Flight International - August 18, 2015

WORKING WEEK

ightglobal.com 18-31 August 2015 | Flight International | 63

Tichané has always marvelled at the technical achievements of aviation

Developing new links in the chain

Benjamin Tichané has a lifelong interest in aircraft. He started his career in aerostructures as a production

manager of 787 doors, and now manages Gardner Aerospace’s business unit in Mazères, southwest France

WORK EXPERIENCE BENJAMIN TICHANÉ

Gardner Aerospace

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Have you always been
interested in aviation?
Growing up I wanted to be a
pilot, but I became more interest-
ed in the manufacturing side of
the aviation industry when I
started studying for my degree in
engineering. I was drawn by the
possibilities in the aerospace
sector and how quickly things
were moving forward – I just
wanted to be a part of it.
What was your experience
before the current job?
Before joining Gardner in 2014,
I worked for one of our current
customers, Latécoère, for nine
years, starting as a production
manager for Boeing 787 doors,
then a procurement manager and
finally a supply chain manager
for all aerostructures. Gardner
hired me as a supply chain direc-
tor for Gardner France, and six
months later I took the position
of core business unit director.
What does your job entail?
There are two business units in
the Gardner Mazères facility: one
for the Airbus A350 and
A330neo programmes, and one
for the core programmes. I am in
charge of this second business
unit, so my day-to-day duty is to
manage the operations across a
business unit of nearly 200 peo-
ple. Currently, we have core seri-
al programmes running for five
key customers, so most of my
day is spent co- ordinating these
across the different departments,
from the sheet metal shop floor
to the supply chain to quality
checks. I try to take myself away
from current projects for a few

hours a day, so I can focus on the

development of the site and

make time to speak to our current

customers and any potential new

customers.

What are the most challenging

aspects of your job?

The most challenging aspect of

serial production is hitting your

production targets month after

month, when faced with situa-

tions that slow down or some-

times halt production. It can be

quite stressful trying to find a

solution quickly, but being able

to adapt in this fast-moving sec-

tor is essential for business sur-

vival so I like to think we take

these challenges in our stride

and tackle them as a team. The

silver lining is that these chal-

lenges definitely add variety

to my job.

What do you enjoy most?

My job represents a lifelong in-

terest in aircraft, so there is very

little I don’t enjoy about it. It is

great to work in an industry I am

so passionate about and that is

the main economic driver for my

hometown, Toulouse. I enjoy

working with my brilliant team

every day, building the parts for

a beautiful and technical product

• a product that I have marvelled
  at from a very young age.
  You operate in a competitive
  marketplace. How does Gardner
  stay ahead of the game?
  I believe Gardner stays ahead of
  competitors by listening to cus-
  tomers and reinvesting income
  across the group to improve facil-
  ities and service. When Gardner
  recognised that customers want
  fewer but stronger and more

global suppliers, we set about

consolidating the fragmented

detailed parts industry by ex-

panding our offering and enter-

ing new locations. This expan-

sion in low-cost locations meant

lower overhead and production

costs. Now we are competitively

priced, while still offering group-

wide consistency in quality and

service. Also, each of our sites is

an excellence centre for one or

more technologies needed for

aerostructures.

What’s next for the company?

We have been building our

relationship with Airbus for

years, so the future as a first-

class supplier looks promising.

However, we cannot be too

reliant on a single source of

opportunities so we are also

focusing on new business over

the next five years. Following

a successful expansion

programme abroad in India

and Poland, we are also focusing

on developing our operations

in the UK.

What’s next for you?

As I have only been at Gardner

for 18 months I aim to keep

hitting my targets, attracting new

business and developing the

Mazères site. ■

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