MRO 2008 Show News Briefing - April 7, 2008 - (Page 13)

CARGO & WIDEBODIES Lufthansa Technik Invests for Growth Exceeding that of Market Lufthansa Technik is undergoing the largest expansion in its history as it moves to capture an even greater share of the world’s booming market for airliner MRO. “We see 4.5 to 5% annual growth in MRO for the next five years” and Lufthansa Technik plans to grow faster than that by expanding capacity, adding capabilities and developing new products, says sales and marketing svp Walter Heerdt. “But it is a very careful expansion” designed to address capacity constraints, he added. The expansion includes: • opening of a two-bay A380 hangar at Frankfurt (it will later be doubled); • building a $75 million CFM56 engine shop in Hamburg; • a new widebody hangar in Malta; • a second widebody hangar at Lufthansa Technik Philippines; • opening of Ameco Beijing’s four-bay A380 hangar, the largest in Asia; • a new narrowbody hangar in the Bulgarian capital Sofia; • opening of the N3 Trent MRO joint venture with Rolls-Royce; • an MRO venture at Hyderabad, India; • addition of a second widebody VIP completion line in 2010; • A318 Elite completions at BizJet International in Tulsa, Oklahoma; • construction of a $15 million Cabin Innovation Center in Hamburg. • an $120 million investment in MRO for landing gears and airframe parts; • a quadrupling of working area at Airfoil Services j.v. with MTU in Kuala Lumpur that repairs aero engine blades. IAI Bedek Delivers 34th 767-200F Israel Aerospace Industries’ Bedek Aviation (Booth 721) has delivered its 34th Boeing 767-200 Bedek Special Freighter Configuration aircraft, the first of four on order by Florida’s Cargo Aircraft Management. Work took place at Bedek’s Ben Gurion Airport facility, where CAM’s second aircraft is in the final stage of its conversion. Bedek says it expects the 767 cargo fleet to expand as more 767-200s and 767-300s become available. Pemco to Offer 767 Cargo Conversions Pemco World Air Services will offer Boeing 767 passenger-to-freighter conversions and has acquired Wagner Aeronautical, a California-based conversion engineering firm, as part its strategy. Pemco expects formal program launch is later this spring. The Dothan, Ala.-based firm has recently concentrated on 737-300s and -400s. Booth 1415. Tough Stuff for Cargo Holds M.C. Gill (Booth 1311) has a cargo floor panel described as a third-generation bulk cargo compartment product (BCC-3) for the holds of Airbus passenger jets. Gillfab 4523 is made with unidirectional and woven glass fibers in phenolic over a Nomex honeycomb core, yielding a low-smoke sandwich with a 71% increase in impact strength over its predecessor. “Impact resistance far exceeds anything else on the market, making it the most durable product of its kind,” the manufacturer says, “meaning more flights between repairs.” Irv Freund is business development vp. Ameco Beijing Readies A380 Hangar Ameco Beijing (Booth 711), a joint venture between Air China and Lufthansa, is undergoing the biggest facilities expansion in its history. A new $97.5 million A380 hangar—the biggest maintenance hangar in Asia, capable of holding up to four A380s—will be ready for use before August’s Olympic Games. A second hangar that will house up to 747-sized aircraft for heavy maintenance, including painting, will be finished by the end of 2008. With the addition of these two new facilities, Ameco Beijing will simultaneously provide 15 widebody and 11 narrowbody bays. Lufthansa Technik Opens A380 Hangar Lufthansa Technik has finished the first phase of its A380 hangar in Frankfurt, a 25,000 sq m facility designed to accommodate two A380 aircraft or three Boeing 747s simultaneously. The hangar system comprises 72,000 sq m of apron, taxiways and parking. A second phase is planned for completion by 2015 and will allow for simultaneous work on four A380s. Lufthansa Technik says the hangar represents a 150 million euro capital expenditure, and will be the largest aircraft hangar in Europe. Booth 810. Goodrich for Airbus Structures Repair Airbus has appointed Goodrich’s Alabama Service Center as one of two repair stations for structural components in the Americas; in addition, it is now one of three repair stations in the Americas that Airbus has chosen to work on its proprietary parts. Services will cover flight control surfaces, pneumatic ducting and access doors, such as landing gear doors. Goodrich (Booth 415) and Airbus will jointly market these repair services, and airlines will have the option of routing damaged Airbus proprietary components, including those under new aircraft warranty, directly to the Goodrich facility. April 2008 13 Lufthansa Technik’s Hamburg A380 hangar. www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

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MRO 2008 Show News Briefing - April 7, 2008 Contents PBL and Partnerships Delta-Chromalloy PMA Reverse Engineering? Straighter, Rounder Regionals Buck the Trend Composites Loom Large Freighters and Cargo

MRO 2008 Show News Briefing - April 7, 2008

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