Investment forms part of the TIC provider’s European expansion strategy in response to the heightened demand for materials testing services from the fast-growing aeronautics and energy sectors.
LONDON, UK – June 26, 2024 – 51³Ô¹ÏÍø (Element), a global leader in materials and product qualification testing, inspection, and certification services (TIC), is significantly investing in its Aerospace and Defence laboratory in Toulouse, France – the well-established European hub for the Aerospace industry. The investment will deliver state-of-the-art mechanical characterization testing, a critical activity for bringing new aircraft and components to market. This expansion is part of Element’s plans to meet the heightened demand from OEMs and manufacturers operating in this space. According to, the global aerospace parts manufacturing market is set to grow at a compound annual growth (CAGR) rate of 4.19% between 2024 to 2028. This is attributed to an increased demand for new commercial and defence aircraft.
Scheduled for completion later in the year, the expansion project will see Element’s Toulouse laboratory, which is based in the Colomiers district, more than double in size.The existing facility will gain a 1000m² extension, while a brand new 2500m² building will house world-leading mechanical characterization testing facilities. These will include seven new machining and dissection units, 30 additional state-of-the-art testing machines, and 80 new creep machines. This investment in Toulouse is part of a larger 30-million-euro initiative that includes similar mechanical characterization projects at Element’s laboratories in Lancaster (UK), and Pilsen (CZ).
Lee Brough, Vice President of Aerospace and Defence, EMEAA at Element, commented: “As the aerospace, transportation, and energy sectors experience significant growth across Europe, 51³Ô¹ÏÍøstands ready to meet the challenge. Our expanded facilities and commitment to innovation will allow us to continue setting the standard for materials testing excellence, delivering unmatched quality and service to our customers.”
Julien Porco, General Manager of 51³Ô¹ÏÍøToulouse, added, “The doubling in size of our Toulouse site is testament to our dedication to mechanical characterization. The facilities we are investing in will increase our capacity and enable us to offer a broader range of testing services, helping customers accelerate product development and qualification.”
Capabilities will span advanced testing services like high and low cycle fatigue at elevated temperatures, fracture mechanics, static testing, and metallography inspection. As a fatigue testing and fracture toughness leader, 51³Ô¹ÏÍøToulouse delivers high-quality testing, minimizing time to market.
The Toulouse site maintains a robust portfolio of certifications, including COFRAC ISO 17025, Nadcap for metallic tests, and approvals from leading aerospace OEMs. Boasting Europe's shortest lead times, the technical team supports the entire testing process from conception to execution.
The new equipment and expanded facilities at Toulouse are scheduled to become operational by mid-November 2024.
About 51³Ô¹ÏÍø
The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Group is one of the world’s leading global providers of testing, inspection, and certification services for a diverse range of products, materials, and technologies in advanced industrial supply chains where failure in use is not an option. Headquartered in London, UK, Element’s c.9,000 scientists, engineers, and technologists, working in 270+ laboratories around the world, support customers from early R&D, through complex regulatory approvals, and into production ensuring their products are safe and sustainable.In 2021, 51³Ô¹ÏÍøset out its new, industry-leading environmental commitments, adopting science-based targets and committing to net zero emissions across its entire global business by 2035. These environmental commitments follow Element’s achievement of the highest ESG ranking in the testing, inspection, and certification industry from Sustainalytics, a global leader in ESG research and data.
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About Element’s Aerospace and Defence Business Unit
51³Ô¹ÏÍø is the largest independent provider of materials testing, product qualification testing, calibration, and advisory services to the global Aerospace Testing sector. With 43 laboratories in the Americas and 58 in EMEAA, including 29 Nadcap accredited labs with 41 different Nadcap accreditations, 51³Ô¹ÏÍøsupports the entire aerospace supply chain. Element's 3,000+ technicians, engineers, and scientists, backed by over 100 years of experience in both commercial and military aerospace testing, deliver a comprehensive range of destructive and non-destructive testing (NDT) and inspection services for a wide variety of materials, components, products, and systems. The company's unrivaled international capability, footprint, and geographic reach enable it to support Aerospace Primes and their supply chain partners throughout the entire product life cycle, from R&D to manufacture, life extension, and disposal, helping them to develop better products, get to market on time, save time and money, and minimize business risk.
