Thai Airways International's engineering division plans to get into the Airbus A380 MRO market by offering heavy and line maintenance on the mammoth widebody at the New Bangkok International Airport (NBIA), according to Supachai Limpisvasti, managing director of Thai's technical department. The airline is building a hangar at NBIA that it says will accommodate three A380s at a time. The 2.8 billion baht (US$72 million) facility is expected to be completed in January.
N ORDAM Group is installing 3M's new radio frequency identification (RFID)-based tool track system at its Tulsa, Okla., facility. The initial installation will be used to track and manage several hundred bond tools used to fabricate composite parts. "It's no secret that in the MRO marketplace, precise inventory control directly translates to increased productivity levels," said Ken Lackey, NORDAM's new CEO (see Biznet, pg. 9). NORDAM said it is evaluating other potential applications for the system in several areas.
SR Technics Switzerland signed an agreement with Airbus to provide maintenance training for the OEM's customers. Airbus can outsource technical training to SR Technics Switzerland to help fill occasional capacity shortages at the manufacturer's training center in Toulouse. SR Technics is part of the Airbus MRO network.
Recent DOD contracts for avionics upgrades of Air Force and Navy Raytheon Beech C-12 Huron light transport and communications aircraft were followed in September by similar Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) commitments for Army versions of the twin-turboprop A200 Super King Air. Valued at $55 million, the Army's GATM VI Life Cycle Contractor Support (LCCS) contract modification will involve installation by DynCorp International of fully integrated digital Electronic Flight Instrument Systems (EFIS) in 29 C-12R aircraft, to replace older analog-based avionics.
PCB Piezotronics introduced a new line of 4 to 20 mA vibration transmitters through its IMI Sensors Division. The transmitters have intrinsic certifications to monitor critical machines and comply with ATEX and CSA North American standards. The transmitters are used to monitor critical rotating machinery in work areas where hazardous gas or dust may be present. The transmitters are loop-powered and can be interfaced with existing plant monitoring equipment such as PLC, DCS or SCADA systems.
MasterSil 800, developed by Master Bond, is a new single component, high performance, non-corrosive silicone elastomer compound for bonding, sealing, coating and formed-in-place gaskets. MasterSil 800 is designed for service up to 527° F. The room temperature, curable MasterSil 800 is a self-leveling, free-flowing, low-viscosity material that allows filling minute crevices and voids. It has a tack-free time of approximately 20 minutes at ambient temperatures and can be cured in cross-section thicknesses up to 0.25 inch.
Boeing plans to introduce radio frequency identification "smart labels" on maintenance-significant parts of its 787 Dreamliner. Boeing said the RFID tags should improve configuration control and reduce parts management costs.
SAS Component announced Per Boll stepped down as CEO, a position he has held since 1997, and Michael Brag has been appointed acting CEO. Brag is chief commercial officer in SAS Technical Services and will remain in that position as well as take on his new responsibilities.
The first Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft converted to a freighter started flight test and certification in early October. The OEM expects the work to be finished over the next few months, after which, launch customer Cathay Pacific Airways should receive the aircraft in December.
NORDAM announced on Oct. 6 that Ray H. Siegfried II died after a battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease." Siegfried, chairman of the NORDAM Group, grew the company from a bankrupt acquisition with eight employees in 1969 into a large aerospace company. On Oct. 12, the company's board elected CEO Ken Lackey to chairman, as well, and added the job of president to chief operating officer John Uczekaj's title.
Alaska Airlines and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association ratified a new four-year contract for the airline's 700 aircraft technicians on Oct. 14.
Garrett/Piedmont Hawthorne/Associated named Roger Wolfe its new chief executive officer and Shawn Vick its new president. The company's leadership had been under consideration since early September when Frank Klaus, president and CEO, announced his retirement. The company also named David Daniels to avionics manager for the company's Springfield, Ill., facility and promoted Gary Buchanan and Peter Muenzen to regional vice presidents of sales.
TIMCO Aviation Services received a contract from the U.S. Coast Guard to perform heavy maintenance on up to eight C-130s. TIMCO was scheduled to begin progressive structural inspections on the aircraft at its Lake City, Fla., facility in October.
Electronic Services Agency's new X2000 Digital Video Recorder is a complete, portable digital video package with capabilities for multiple cameras. The package is PC compatible and downloadable from the field to wireless local area networks. The recorder is used with a removable hard-disk cartridge to record from multiple video and audio sources. Electronic Services Agency, 845 E. 5th St., Marysville, OH 43040
KLM Engineering & Maintenance appointed Robert Pruim vice president of marketing, sales and customer services effective Nov. 1. He succeeds Onno Pietersma, who is becoming CEO of KLM UK Engineering. Pruim started his career at KLM 20 years ago and most recently was part of the KLM E&M Six Sigma office.
Japan Airlines and Ryanair are implementing Boeing Commercial Aviation Services' new Maintenance Performance Toolbox, which is a set of solutions for aircraft maintenance and troubleshooting. JAL is the first licensed customer of the Toolbox, and it has access to the structures tool, whereas Ryanair has subscribed to the technical publications, a 3D structural repair database, and maintenance and engineering data.
Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen expanded its thrust reverser repair capabilities to include those of Boeing 737 (CFM56-3), 747, MD-11 (CF6-80), Airbus A300 and the inlet cowls of the V2500 engine.
India and China, two of the world's most populous countries and fastest growing economies, are the darlings of the MRO world. Ask any self-respecting business development executive from an MRO company above a certain size where they see the most opportunity, and the answer inevitably is China and India. It seems that everyone wants to set up shop in one, or both, of these countries. But over the past several weeks, I've heard a another country mentioned several times: the United States.
FAA's five-year effort to radically overhaul Service Difficulty Report (SDR) filing requirements was put on indefinite hold in September when the agency officially shelved its September 2000 final rule, issued a new proposal for minor changes, and said it would continue to explore a more sweeping SDR overhaul.
Honeywell Hardware Products Group earned the Voluntary Protection Program status of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Honeywell's group in Roanoke, Texas, achieved an injury and illness rate 56% below the industry average, according to OSHA. The VPP initiative promotes workplace safety and health management.
Boeing selected Scientific Monitoring Inc. to provide analytical tools and software to enhance airplane data monitoring and decision support capabilities in the OEM's Airplane Health Monitoring service.
Boeing Aerospace Operations in Oklahoma received a $20 million modification contract from the U.S. Navy to procure organizational, intermediate and limited depot-level aircraft maintenance, management, logistics support services and other related services for 16 F/A-18A/B/C/Ds, two SH-60Fs, two HH-60Hs and 14 F-16A/Bs based at Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in Fallon, Nev. The work is expected to be finished in September 2006.
Timken acquired Bearing Inspection and it will consolidate its existing bearing repair operations at Bii's facilities in Los Alamitos, Calif. Former Bii president Drew Baker will be the general manager of the combined operations.
