From the 1880s, the company specializes in the transportation of heavy goods, and ships a major consignment of rails on the clipper named “Herald of Morning”. The Marseille – San Francisco crossing via Cape Horn is completed in 100 days, beating the speed record of the time.

DAHER provides support for major exporting industries, and in the 1930s becomes a specialist in the transportation of rail locomotives, wagons and carriage by sea.

Already a partner to Airbus for the transportation of aircraft sections, DAHER is chosen in 1989 to transport the Beluga’s forward door and associated frame from England to Toulouse.
Leaving by ship from Southampton in England, the convoy’s destination is Toulouse, and for this trip DAHER devises a route which is still used by the A380 convoys today.

The fall of the Berlin wall leads to an opening up of relations with Eastern European countries. In 1994, Daher wins the Technip contract for the Omsk refinery in Siberia. Routing shipments via the Arctic seas and the Ob River, which remain ice-bound for 10 months of the year, DAHER transports 11,000 m3 of industrial equipment to the construction site.

DAHER already held a strong position on the composite piping air distribution market. To be able to take its place as European leader in Fluid Distribution Systems, DAHER had to include metal ducting in its package as this is essential for high-pressure and high-temperature circuits. In February 2001, LACROIX LUCAERO joined the Group, bringing with it its metal ducting technology.

In England, Rolls-Royce Aerospace was looking to sell its packaging division “Sawley Packaging” Company. Despite strong international competition, DAHER was chosen thanks to an innovative package and wide-ranging experience in the aerospace sector. The new Group’s subsidiary implemented a new aero engine assembly line support system with Kit Boxes monitored by “RFID”, which enabled Rolls Royce to announce a 30% saving on its logistics costs!

Socata, the descendant of famous aircraft manufacturer Morane Saulnier, joins the Group in 2009, consolidating its position as an equipment and services supplier to the Aerospace industry.

Engineer Raymond Saulnier and pilot Léon
Morane create one of the first aircraft manufacturing companies in the world: Morane Saulnier.

Roland Garros successfully completes the first crossing of the Mediterranean by air in a type H MS. He crosses the 800 km separating Fréjus from Bizerte in 7 hours 53 minutes thanks to the light-weight wood and fabric structure of his plane.

Aerobatics highlight the qualities of Morane-Saulnier aircraft. The head pilot, Alfred Fronval, pulls off 1,111 loop-the-loops in a row in 4 hours 56 minutes in his MS AI. This performance helps the aircraft manufacturer to win over markets worldwide and develop new aircraft.

To promote the MS 225, the first French fighter to exceed 300 kph, Robert Morane calls on Maryse Hilsz. During the 30s, the famous aviatrix would go on to break speed, climb and height records aboard the company’s aircraft, ascending to 11,800 m in an MS 275 at Villacoublay on June 11 1935.

Fouga’s flagship aircraft, the Fouga Magister is chosen by the French army, but the manufacturer doesn’t have the structure in place for mass production. So Morane Saulnier is called on to build the first 100 airframes and all the wings for this legendary aircraft. This marks the start of the aerostructure manufacturing business.

Morane Saulnier designs and builds the MS 760 Paris, the first business aircraft in the world. The jet is popular with prestigious customers including the likes of Frank Sinatra and the Shah of Iran. Later, the Paris 3 is designed for the burgeoning business clientele.

Robert Morane and Raymond Saulnier launch an all-metal, lightweight, modern aircraft: the MS 880 Rallye. It meets with growing success and is used in a variety of settings. 3,300 Rallye aircraft in 34 different models came out of the Tarbes plant to be exported to around 65 countries.

SOCATA, the descendant of Morane-Saulnier, works to create a successor to the Rallye, and launches the TB. Its success enables SOCATA to sustainably break into the American market. More TB models follow and win over private customers and pilot schools around the world, thanks to their flying qualities and performance.

The descendant of the TBM 700, the TBM 850 combines the speed of a business aircraft with the technology of a single-engine turboprop aircraft. An uncontested commercial success both in Europe and the USA, the TBM 850 combines the flexibility and low running costs of turboprop aircraft while providing performance matching that of light jets.

Vanatome and Verdelet, peerless specialists in key equipment and valves for the Nuclear and Energy sectors, join DAHER in 2011.

EDF calls on Verdelet to produce three 210 cm dia. Aluminium-Bronze valves to isolate condensers. This first contract with EDF marks a turning point for Verdelet, which turns towards industrial processes, in particular thermal and nuclear power generation.

VANATOME, associated with the main French Naval Programmes, develops a Steam Isolation Valve for the steam generators of submarines and aircraft carriers.

VANATOME develops the main steam shut-off valve equipping new-generation nuclear-powered attack submarines and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for TECNICATOME, a subsidiary of the AREVA Group, specialized in on-board NSSS (nuclear steam supply systems).