Samsung Aerospace


Samsung Aerospace was a South Korean aerospace manufacturer.

History

The company was originally established as Samsung Precision on 1 August 1977 with initial capital of ₩1 billion, and began constructing its first factory, a facility of, in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. In its early history the company manufactured a variety of products including cameras and lead frames, but its business came to focus increasingly on aerospace manufacturing, and so it changed its name to Samsung Aerospace Industries in February 1987. In 1996, SSA was considering to acquire Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, but the plan was scrapped because of the economic problems emerging in South Korea in the late 90s. The company was merged with Hyundai Space and Aircraft Company and the aerospace division of Daewoo Heavy Industries in 1999 to form Korea Aerospace Industries.

Business activity

Its business activity comprised the production and repair of jet engines, including assembly of the GE J85, CFM56, LM2500 and F404 engines as well as, in cooperation with Pratt & Whitney, the production of the PW 4000. SSA also sold turbine blades for the GE CF6-80C to General Electric, produced stringers for Boeing as well as other components such as wing ribs for various aircraft. They had a joint venture with Sermatech International for services related to the treatment of surfaces for turbine engine components. In 1996 SSA reached an agreement with Bell Helicopter to co-develop the Bell 427. They also cooperated with Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in the development of composite materials for aircraft. South Korea and the US jointly developed the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle via a joint venture between SSA and Lockheed Martin, originally conceived as the KTX-2.