Maintenance

EADS Sogerma has agreed to sell its landing-gear maintenance division EADS Revima to a holding company co-owned by two individuals, one of them the division's head.

Managing director Christian Grzanka and former Messier-Dowty and Aircelle chief Christian Knapp sealed the takeover on 28 October.

The company is being renamed Revima. It specialises in landing-gear maintenance for widebody Airbus and Boeing types as well as the Airbus A320 family.

Revima A320 landing-gear programme manager Antoine de Martin says the change follows a decision by EADS Sogerma to "disinvest from traditional maintenance activities" in order to concentrate on aerostructures and seat manufacture.

Knapp becomes president of the company while Grzanka will remain as managing director.

No financial terms have been disclosed. But de Martin says the company, which has a French plant at Caudebec-en-Caux, is putting in place a growth strategy to handle 500 landing-gear assemblies in 2010. Last year it handled 300.

It intends to achieve this with an $18 million industrial investment over a five-year period to eliminate production bottlenecks, and a $37 million investment in new assets.

"Combining a strong knowledge of the company with an industry-wide expertise and the commitment of the Revima personnel, the company will implement this great project contributing to the best quality of services airlines are entitled to expect," it states.

"This project shall bring Revima to the forefront of the landing-gear services sector."