Turin-based Sabelt develops seat for Leonardo helicopters
The project created under the 'Growing Together' programme to allocate a billion orders to the Italian helicopter division
Leonardo's 'Growing Together' programme makes a stop in Piedmont. Together with Sabelt, a historic company in the automotive sector led by the Marsiaj family, it has developed a seat for the Group's Helicopter Division. "For us, this is a technological milestone and the beginning of a strategic collaboration between two excellences," emphasises Massimiliano Marsiaj.
Twenty years ago, Sabelt, the historic supplier of safety belts for Formula 1 teams, developed the first seat for Ferrari, while 2011 saw the collaboration with Thales Alenia Space for the production of belts for cargo destined for space, not forgetting the CabinCrewa belts for Airbus. For Leonardo, this is a new stage in the programme with which the Group aims to strengthen the Italian helicopter industry, with the objective of awarding orders worth a billion euros to Italian manufacturers.
"The project was born out of the needs of a group that wants to grow and is looking for partners capable of collaborating to increase competitiveness," emphasises Gian Piero Cutillo, Managing Director of Leonardo's Helicopters Division, which generates around 5 billion in revenues. "The prototype presented with Sabelt," he adds, "is concrete proof of Leonardo's ability to transfer technological excellence and vertical flight know-how to Italian companies ready to take up the challenge of innovation. In aerospace and defence, if you don't make a system, you cannot succeed. I am a fan of the technological autonomy that Italy must maintain.
Stressing the relevance of the operation for Piedmontese manufacturing is the councillor for Economic Development Andrea Tronzano: 'It will not be possible to replace automotive volumes with those of aerospace, but the employment impact of this sector is destined to grow. The president of Turin's industrialists, Marco Gay, speaks of industrial intelligence and of an ecosystem that must innovate and diversify. 'In the world of the industry of the future, from dual use to mobility, our companies will be able to make an important contribution,' he adds.
