SELEX: World Class Solutions, World Class Quality

SELEX Komunikasyon A.S. (SelKom) of Turkey, one of the operational and manufacturing sites of the SELEX Communications S.p.A., a Finmeccanica Company, achieved a major milestone at its A400M Lighting System Program by getting the EASA Part 21 Subpart G Production Organization Approval (POA) from EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency).

EASA is the centerpiece of the European Union’s strategy for aviation safety; mission is to promote the highest common standards of safety and environmental protection in civil aviation.

The main tasks of the EASA currently include:

• Rulemaking: drafting safety legislation and providing technical advice to the European Commission and to the Member States;

• Inspections, training and standardization programs to ensure uniform implementation of European aviation safety legislation in all Member States;

• Safety and environmental type-certification of aircraft, engines and parts;

• Approval and oversight of aircraft design organizations world-wide as and of production and maintenance organizations outside the EU;

• Data collection, analysis and research to improve aviation safety.

POA certificate is issued by EASA for the organizations who manufacture civil aircraft under the responsibility of any European Union Member States and also for the products, parts and/or appliances to be installed to these civil aircrafts. For any product, part and/or appliance to be installed during the production of civil aircraft, it shall have a Certificate of Conformity (EASA Form-1) issued only by an organization owning a POA. Apart from the organizations resident in the European Union Member States, SelKom became the 2nd company in Turkey and 7th company in the world to receive this certificate.

In 2005, SelKom management decided to get into aviation business to compliment the company`s land, navy and civil communication business. After this decision, SelKom has received a contract from TAI, Tusaº Aerospace Industries Inc., to design, develop and manufacture internal, external, emergency and cargo lighting system equipment of the European`s Cargo Aircraft Program, A400M, lead by Airbus Military.

In less than two years, SelKom successfully completed technology transfer from the group company Sirio Panel S.p.A. and co-design, development and manufacturing of LED (Light Emitting Diod) Lighting Systems and received the EASA Part 21, Subpart G, Production Organization Approval (POA) certification to deliver the lighting system of the A400M aircraft with EASA Form-1. The POA Certification will open a new era in the company’s future to capture business from the commercial aviation programs. POA certificate is issued after checking the quality system is compliant to the current regulations and after verifying on a current program that ensure that manufacturing system is compliant to the civil aviation and aerospace stringent quality system requirements. Although the POA certificate is issued with a scope of work which is specifically defining the parts that could be manufactured by using the privileges of POA, it can easily be extended to include new programs and parts.