Complete defence service

SIMMAD (Integrated Structure of Maintenance in Operational Condition of Aeronautical Materials of Defence) has just concluded a service contract with Air Liquide Adavanced Technologies of unprecedented scale. It is a three-year contract, with possibility of renewal, covering the maintenance of all equipment designed and manufactured by Air Liquide for the Ministry of Defense, in other words 50 mobile gaseous nitrogen generators, 5 OBOGS test rigs, 800 sets of underwater breathing apparatus, not to mention liquid oxygen tanks, drain rigs, pressure and vaporization units, etc.
“We have always taken care of maintenance for products delivered to the army”, stresses Jean-Yves Perrin, the project manager, “but we used to do it through specific contracts.” Now SIMMAD has decided to put all contracts signed with Air Liquide under one and the same agreement, for reasons of cost and efficiency. “We will be looking after not only our own equipment but also that supplied by the Cryogenic Materials Division and the Group’s Engineering Department.” The contract is unlikely to remain unique for long, since Dassault Aviation has already made provision for the same type of agreement to cover Air Liquide’s OBOGS fitted to the Rafale.