Dubai Aerospace Enterprise's maintenance subsidiary StandardAero insists that the financial crisis encountered by the Gulf city-state late last year has "not affected us at all", adding that since October $1 million has been invested in upgrading facilities for business aviation customers.
"We've had nothing but support" from DAE, says Scott Taylor, StandardAero's senior vice-president of business aviation. He cites last year's $20 million investment in the company's CFM International CFM56 capability as "probably the best example of their continued support". There has also been an investment in an extension of StandardAero's General Electric CF34 engine maintenance line in Winnipeg, Canada, which involved a "major expansion" of its facility there, he adds.
Taylor says 2009 was "from a financial standpoint, an outstanding year" for StandardAero. The company's annual revenues total $1.4 billion. However, there remain obstacles to be overcome. "Probably the one thing we work on every single day is brand recognition," he admits.
StandardAero's business aviation unit employs 249 factory-trained technicians. Around half of these once worked for Garrett Aviation, which StandardAero took over through its acquisition of Landmark Aviation.
Source: Flight Daily News