Safran SA
A French aerospace and defense group that designs and builds aircraft engines, landing gear, and other flight equipment. Through its CFM International joint venture with GE, it makes the CFM56 and LEAP engines that power many of the world's single-aisle airliners, including Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families. The company was born in 2005 from the merger of engine maker Snecma and electronics firm Sagem, and its name comes from the French word for both a ship's rudder and the spice saffron—chosen to evoke direction and global reach. Its roots stretch back to 1905, when the Seguin brothers founded the Gnome engine company near Paris.