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TEWKESBURY—Aircraft parts and services specialist Ontic expects to complete the consolidation of its three UK MRO sites into one facility near Tewkesbury in late 2026 or early 2027, aligning with the company’s broader strategy to scale and separate its aftermarket business.
The U.S.-headquartered company is investing approximately $11 million to refurbish the Tewskesbury site, which will house MRO activities currently performed at its nearby operations in Staverton and Bishop’s Cleeve in southwest England. Overall, the consolidation project for the three sites will amount to nearly $17.7 million.
Operating across 64,000 ft.2, the Tewkesbury facility will house pneumatic and hydraulic components repair shops, an avionics workshop with a clean room, non-destructive testing, a machine shop, and a dark room.
The transition to the new facility began earlier this year and is expected to continue through late 2026 and potentially into early 2027. Moving the operation to one site will involve transferring approximately 700-part numbers and approximately 160 employees, including more than 100 technicians, in a phased approach throughout the year.
Company executives emphasize that, once complete, this consolidation will strengthen Ontic’s UK MRO capacity. Dave Mayne, Ontic’s MRO Director for Europe, told Aviation Week that the move marks a shift in the company’s approach, giving MRO operations their own focus and dedicated resources rather than treating them as a secondary part of OEM activities. “We’re now at a scale where it makes sense to separate that out and give MRO its own focus, sales channels, and support functions,” he said.
Each transfer wave will include technicians, associated test equipment, and supporting functions such as procurement, quality, and materials management. The company acknowledged the complexity of running parallel operations during the transition but expects a tipping point when activities fully shift to the new site.
Since 2025, Ontic has operated at the Tewkesbury facility—a former secure document processing center that the company repurposed to meet its MRO requirements. The company has occupied the building for several months while construction and upgrades are ongoing.
Relocating MRO operations to Tewkesbury will free up about 32,000 ft.2 across two existing sites, creating capacity for additional OEM licensing and product opportunities. “Those sites are full today. This gives us the space to take on new product licenses, which is how Ontic continues to grow,” Mayne said.
Ontic views improving turnaround times (TAT) as a key goal of the consolidation. Like many MRO providers, the business faces industrywide issues with material availability and part repair cycle times. “TAT performance isn’t where we want it to be today, but by focusing operationally and investing in inventory, we may significantly improve that,” Mayne said.
He added that Ontic plans to allocate additional capital to expand its inventory holdings in the UK, which it sees as critical to reducing repair TATs and supporting aircraft-on-ground (AOG) requirements.
Over the past 12 months, the company said it has invested more than $2.7 million in exchange holdings.
For AOG services, AOG plans to invest further in capabilities as part of the MRO transformation. To do this, the company has established a centralized 24/7 AOG team, providing a single point of contact for customers. This team is supported by exchange distribution hubs at London Heathrow Airport in the UK, Singapore, and Miami in the U.S., as well as partnerships with logistics providers. In addition, Ontic has also invested in a dedicated AOG support team.
The company is pursuing teardown opportunities to increase material availability, following recent work on Boeing 747-400 components as part of a partnership with an unnamed specialist to facilitate widebody aircraft teardown. “We’re looking at how we source material differently—through teardowns, partnerships, and global inventory visibility. Material availability remains the industry’s biggest challenge,” said Aaron Smith, director of AOG and exchange at Ontic.
Consolidating its UK operations mirrors a similar initiative at its U.S. facilities. The company consolidated its MRO product lines in Creedmor, North Carolina, and Chatsworth, California, into a single 60,000 ft.2 site in Miramar, Florida, which opened at the beginning of 2025. Overall, aftermarket revenue accounts for around 25–30% of Ontic’s business.
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