VILNIUS—As part of its ongoing expansion strategy, FL Technics plans to open a new wheels and brakes repair shop in Italy next year. It is also considering expanding its engine business to other locations.
CEO Zilvinas Lapinskas told attendees of Aviation Week Network's MRO BEER Conference in Vilnius last week that the wheels and brakes facility will be located at Milan Bergamo Airport. Although FL Technics is not disclosing the launch customer for the shop, he expects the company to make an announcement in the third quarter of this year. The shop will undergo an audit in September before commencing operations.
FL Technics expanded into wheels and brakes repairs in 2022 and set up a dedicated facility for the services in Hanover, Germany in addition to shops in Vilnius and Budapest.
The company in 2019 established its FL Technics Engine Services unit in Kaunas, where it offers quick-turn services on CFM International CFM56 family engines, which include top case repairs and teardown services. Lapinskas says the company did more than 30 engine repair and teardown projects in the engine shop last year, and it is considering expanding the business, which he says will mean FL Technics “investing in other locations.”
Lapinskas says several other expansion capabilities are in the works across the company’s network of subsidiaries. These include new widebody base maintenance approvals through its Chevron Aircraft Maintenance subsidiary at Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Scotland, now operating as Storm Aviation. It recently added Airbus A330 base maintenance capabilities, expanding on existing repair functions for Boeing 787 aircraft.
The company has made several acquisitions over the past four years, including buying Canada-based Wright International in 2020 and its Storm Aviation subsidiary acquiring UK-based Chevon Technical Services in 2021.
Since 2019, Lapinskas says FL Technics has grown from four global hangars to six, expanded from 49 line stations to 70, and grown revenues from around €174 million ($186 million) to a projected €390 million (418 million).
FL Technics plans to add more base maintenance capacity in the coming years through the addition of two new hangars. First, it will open a 151,000 ft.2 facility in Bali which will operate six bays of maintenance for Airbus and Boeing narrowbody aircraft. The new facility will expand its current footprint in the country, which includes three bays of maintenance in Jakarta. Construction is expected to be completed by this month.
Second, in the Dominican Republic it will take a 215,000 ft.2 hangar in Punta Cana on a 15-year lease from the airport. “We will start with five maintenance bays and there is an opportunity to expand to 12 bays," says Lapinskas. "I believe, bearing in mind the location, we can do business with the U.S. carriers and of course cover Latin America."
A regional challenge pertaining to Eastern European base maintenance is the summer lull in work schedules, typically during June to September, while having fixed agreements in place for technical personnel. To rectify this, Lapinskas says FL Technics is trying to attract more customers from the Middle East and Africa regions, along with cargo operators and further business from leasing companies.
Over the next 2-3 years, Lapinskas also sees a more competitive environment in Eastern Europe’s line maintenance business, with older players being acquisition targets for private equity funds and companies from outside the region entering the market.
To address parts shortages, Lapinskas says FL Technics is also strategically targeting more aircraft and engine acquisitions for teardown opportunities. It then repairs the parts before selling them back into the market.
