Laupheim Plant Becomes Diehl Aircabin GmbH Following Acquisition by Thales and Diehl

LAUPHEIM, Germany --- Following the successful negotiations and sales agreement between EADS/Airbus and Diehl/Thales, ownership of the Airbus plant in Laupheim, Germany, has now been transferred to Diehl and Thales. The transfer was effective as of October 1, 2008 and the plant now operates under the name of "Diehl Aircabin GmbH", in which Diehl holds a 51% interest and Thales 49%.>> With the successful completion of this acquisition, Diehl and Thales are paving the way to becoming a Tier 1 partner to major aircraft manufacturers in the field of air cabin integration. This field is complementary to the other aviation activities of Diehl and Thales. Diehl and Thales have already cooperated successfully in the aviation sector for more than 25 years.>> By combining existing electronics capabilities with this newly-acquired expertise in cabin equipment, Diehl and Thales will now be able to offer pre-wired cabin modules that come fully equipped with electronics. The optimized, integrated solutions provided to airframers by Diehl and Thales will form a simplified approach that does not currently exist on the market.>> As an air cabin centre of excellence, the Laupheim site will benefit considerably from the newly created association with the affiliated company Diehl Aerospace, a company leader in avionic solutions and cabin lighting systems, jointly owned by Diehl (51%) and Thales (49%).>> The Diehl Group regards the resulting consolidation of its Aerosystems Corporate Division - through expansion of its cabin equipment segment - as part of a growth strategy with specific focal points for growth also present across other Corporate Divisions (Metall, Controls, Defence and Metering).