Safran is investing €136 million in Malaysia to expand its carbon-brake manufacturing facility in Sendayan, Negeri Sembilan, and open a wheels-and-brakes maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre in nearby Nilai. The investment will support Airbus A320, A321 and A350, Boeing 737, 777 and 787, and ATR aircraft operated by about 100 airlines across the Asia-Pacific region, while doubling Sendayan’s carbon-brake disc production capacity by 2028.
The investment comprises €134 million for a 7,000-square-metre expansion at Sendayan and €2 million for the approximately 1,000-square-metre MRO centre in Nilai, near Kuala Lumpur International Airport and about 20km from the manufacturing site. The expansion includes a textile production line, carbonisation furnaces and advanced machining equipment.
Sendayan currently accounts for 27% of Safran’s global carbon-brake disc production. The Nilai facility will receive new and refurbished discs from the plant, bringing manufacturing and aftermarket services into the same regional network. Safran’s Malaysian workforce is expected to grow from about 160 employees to 220 by 2030.
The operation uses a circular manufacturing model that remanufactures used carbon discs into new brakes on a two-for-one basis. Material unsuitable for remanufacturing is recycled into tooling. The investment follows Safran’s expansion of a landing-gear MRO facility in Singapore in September and reflects the group’s focus on Asia-Pacific aviation growth.