SABCA

TLDR

SABCA is a Brussels-headquartered aerospace manufacturer founded in 1920 that designs and builds aircraft structures, space launcher components, and avionics upgrades, now part of the Belgian Orizio group alongside Sabena Aerospace.

Overview

Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques was founded in 1920 to build aircraft for the early Belgian aviation industry, with its original plant at Haren airport near Brussels. After producing several of its own designs before World War II, the company became a major industrial partner on Belgian military aircraft programs including the F-84, F-104G, Mirage 5, F-16, and Agusta A109 helicopter. A second plant opened at Charleroi airport in 1955.

From the 1970s onward SABCA diversified into space, designing and manufacturing structural elements and thrust vector actuators for the European Spacelab, Ariane, and Vega launchers. The company today operates across three divisions covering aerostructures, space, and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for civil and military aircraft.

In 2020 Dassault Belgique Aviation sold its 96.85% stake in SABCA to a Belgian consortium combining Sabena Aerospace and the federal holding company SFPI-FPIM. The shares were placed in a holding called Blueberry, later renamed Orizio, which positions SABCA inside a broader Belgian aerospace group with more than 1,200 employees across Belgium and abroad.

Key People

• Thibauld Jongen, CEO of SABCA Group

Funding History

• 2020: Acquisition of 96.85% of SABCA by Sabena Aerospace and SFPI-FPIM from Dassault Belgique Aviation for approximately EUR 74.6M

Sources

• https://www.sabca.be/about
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SABCA
• https://www.aviation24.be/oem/sabca/dassault-sells-its-96-85-shareholding-in-sabca-to-sabena-aerospace-and-sfpi-fpim/
• https://www.agoria.be/en/positioning/flanders/blueberry-new-belgian-industrial-group-in-aerospace-industry