CARTAGENA, Colombia--MRO Holdings submitted a proposal to acquire Mexicana MRO for an undisclosed sum. Greg Colgan, MRO Holdings’ CEO, would not disclose the terms but said the proposal addresses the challenges and opportunities of Mexican MRO. “This is not just a marketing play…we did our homework,” he says.
Airframe MRO capacity is tight in Latin America, and MRO Holdings—which operates Aeroman in San Salvador; FlightStar in Jacksonville, Florida; TechOps Mx in Queretaro, Mexico; and North State Aviation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina—still has demand that it can’t fill.
“We believe the operating model we’ve built and rolled out across our other facilities positions us well to work together and fold in the teams at Mexicana MRO in an efficient manner,” says Colgan.
MRO Holdings tends to look for companies that have strong cultures and workforces, such as North Star, which it acquired in 2019. Mexicana MRO seems to fit this model.
Before its bankruptcy in 2010, Mexicana Airlines’ maintenance organization, which became Mexicana MRO, could support 100 aircraft annually. While the airline did not revive in another form, the MRO division did, as Mexicana MRO. Its 1,730,139 m2 (5,676,309 sq. ft.) facilities support airframe and component MRO.
About one year ago, heavy maintenance for narrowbody and widebody aircraft accounted for 63% of Mexicana MRO’s sales. Line maintenance and cargo conversions made up the remainder.
