Contributor - Middle East

Peter Shaw-Smith

A leading Mubadala Aerospace MRO network member, <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/dubai-air-show/2013-11-13/sr-technics-redelivers-100th-aircraft-malta-facility">SR Technics’ drive to expand out into the world is bearing fruit</a>. Now able to claim 40 customers, among them operators as prominent as Singapore Airlines, EasyJet, Qatar Airways and South African Airways, the company is set on bringing its integrated MRO business to all points of the compass.


Fully owned by Mubadala Development Co., Abu Dhabi’s diversification vehicle, SR Technics also has Etihad Airways and its affiliate Airberlin on its roster. Mubadala also counts Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies, an engine maintenance provider, in its network.


SR Technics (Booth D11) operates three main facilities–in Zurich, Malta and Abu Dhabi–and a fourth is due to open in Malaysia. It earned revenues of $1.23 billion in 2012, when it had 3,100 employees, 2,300 of them based at its main facility in Zurich. It also works hand-in-hand with Sanad Aero Solutions Gmbh, its Abu Dhabi-based spare parts supplier stablemate.


“SR Technics has experience of over 7,000 light, base and heavy maintenance checks with relevant Airbus and Boeing fleets,” André Wall, president of SR Technics, said in an investor presentation in December. “[It] has over 945 aircraft from over 40 customers under an integrated component services [ICS] agreement.”


The company saw its first Boeing 787 ICS contract with AeroMexico last year, and announced a new joint venture in France with Aigle Azur for line maintenance. Expanded OEM partnerships saw SR Technics reach new agreements with Moog and Rockwell Collins, while it also signed a 10-year ICS agreement with Etihad to expand cooperation.


“Overall, we have had a stable 2013, and we look toward the year-end results [due in late February] with confidence,” Wall told AIN. “Throughout the year, we [made] significant progress in all business areas to implement our strategy for global growth, and we are driving the expansion of SR Technics’ global footprint and entering new markets.


“In Asia, the ramp-up of the Malaysian facility is ongoing, with a planned start of operations in January 2014,” he said in December. We have 120 employees in place in Kuala Lumpur, with the first wave of technical training completed in Zurich,” said Wall. “The new setup in Kuala Lumpur is part of SR Technics’ overall strategy to develop a comprehensive global operational footprint, designed to place the company close to its customers. Asia Pacific is the region with the greatest ICS customer demand increase,” Wall said.


“Also, the extended collaboration with Garuda maintenance facility Aero Asia [in Indonesia] as our regional support workshop for components is important for strengthening our presence and customer proximity in Southeast Asia.”


Completions Business


While the main focus for global expansion is still on growth in the Asia Pacific region and the Americas, Russia also shows significant market potential. Last February, Aeroflot selected local state corporation Rostec and SR Technics to carry out aircraft and component MRO in two joint ventures and, in September, it awarded a cabin-modification contract to the Zurich-based company.


VIP completions are a growing business segment. SR Technics claims to be one of only a handful of companies able to combine MRO activities with VIP completion services. To date the company has completed two widebody Airbus cabin refurbishment projects. “We delivered both aircraft on time and to the exacting quality standards expected in this sector, which is an impressive achievement,” Wall said.


In 2013, SR Technics redelivered multiple Airbus and Boeing aircraft maintenance and refurbishment projects, and is also in discussion with another Middle East customer. “In parallel, we are investing a lot of time and effort into redefining the art of travel, creating a new cabin design concept that considers quality of life, engineering solutions and high-end production methods,” said Wall.


“This extensive project incorporates not just interior design, but also extensive engineering and production research. We are drawing on our 80-plus years’ experience in the MRO world to ensure that VIP interiors are engineered and designed to enable easy access to repair and control, reducing aircraft downtime for necessary maintenance activities. In the end we will have a multi-layered concept, which we plan to unveil in 2014 during EBACE in Geneva.”

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