Aerostar S.A., the leading Romanian aerospace company announced today at the MRO Europe exhibition that it will achieve a record number of heavy maintenance visits in 2015.
So far this year the company has completed 48 heavy checks on, predominantly Boeing 737 (Classic and Next Generation) and Airbus A320 families, and has contracted for a further 17 aircraft to bring the total for the year to 65 – the highest yearly total the company has recorded since it first entered the commercial aircraft MRO market in December 2004.
A grand total of 380 heavy maintenance checks have been carried out so far over this almost 11 year period.
Aerostar is exhibiting at MRO Europe (Booth No: 489) where it will use its participation to increase its presence in the European commercial MRO market. The Aerostar representatives are Executive Director Dan Velescu and Business Development Manager Iulian Leonte.
Since its diversification into commercial aviation MRO activities, Aerostar has steadily built up a strong and growing customer base from airlines in Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Aerostar has become one of the first independent MROs in Europe to carry out installations of the new Split Scimitar Winglets on Boeing 737NG aircraft. Since completing the first installation in July 2014, Aerostar has now carried out a total of 14 installations and can offer this work either separately or as part of a heavy maintenance check.
Another new avenue for Aerostar is the recent Section 46 re-skinning of a Boeing 737-300SF cargo aircraft for Spanish passenger and cargo charter carrier Swiftair.
As a regional centre of excellence Aerostar now has two hangars with over 10,000 m2 of space and six-seven aircraft bays. It has EASA Part 145 MRO approvals for the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families as well as the BAe 146/Avro RJ regional jetliner and the Rolls-Royce M250 turboshaft engine.
The company has invested in state-of-the-art tooling and equipment as well as manpower and training. It has recently introduced LEAN 5/S techniques as part of its Continuous Improvement processes. LEAN 5/S is a strategy for business to create a cleaner, more orderly and safer working environment, irrespective of industry sector. Importantly it needs a disciplined approach at all levels to maintain such an environment. This is fundamental for a well-run workplace in order to work productively with quality to maintain a continuous flow.
Aerostar is also a prominent Tier 2 supplier in the international aviation supply chain using its EASA Part 21 approval for aviation manufacturing. The company is a major subcontractor of parts and assemblies to companies such as GKN Aerospace and Fokker for a variety of commercial aviation programmes, including those from Airbus, Gulfstream and Dassault. Further qualifications/approvals for Boeing and Bombardier programmes are underway.
Aerostar is also a significant subcontractor for the production of systems and components for landing gears and hydraulic systems. Working primarily with Messier-Bugatti-Dowty Aerostar produces significant components for aircraft such as the Airbus A320 family, A330, A350XWB and Boeing 787. The company is also the sole supplier of undercarriages for the Daher-Socata TBM 900 executive turboprop aircraft.
