ATR Strives To Improve Parts Reuse Amid Global Shortage

LYON—Confronted with severe supply chain problems, regional aircraft manufacturer ATR is increasingly seeing decommissioned ATR 72s and ATR 42s as a source of spare parts.

The manufacturer is therefore strengthening ties with dismantling and recycling specialist Tarmac Aerosave to increase the number of aircraft going through that process every year and improve the rate of recycled parts and materials. The move will not solve ATR’s assembly line problems, but it may soften demand for new components.

Under a reinforced agreement, the two companies—both based in southwest France—are planning on the recycling of 12 ATRs in the coming years. Three aircraft were recycled in 2023 and four will be dismantled in 2024.

The percentage of reused or recycled parts and materials increased to 85.5% of the aircraft’s weight in 2023 from 85% previously, ATR says. While small, the improvement—a few dozen kilograms—shows the importance for ATR of recovering as many parts as possible. The last percentage points are the most difficult to obtain, due to the extra time and energy spent extracting and sorting smaller, less valuable parts and materials. On some dismantled Airbus aircraft, Tarmac has managed to reach 92%.

ATR and Tarmac are jointly working to identify new recycling processes and increase the number of recyclable parts in the future. “In the context of a global parts shortage, our collaboration with Tarmac Aerosave allows us to tackle two great challenges at once,” says Stefano Marazzini, ATR’s senior vice president, customer support and services. “We further reduce our environmental footprint whilst offering our customers a ready supply of cost-effective and high-quality spare parts.”

Thanks to a project launched in 2017, ATR created its own store for recertified spare parts sourced from aircraft dismantling. Every usable airframe and OEM part is inspected, repaired and certified to EASA Form 1 airworthiness standards before entering ATR’s spares warehouses. Unusable parts are dismantled for the recycling of their raw materials.