The 2019 Dubai Air Show has seen some significant news from local and regional players in maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO). For instance from Sanad Aerotech, which announced deals with General Electric/CFM and Emirates.
Sanad Aerotech, until this May known as Turbine Services & Solutions Aerospace, is a Abu Dhabi-based wholly-owned company from Mubadala Investment Company which also owns component-manufacturer Strata Manufacturing. At the Paris Air Show Sanad and Rolls-Royce announced a $6.5 billion contract to service up to 75 Trent 700s a year used on the Airbus A330ceo, making it an authorized maintenance center in the Middle East.
Sanad duplicated the agreement in Dubai on the opening day of the air show, when it signed a deal with General Electric for performance restoration overhaul services for up to 315 GEnx-turbofans until 2035. The GEnx is used on the Boeing 747-800 and 787. The agreement is an extension of the contract that is effective since 2013.
More significant is the agreement to make Sanad the regional maintenance center for the CFM LEAP which powers the Airbus A320neo-family and Boeing MAX. Sanad will overhaul 217 LEAPs until 2030 in a quick turn-service contract. Sanad already overhauls the International Aero Engines V2500 on predominantly the Airbus A320ceo.
MoU with Emirates
On November 20, Sanad and Emirates Engine Maintenance Center (EEMC) signed an MoU to jointly collaborate and create multiple aero-engine centers for MRO in the UAE-region. “This also marks the beginning of a productive collaboration between two of the UAE’s largest homegrown aviation and aerospace companies that can turn the nation’s aspirations of a global-leading UAE-based MRO hub into reality”, Sanad Aerotech CEO Mansoor Janahi said.
EEMC’s Mohammed Jaffer Nasser said: “Emirates is confident that this collaboration will deliver substantial benefits to the UAE aviation industry as a whole through developing our expertise and shared capabilities, as well as by nurturing a new generation of skilled Emirati nationals for the rapidly expanding engine overhaul industry.” EEMC has a history of maintenance of the General Electric GE90 on the Boeing 777 and the Engine Alliance GP7200 on the Airbus A380.
It is an interesting move that brings Abu Dhabi-based Sanad Aerotech and the Dubai-based Emirates together on maintenance.
