“The people at Factem came by last week to ensure that the production line was in place and ready for production,” says Alain Dulac, Director of Factem. “ They were pleasantly surprised by our set up and the organistion in place.” In March 2018, the Bayeux SME of roughly 60 employees signed a contract with the aviation giant for the supply of headsets designed for flight personnel.

“By creating this new production line, capable of manufacturing 250 units per week with only six people, we have taken the opportunity to review our methods,” says factory manager Philippe Chanteau. “For example, paper plans have been replaced by touch screens that show the assembly process, step by step.”

“Calling at the door of Boeing”

Though the contract doesn’t have any concrete numbers nor an end date, the company is counting on the production of 800 planes per year, with three headsets onboard,“ and the replacement of existing equipment from airlines”.

Before the aviation-focused Paris Airshow, which opens Monday 17 June 2019, Factem hopes to pick up the certification that will allow it to repair aviation equipment. “With this we will be able to work on the products of our competitors,” says Mr. Dulac.

Emboldened by this new market, the small business is counting on following up with other big players, “by calling at the door of Boeing” and continuing to develop other products for Airbus.“Notably a microphone designed for calling in the cockpit, a high-end headset and another with wireless technology, using not Wi-Fi but light.”