Christopher Gibbs, HAECO’s group director components and engines, shares insights into the next steps for its engine business.
HAESL and TEXL both specialize in widebody maintenance engine MRO. Will those two facilities continue that focus, or is HAECO looking at expanding their capabilities?
HAESL, HAECO’s 50:50 joint venture with Rolls-Royce, will continue to focus on widebody Rolls-Royce engines. It has expanded significantly in the last five years by adding XWB capability, both the 84K and 97K engines, to its Trent 500/700/800 and RB211-524 capability. At TEXL, our Xiamen joint venture with GE Aviation, we have grown with the expanding GE90 market and we carefully review the addition of engine types. Our footprint has expanded significantly outside widebody engine MRO with the development of our Global Engine Support business with bases in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. In Global Engine Support, narrowbody and regional engines are the majority.
If it is considering expanding their capabilities, what is the timing for that? What are the key considerations?
In Global Engine Support, we added an Amsterdam base two years ago and then a year ago we expanded in the U.S. with the acquisition of Jet Engine Solutions in Dallas.
HAESL, despite Covid, is still on a growth path though set back by a couple of years. And at TEXL we continue to evaluate entering other both widebody and narrowbody engines.
Given that HAECO has those joint ventures with Rolls-Royce and GE, would it also like to establish at JV with Pratt & Whitney?
HAECO is in the leading tier of worldwide MROs and is looking to expand an already strong engines business. So we would like to have strong relationships with all the top airframe, engine and component OEMs. HAECO added GE capability just over 10 years ago and we look for the right opportunity to add new capabilities.
Given that airlines need more flexibility right now and are trying to conserve their cash, including using green-time engines, how is this impacting your engine business?
Our Global Engine Support business is ideal for customers seeking more flexibility, with transitions into and out of parking, movements on/off lease, storage and optimizing engine use without full shop visits.
At HAESL and TEXL, we also work closely with our OEM partners to offer solutions to customers that are appropriate and tailored for current market challenges.
How do you see HAECO Global Engine Support evolving and expanding?
At Global Engine Support, we have built a global network. Most recently, we have been expanding our Chinese mainland presence through the use of the TEXL team. Our focus is now on ensuring we provide a consistent worldwide service to customers and includes strategically adding capability for new engine types.
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