In just over 20 years, General Aerospace GmbH has developed into a globally sought-after supplier in its segment. "Erik van den Dolder and Samuele Piatti initially had the good idea to develop and manufacture motion control components for the aerospace industry," describes CEO Christian Mutter the beginnings of the successful company. It was founded in a garage in 2003 and moved to Business Park Breisgau two years later. "Since then, the product and customer portfolio has continuously expanded," emphasizes the CEO. "The two founders have found ways to place more and more applications, thus addressing a niche in a certain way."

Easily Movable

With General Aerospace's motion control elements, movable parts within aircraft can be safely and comfortably adjusted in position. Possible applications of these motion control components include luggage compartments, seats, and objects in washrooms as well as stairs or technical elements on engines or in the cockpit. "With our products, we control movements and support forces using gas pressure, springs, or electricity," explains Christian Mutter. "This could be, for example, a maintenance flap on an engine that weighs several hundred kilograms. With our solution, it can be opened or closed by just one person." Customers typically come to the motion control specialists with a technical challenge, who then develop the best possible solution.

Synergies with Parent Company

Both aircraft manufacturers and system suppliers – including those of aircraft cabins – as well as airlines are clients of this innovative company. "As a service provider, we take on development tasks and assist in the certification of new products for our customers," explains the managing director. "We are certified as a manufacturer and maintenance facility and, after certification, we also take on mass production," assures Christian Mutter. "As a supplier for the aviation industry, our EN 9100 certification is important, as well as EASA part 21G as a manufacturing facility and EASA part 145 as a maintenance facility."

In 2019, the Stabilus Group acquired General Aerospace GmbH. The parent company specializes in motion control components for industry and automotive. Together with the motion control know-how from General Aerospace, new synergistic effects have been possible since then. "Stabilus wanted to let us grow, and that is capital intensive," explains Christian Mutter. "This process could not be managed by the two founders alone."

Low Point Passed

With the entry of Stabilus, Samuele Piatti, one of the co-founders, has left, and Erik van den Dolder was still the managing director until March 2024. Since December 2023, Christian Mutter has been leading General Aerospace together with Stefan Bauerreis and Stefan Burg. Currently, the company employs 65 people and, after significant cutbacks during the Corona period, is back on a growth trajectory. Christian Mutter: "Corona was a severe blow to aviation. We naturally suffered from it too and thus had about four crisis-filled years behind us. But now we have passed the lowest point. As the aviation industry has significantly recovered, we too are experiencing strong growth again." A good indicator of this is also the rising revenue, which could be significantly increased from 2023 to 2024.

Increase Capacities

"Aviation is growing again and the industry is at the beginning of an upswing," the managing director is pleased to report. "We have new products and new customers. Old airplanes need to be retired and replaced with new ones that consume less fuel and emit less CO₂." Therefore, the technical solutions from General Aerospace, despite their complexity, need to be as lightweight as possible. In line with sustainability demands from clients, the company has fully integrated the ESG strategy of the parent corporation.

"In engineering, we are state-of-the-art and in production, due to the small series in aviation, we have more the character of a manufacture," says the managing director. "Our relatively low automation also makes our jobs very attractive." Fundamentally, satisfaction of the employees is very close to Christian Mutter's heart: "People need to feel comfortable and also dare to address problems. That's why we maintain an open corporate culture, characterized by trust and mutual respect." Last but not least, because of a new major client and the resulting series production that is starting, the managing director expects strong growth, which also has to be managed. Christian Mutter: "Our big goals for the coming period include improving processes, increasing production, and raising our capacities."