An SIAEC facility hosts a Scoot 787.
SINGAPORE—Singapore Airlines Engineering Co. (SIAEC) is banking on its so-called "Lean" principles to maintain competitiveness as the MRO industry faces spare parts shortages, a workforce crunch and inflation. This is as the company reported revenue growth of 37.5% year on year (YOY) and continues to look for expansion.
“Lean” is part of SIAEC's continuous improvement program. Through this effort, it is adopting new digitalization processes such as the Electronic Line Maintenance Integrated Technology Ecosystem (eLITE) and Enterprise Operation System (EOS). These processes aim to optimize SIAEC's workflow and reduce wasted time and resources.
The EOS allows SIAEC to standardize key processes across business units and improve production efficiency, which will support its expansion as it opens a new facility in Subang, Malaysia.
The Subang facility will be SIAEC’s third maintenance hub and is scheduled to be ready by 2025. The site will include two hangars giving it a combined capacity of six aircraft. Beyond Malaysia, SIAEC is focusing on India and China.
In May, SIAEC also secured a strategic partnership with flag-carrier Air India to develop its base maintenance facilities in Bengaluru, India. The partnership is expected to pave the way for further collaboration in the country and with Air India, in which Singapore Airlines holds a 25.1% stake.
Entry into the Chinese market is on a smaller scale. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Xiamen Iport Group—the owner and operator of airports in Xiamen, Fuzhou, Longyan and Wuyishan—to tap possible MRO opportunities in the southeastern Fujian province.
SIAEC reported double-digit growth, which correlated with strong rebound of traffic at Changi Airport in Singapore. Line maintenance volume grew 39.1% YOY, while base maintenance grew at 30%.
The company posted a net profit of S$97.1 million ($72 million), up 46.2% YOY.
