As supply chain delays continue to plague the aftermarket, a new MRO provider has opened in the Phoenix, Arizona area with intentions to alleviate growing demand for component repairs.
Airside MRO received FAA Part 145 certification for airframe, accessory and landing gear on May 26 and has begun offering component services for Airbus and Boeing commercial aircraft, including repairs, overhauls, inspections and machining.
According to Brad Young, president and CEO of Airside MRO, the company was born out of tight supply chain and repair capacity spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The demand for parts and repairs just went through the roof. Repair shops have had a very difficult time keeping up with that demand and it’s getting worse,” says Young. “Then on top of the demand you’ve got supply chain and personnel challenges, so navigating the repair shop world from a sales company or an airline perspective is very difficult right now. We’re hoping to step into the marketplace and offer some relief to that capacity and demand.”
Unlike legacy component MRO providers, Young says Airside MRO will not suffer from years’ worth of backlog, which it expects to improve its lead times. The company will also be focusing on certain product lines with high demand, such as nacelles for CFM, GE and Pratt & Whitney engines.
“We’re going to be focusing on a lot of nacelle and structural components, and when we focus on these specific product lines, that allows us to get out ahead of certain lead times,” he says. “So, if we know Honeywell has 180-day lead times on certain piece parts and it’s a product line that we’re going to be heavily focused on, we’re going to go out and stock those so that, as repairs come in, we’re in a position to support those critical product lines. We’re going to use our market expertise to leverage the supply chain and how we support the repairs that we have in-house.”
Airside MRO’s geographical location will also position it well to support customers doing teardowns in the Southwest. The company’s 70,000 ft.2 facility in Gilbert, Arizona features more than two acres of secured outdoor space where it can store material for customers and perform preliminary inspections on components.
Young says Airside MRO was able to start a new business from the ground up due to its experienced team, which put in a lot of planning legwork over the last year to build projections for the types of tooling, equipment, inventory and capital it would need.
Airside MRO currently employs a team of 30 staff and Young says it is “adding manpower by the day based on the demand we see coming in the door.” To support the “influx of work” it has started to receive, it hopes to grow to more than 70 employees by the end of its first year in operation.
