The new CEO of GE Aviation’s commercial equipment and services business has highlighted technology’s role in boosting production of new engines and the company’s aftermarket capacity.

“We are embracing the power of lean and innovative technologies to drive operational performance and manage our new engine production and aftermarket ramp-ups,” said Russell Stokes, who rejoined GE Aviation in 2020 following executive leadership roles across multiple GE divisions.

He now leads the largest business segment within GE Aviation, which reported aviation services revenue of $3.9 billion in the first quarter of 2022. This was 26% higher year on year, which more than compensated for a drop in equipment revenue of 10% to $1.7 billion.

“We've got a lot of momentum right now in services ... It's not simply a function of shop visits,” said GE CEO Larry Culp on a first-quarter earnings call. Culp has since become CEO of GE Aviation, taking over from John Slattery.

Culp also noted that GE was feeding “elements of the service mix” to third parties in a bid to keep pace with resurgent demand.

GE Aviation’s partner in the best-selling CFM56 program, Safran Aircraft Engines, is doing the same.

In June, it signed a multi-year deal with ST Engineering to ensure it can keep up with CFM56 maintenance demand as narrowbody operations return to full strength in some parts of the world.

Under the deal, ST Engineering’s facilities in Singapore and Xiamen, China, will provide shop visit offload for CFM56-5B and -7B engines, which power current-generation Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s.

The two facilities can turn around 450 engines per year, while the Singapore facility this year added quick turn services for the CFM LEAP-1B, which powers the 737 MAX.