Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd expands its maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities by opening a new hangar and groundbreaking another at Seletar Aerospace Park.
|
| |
Originally a maintenance facility for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) some three decades ago, Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd (ST Aerospace) has grown into the world's largest third-party maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider. The company has achieved relentless growth over the years, and shows no signs of slowing down.
With a global network of facilities in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas, ST Aerospace operates from Paya Lebar, Changi and Seletar airports, where it has added new hangars every year over the last three years.
In April this year, it saw further local expansion through the opening of a new S$10 million (US$6.5 million) single-bay hangar, Hanger 600, and groundbreaking Hangar 700 at the Seletar Aerospace Park. The two hangars will be operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary, ST Aerospace Engineering. ST Aerospace is in turn the aerospace arm of Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering).
Hangar 600, constructed and fully operational in just eight months, is equipped to perform heavy maintenance and modification for a range of aircraft types including general aviation, helicopters and commercial narrow-body aircraft such as a Boeing 757.
Meanwhile, the double-bay Hangar 700, will be built at a cost of about S$17.3 million (US$11.3 million), and is expected to be operational in 2008. It will have the capacity to simultaneously accommodate up to two narrow-body aircraft.
BUILDING ON SUCCESS
ST Aerospace is also the largest airframe MRO provider in the world, with comprehensive service offerings for a customer base that includes many of the world's leading airlines, airfreight operators and military operators. The company employs a global staff of more than 6,000 engineers and technical specialists.
Hangars 600 and 700 represent growth potential, and reinforce ST Aerospace's strong position in the aerospace industry. Last year, the local aerospace industry had 17,600 employees and posted a growth of 19.7 per cent to reach a record S$6.3 billion (US$4.1 billion) output. It is one of the fastest growing industries in Singapore, forecasted to expand even more as growth in Asia is expected to be higher than in other parts of the world.
"The consistent growth of ST Aerospace's operations is a clear testament of Singapore being an ideal location for businesses and investment. The opening of Hangar 600 and the groundbreaking of Hangar 700 underscores the company's commitment to Singapore as Asia's leading aviation hub," says Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade & Industry, who officiated at the twin ceremonies.
Lim adds that ST Aerospace's commitment to impeccable quality standards and competitive turnaround time has further established its position as a sought-after provider, to the extent that many of its customers include major client companies that choose to fly their planes into Singapore for the sole purpose of maintenance.
|
Hangar expansion is just one of many initiatives to strengthen Seletar Aerospace Park's infrastructure for further development and ultimately, global growth.
|
| |
GROWING FURTHER
Hangar expansion is just one of many initiatives to strengthen Seletar Aerospace Park's infrastructure for further development and ultimately, global growth. It is expected that by 2018, Seletar's contribution to the industry and Singapore's economy will be about S$3.3 billion (US$2.2 billion) a year in direct and indirect value-add, and it will create some 10,000 knowledge-intensive jobs.
The new hangars will contribute towards four significant growth areas already identified for Seletar - the design and manufacturing of aircraft systems and components for aerospace companies; the creation of a regional training campus to cater to growing manpower needs; the establishment of Singapore as a business aviation hub in the region; and the hosting of MRO activities for smaller aircraft such as helicopters and narrow-body jets.
It is hoped that these initiatives will attract more business, address the growing global shortage of aerospace manpower, increase business aviation traffic in Singapore through tourism developments such as the integrated resorts and extend the existing strengths in MRO for larger commercial aircrafts respectively.
Investments will continue to be made in new capabilities and capacities to increase the volume of business ST Aerospace brings to the Singapore aviation industry, as the government and other industry players work closely together to support growth in the years to come.
|
|
|
