finmeccanica went from € 7.2 to € 6.76 in a few minutes, with a drop of 5.8%, following the rumor of Reuters , according to which Leonardo would be the supplier who reported to Boeing incorrect manufacture of some titanium components of the 787 aircraft. This was reported by the Radiocor agency.
The US manufacturer confirmed the manufacturing defect by reporting having received a notification from a supplier.
"There is an investigation underway, but we have found that this does not pose an immediate threat to the safety of the fleet currently in service," said a Boeing spokesperson.
The unexpected comes after a series of problems that involved the production of the 787 series which has already been reduced with suspension of deliveries. According to the Journal , in August the United States Federal Aviation Administration opened an investigation into possible violations by Boeing of quality standards in the production of commercial aircraft.
In the evening the note from the former Finmeccanica company also arrives: “Leonardo makes it known that reference is made to the subcontractor Manufacturing Processes Specification Srl (Mps), also qualified by Boeing. The aforementioned subcontractor is under investigation by the judiciary for which Leonardo is an injured party and therefore will not assume potential charges in this regard ".
The news adds to the already complicated Leonardo Grottaglie dispute .
We recall that the Grottaglie plant, which belongs to the Aerostructures division of the group led by Alessandro Profumo, builds two sections of the carbon fiber fuselage for the Boeing 787.
In the Grottaglie plant (with 1300 direct employees), work has been suspended since before August following the collective closure plan. On 11 October, the company confirmed that it intends to manage next year's vacant work by resorting to Cigo.
All details.
THE DEFECT ON BOEING AIRCRAFT 787
Still problems for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.
The WSJ reported Thursday that Boeing and US regulators said titanium parts of the 787 Dreamliner had been improperly manufactured in the past three years. This is the latest in a series of problems affecting the wide-body aircraft.
THE BOEING PRODUCTION PROBLEMS
The US aircraft manufacturer continues to encounter structural defects in its 787 that have caused production to be cut and deliveries to be disrupted.
Last month, the Journal reported that Boeing will not resume deliveries of the 787 Dreamliners until probably the end of October.
ATTRIBUTED TO THE SUPPLIER LEONARDO
According to Reuters reports, Boeing said the parts were supplied by Leonardo, which purchased the items from the Manufacturing Processes Specification (Mps) based in Brindisi, Italy. Mps is no longer a Leonardo supplier, Boeing said.
THE IMPACT ON LEONARDO
The market reaction was immediate. In the wake of media reports, Leonardo's title collapses in Piazza Affari. On Thursday afternoon, the stock lost more than 5% and was then suspended.
THE NOTE FROM THE FORMER FINMECCANICA COMPANY
In the afternoon of October 14, the note from the company from Piazza Monte Grappa also arrives.
“With regard to the statements reported in the press relating to the finding of defects in the components produced for the B787, Leonardo makes it known – reads the release – that reference is made to the subcontractor Manufacturing Processes Specification Srl (MPS), also qualified by Boeing. The aforementioned subcontractor is under investigation by the judiciary for which Leonardo is an injured party and therefore will not assume potential charges in this regard. Furthermore, Manufacturing Processes Specification Srl (MPS) is no longer Leonardo's supplier ”.
LEONARDO'S CLARIFICATION ALSO ON THE ATR PROGRAM
Furthermore, with a note dated October 15, Leonardo specified that "the subcontractor Manufacturing Processes Specification Srl, under investigation by the judiciary and for some time no longer Leonardo's supplier, has not supplied titanium components for Airbus programs".
In fact, from 2021, the company Mps was counting on new contracts on the ATR program for the thermoforming parts of the internal fuselage piping. As stated in the 2019 financial statements of the Apulian company.
We remind you that ATR is the joint venture between Leonardo and Airbus, a leading company in the sector of turboprop regional transport aircraft.
THE PROBLEMS OF THE AEROSTRUCTURE DIVISION
We recall that Boeing's production impacts Leonardo, given that the Grottaglie plant, which belongs to the Aerostructures division, builds two sections of the carbon fiber fuselage for the Boeing 787.
Of the four factories of Leonardo's Aerostructures division, that of Grottaglie, in the province of Taranto, is most affected because, being a single-contract, it suffers from the significant slowdown that occurred, both due to Covid and for problems that the client Boeing had with a supplier of the production chain, in the construction of the two fuselage sections of the 787.
Just these days the dispute of the employees of the Aerostructures division is being discussed.
Despite the production vacuum, Leonardo had so far avoided the redundancy fund for personnel: the employees remained at home with the collective closure plan. But at the meeting on 11 October, the national discussion table in Leonardo's Aerostructures division continued, following the one on 29 September last , in the presence of the Corporate and Division Departments with the National Coordination Fim-Fiom-Uilm.
On the occasion, the company led by CEO Alessandro Profumo confirmed that it intends to manage next year's vacant work by resorting to Cigo.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/tutte-le-turbolenze-fra-boeing-e-leonardo-sul-787/ on Fri, 15 Oct 2021 05:12:34 +0000.