MAJOR EVENTS IN 2014
Interairport China
Bejing, China
October 15-17
NBAA
Orlando, FL
October 21-23
BUSINESS BUZZ
Hobart, J&B Aviation And ITW Military GSE Join Forces
To strengthen its position in the market place, Hobart Ground Systems, which includes Hobart, J&B Aviation and ITW Military GSE, all owned by ITW and part of Illinois Tools Works, today announced that it has joined forces with the ITW GSE companies outside Americas under the name of ITW GSE.
The company emphasizes that the products of the ITW GSE will still be branded Hobart, J&B Aviation and ITW Military GSE and that customers will continue to work with the people that they already know. This transition will be occurring throughout the remainder of 2014.
“One year ago, we aligned our group structure to have a global ITW GSE R&D as well as a Global ITW GSE Sales & Marketing department. We are now taking the next natural step to meet the requirements from the changing global GSE market. Our customers who are also global, will benefit from a more efficient, focused and streamlined organization that will help us be a best-in-class company,” states Poul Elvstrom, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for ITW GSE.
“We will be better able to provide our customers with innovative solutions and the latest technology within 400 Hz power supplies and accessories, products that are critical to ensuring on-time aircraft departures. Further, the financial strengths of the ITW Inc. – a Fortune 200 global diversified company, make ITW GSE a very strong player with whom customers can safely do business.”
Hobart, J&B Aviation and Military are headquartered in Palmetto, Florida and make up the ITW GSE Americas region. J&B Aviation has manufacturing and warehouse facilities in Santa Rosa, California with sales and administration in Palmetto, Florida.
Swissport Targets The Youngest Jet Set
Swissport’s Aspire lounge in Manchester Airport Terminal 1, has been designed with the world’s first play-tech pods for young children.
Courtesy of a relationship with the children’s character Airside Andy, this innovative new collaboration, designed to keep children entertained during airside waiting times, sees the introduction of child friendly tablets, preloaded with Airside Andy fun and adventure along with other mainstream games. Housed in a child friendly baggage carousel, the tablets protrude from real suitcases on bendy poles creating a unique and fun play area for children.
Swissport plan to roll-out the pods in all airport lounges in the UK..
Menzies Aviation Opens Pharma Cold Zone Facility At Kempegowda International Airport
Menzies Aviation Bobba, operating a cargo terminal at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, has opened an exclusive Pharma Cold Zone on for the handling of pharma products.
Bangalore is emerging as an important pharmaceutical hub in South India. To support the demands of the growing local industry, which now has a strong global presence, Pharma Cold Zone will offer accurate and temperature controlled care while handling pharmaceutical products. This temperature controlled cargo handling facility will greatly assist the south Indian pharma industry in enhancing their business and meeting the stringent requirements of global regulatory authorities.
The state-of-the-art facility provides dedicated truck docks for acceptance, floor-level weighment at acceptance, customs clearance, screening and security clearances, cargo build-up and storage, all under controlled temperature. It is also equipped with data loggers, alarm systems (hooters and SMS) and 24/7 CCTV coverage supported with HD cameras.
V.S Bobba, managing director of Menzies Aviation Bobba, said, "With the new and exclusive Pharma Cold Zone facility at our cargo terminal, with temperature controlled and state-of-the-art technology, the company would strengthen its leadership and capability in handling and transportation of pharma cargo between Bengaluru and rest of the world."
Sage Parts joined with Menzies Macau Airport Services Ltd. to open a new Sage parts and services facility at Macau International Airport. In the past year, Menzies Macau has handled the aviation demands of 5 million passengers and approximately 45,000 tons of cargo. Sage and Menzies Aviation have already work together to open other facilities in Los Angeles and Johannesburg. In other news, Sage also collaborated with dnata Singapore to open a facility at Changi Airport. The ground service provider serves more than 30,000 flights annually at Changi Airport.
Dnata earned an RA3 certification for its ramp services at Ninoy Aquino International airport. RA3 is short for ‘Third Country EU Aviation Security Validated Regulated Agents,’ a supply-chain security initiative of the European Union. dnata is one of the first ramp operations providers in the country to receive the RA3 certification. The certification – granted by EU-approved and trained validators – confirms the procedures dnata implements are compliant with EU-requirements.
Cal/OSHA fined Menzies Aviation $77,250 for three serious accident related, one serious and one regulatory violation following an investigation into the February death of a worker at Los Angeles International Airport, who was thrown from the vehicle he was operating without a seatbelt.Cal/OSHA's investigation determined that Menzies' safety policy on the operation of tow tractors in and around LAX did not require, and in fact discouraged, the use of safety belts in certain areas of the airport. Menzies Aviation also inaccurately reported the fatal accident to Cal/OSHA as a heart attack. Regulations require employers to accurately report work-related fatalities within eight hours to Cal/OSHA.
Liquid Controls announced the creation of the Aviation Business Line, a team of Liquid Controls employees dedicated to providing into-plane fueling and airport bulk fuel management solutions. With their new, singular focus, the Aviation Business Line team will now have the freedom and resources to provide swift, well-informed service to their partners in the aviation industry.
Telford Design redesigned its website, www.telforddesign.com, to include videos of all new and updated equipment.
Xced Aviation Services, LLC, announced the opening of its Canadian subsidiary- Xced Aviation Services Canada. With the launching of our Canadian subsidiary Xced Aviation can provide single investor equipment financing solutions and life cycle management of all GSE throughout the United States and Canada.
In a letter to its customers, suppliers and partners, Dan Clevenger, global director of sales and marketing, said Liquip Aviation/Beta Fluid Systems was not a part of recent acquisition of Liquip International Pty Limited by OPW. The acquisition is limited to three Australian Liquip businesses:
- Terminal Equipment, Sydney, Australia: Equipment for the petroleum, LPG, and mining industries.
- Spare Parts and Maintenance, Sunshine, Australia: Serving aviation customers in Australia / New Zealand.
- Fuelling Solutions, Port Melbourne, Australia: Filtration systems and vessels in Australia / New Zealand.
Liquip Aviation continues to operate as Beta Fluid Systems and will continue to operate out of the North Carolina. To avoid confusion with the new OPW/Liquip brand, Beta Fluid Systems will strategically begin phasing away from the Liquip brand, with a full brand transition to be completed by 2015.
Etihad Cargo launched SkyStables, a new service targeted at customers around the world wishing to transport horses and other similar species by air. The service is being rolled-out across Etihad Cargo's scheduled network of 44 freighter destinations with personalized charter services to other cities also available. Horses travel in dedicated stalls equipped with anti-slip floors, which are then loaded in temperature controlled sections of the aircraft. Throughout the flight, the animals can be attended to by their grooms, ensuring arrival at their destination fit and healthy.
United Airlines plans to lay off 49 ramp workers at Detroit Metro Airport by Oct. 1 and transfer their work to an outside vendor. The affected positions also includes 51 customer service representatives and various other positions. The carrier said the layoffs are needed "to have sustainable financial success and run an efficient and reliable operation." The notice did not identify the new vendor or specify whether the workers could find jobs there.
Elite Line Services launched a new, comprehensive web store, www.elsparts.com, to provide 24/7 access to more than 18,000 parts and accessories for material handling and airport baggage handling systems. ELS designed the web store to provide the following benefits:
- Competitive pricing on OEM and 3rd party parts
- A robust search feature
- Access to order history
- Product suggestions
- Payment via major credit cards on a secure site
The site offers many airport baggage handling items including pulleys, bearings, clutch brakes, belting, gearmotors, reducers, barcode scanners, sprockets, and bushings.
DAS Handling Ltd, a ground service provider at Entebbe International airport, has completed the International Air Transport Association Safety Audit for Ground Operations. "This is an important milestone for our company. It is an illustration of our commitment towards providing worldclass services to our customers with special attention to safety at the highest standards," said Marc Deleu, the managing director of DAS Handling Ltd.
Universal Weather & Aviation’s attempt to form a joint-venture company in India to conduct its own ground handling services has been rejected by Indian authorities. The Houston-based company has operated in India, providing trip support for the past decade, with its agents acting in a supervisory role for the local ground handlers it uses. Indian regulations state, however, that 100-percent foreign equity is not allowed for ground-handling providers.
Rickenbacker International Airport will lease space to Consolidated Aviation Services in a development that puts Central Ohio a step closer to direct exporting to Asia and Europe. CAS, based at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, will manage outgoing cargo shipments at Rickenbacker beginning in this month.
DEALS
Malabar International acquired DAE Industries. DAE is a manufacturer of engine stands and other ground support equipment, including docking systems. DAE also provides leases and refurbishment for its engine stands. Its docking systems are custom engineered and built to meet customer needs.
Avfuel Corporation expanded its branded FBO network with the addition of Apex Aviation at Vernal Regional Airport in Utah and Wells Aircraft at Hutchinson Municipal Airport in Kansas. Both FBOs will have full access to Avfuel’s training and operational systems (including fuel safety and customer service training, transaction processing systems, marketing programs and more) and will offer Avfuel Contract Fuel and AVTRIP loyalty rewards.
Liquip’s Beta Fluid Systems Division, completed the 100 percent on-time delivery of 50 aviation refueler modules and hydrant dispenser carts for Pertamina Aviation, the aviation fueling division of Indonesia’s national oil company. The contract was part of the largest single contract in the world, awarded in October 2013 with seemingly impossible delivery requirements and heavy performance penalties for late delivery. Not only did the company deliver the contract on time, but over 50 percent of the units were completed well ahead of schedule. Pertamina Aviation manages all commercial aviation fueling at Indonesia’s 230 airports. With over 13,000 islands, and many of those airports operating as key economic links between hundreds of remote islands, equipment reliability is of primary concern. Airlines depend on fueling equipment to keep them flying, so any equipment downtime in remote areas can be catastrophic to local economies.
Swissport sold its cargo business at Copenhagen Airport to WFS The sale includes all business activities currently carried out by Swissport Cargo Services Denmark ApS as well as all assets. Most of the employees are expected to move to WFS Denmark A/S. In other news, the ground service provider won five-year for the three airports in Algeria: Constantine Mohamed Boudiaf; Batna Mostepha Ben Boulaid and Tlemcen Zenata Messali El Hadj. The deals will further strengthen Swissport’s market position in Algeria and Africa along with its current operations in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco, Nigeria and Cameroon.
Iberia Airport Services will serve passengers and aircraft on Ethiopian Airline’s three weekly flights between Addis Ababa and Madrid Airport. The African carrier thus become one of the 200-plus airlines served by Iberia’s handling unit. In 2013 it served some 73 million passengers and 310,000 aircraft at 41 Spanish airports. In other news, the ground service provider submitted its bid to handle flights by third-party airline at the 22 Spanish airports with fewer than 1 million passengers annually. It will also soon bid for aircraft and passenger handling concessions at the country’s 19 busiest airports.
SKYWAY Aviation Handling Company Limited, has been picked as the preferred ground handler for the Emirates Airlines. SAHCOL will provide ground handling services to the airlines’ daily flight operation at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc, through its wholly-owned indirect subsidiary Statoil Fuel & Retail sold its aviation fuel business to Air BP. SFR Aviation supplies aviation fuel products to airliners, general aviation, military and bulk customers in nine countries across Northern Europe.
JBT Aerotech won a contract worth more $11 million from a U.S.-based aviation ground services provider for the supply of Commander cargo loaders, Tempest aircraft deicing vehicles and Expediter towbarless tractors. The equipment will support the customer's business expansion at a major U.S. international airport. In other news, JBT Aerotech also won a $5 million to supply compressed air, air conditioning and electrical power carts designed to service the environmental control systems and avionics of fighter aircraft. Finally, JBT AeroTech has been awarded a contract exceeding $6 million to supply gate equipment for the Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport Concourse T Optimization project.
Aviramp will supply Norwich International Airport with its self-contained mobile passenger boarding system designed to provide access for all including passengers with reduced mobility. The airport becomes one of the first UK airports to the ramps.
Telford Design received a purchase order for one of its largest projects this year. The project is to manufacture and install 12 conveyor baggage systems for Wichita Airport, to be installed on twelve glass passenger loading bridges. In other news, the company will supply additional conveyor baggage systems to Savannah Hilton Head Airport. Finally, the company received an order for 13 systems at the Greenville Spartanburg Airport
Landmark Aviation completed the acquisition of Ross Aviation, a network of FBOs throughout the United States. Ross operates in major cities and resort destinations within the U.S., including Denver; Santa Fe; Miami; and six locations in Hawaii. The acquisition has increased the size of Landmark’s network from 57 to 75 locations globally.
AAR’s Nordisk Aviation Products has started delivery of 400 Nordisk AluLite AKE air cargo containers to Korean Air. Each containers weighs 65 kg and is the lightest-weight full-aluminium airfreight LD3 container in the industry.
Signature Flight Support, acquired the assets of FBO 2000 including its locations at V.C. Bird Antigua International Airport, R. Bradshaw International Airport in St. Kitts and Vance W. Amory International Airport in Nevis. This strategic acquisition adds three new locations to Signature’s growing Caribbean network of locations including San Juan and St. Maarten.
Epic Aviation LLC was among 11 oil and gas distribution companies to be awarded multimillion-dollar contracts by the Pentagon's Defense Logistics Agency. Epic will be paid up to a maximum of $12,002,258 on a one-year contract to supply military aircraft with aviation turbine fuel. Epic supplies commercial, military and general aviation customers from almost 300 fueling points, from Anchorage to Horseshoe Bay Resort in Texas.
The UVair FBO Network announced that it has expanded its presence in North America with the addition of three new member FBOs, bringing the total number of FBOs in the network to 25.The local chain has branded all three locations as UVair FBO Network members:
- Sacramento Executive Jet Center
- Sacramento Capitol Jet Center
- Sacramento Mather Jet Center
PEOPLE
Jeremy Stafford has been appointed chief executive officer of John Menzies plc, the global aviation services provider and print media distributor. Stafford will be John Menzies' first group chief executive for seven years. After Patrick Macdonald left in 2007, the company split its leadership between the heads of its distribution and aviation businesses. He brings experience of leading and growing large scale international contracting businesses and has a strong track record both operationally and strategically starting at British Airways and then built up over 16 years with BT, with Phoenix IT Group and Serco Plc. Most recently Jeremy was chief executive of Serco UK and Europe.
“We are delighted that Jeremy is joining the board as chief executive officer,” Iain Napier, chairman of John Menzies plc, said in prepared remarks. “We are at an exciting stage of our development with strong growth opportunities and Jeremy, with his strategic vision and extensive experience of operational management and contracting in a business to business environment, is the ideal person to lead us forward."
In related news, Stafford fills, in part, a position held by Craig Smyth who resigned his position after reportedly being passed over for the group CEO position. Smyth, was a founding executive of Menzies Aviation, and had been with the company since 1993.
Dennis Suedkamp joined Malabar International as executive vice president, sales and marketing. Suedkamp has more than 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, and general management in the domestic and international aviation industry. He has been in the aviation industry throughout his career, most recently, as president and chief operating officer of Velocity Aerospace, an aircraft components distributor, MRO, and FAA repair station.
Anthony Banome was promoted by Meridian Jet to director of fuel sales. In addition to his responsibilities for maintaining and growing volume of FBO fuel sales, Banome will also be charged with developing and executing the long-term fuel strategy for both the Meridian FBO and charter businesses. Banome began his career at Meridian in 2007 as a customer service rep. In 2013, Anthony was a recipient of Airport Business magazine’s “40 Under 40,” an annual award honoring the best and brightest individuals in the aviation industry.
John Riggir was appointed vice president and general manager of Jet Aviation Singapore. Riggir will assume leadership of the company’s expanded maintenance and FBO facility at Singapore’s Seletar Aerospace Park, including responsibility for the Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur facilities. Riggir succeeds Gary Dolski, who will remain in Singapore until mid-October to assist Riggir throughout the transitional handover and will be taking up new assignments within the company in the future.
