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ST Aero's
strong network of facilities located internationally in key aviation
hubs of Asia, Europe and the US, provide unparalleled support for
a broad range of commercial and military aircraft, engines and components.
The largest independent aviation maintenance and engineering operations
in Asia Pacific, ST Aero has re-delivered more than 3,500 commercial
aircraft, 6,000 engines and 600,000 components over the last two
decades. ST Aero's design, engineering and development capabilities
help deliver cost-effective solutions for commercial aircraft conversion
and the latest in military aircraft upgrade technology.
In 2002, ST Aero continued to deliver the high quality, fast turnaround
and value added services that its customers, both large and small,
have come to expect over the years. With almost 28 years in the
business, the company's strategic direction and growth remained
on a steady course despite the ups and downs in the aviation market.
In the course of the year, the aviation industry continued to see
plunging demand and reduced yields. Despite the malaise in the global
economy and the aviation slump, ST Aero delivered another year of
noteworthy performances in all its three business divisions: Aircraft
Maintenance and Modification (AMM), Component/Engine Repair and
Overhaul (CERO) and Engineering and Materials Services (EMS).
GROWING A GLOBAL NETWORK
To better serve the needs of its global base of customers, ST Aero
strengthened its network of airframe MRO facilities through the
setting up of a joint-venture company with FR Aviation in Bournemouth,
United Kingdom, as well as the acquisition of an aircraft repair
facility in San Antonio, Texas, United States.
Bournemouth Aviation Services Company (BASCO), a 60/40 joint venture
under ST Aero's management, started operations in the UK on
1 July 2002 with a leased hangar, capable of taking up to five narrow-bodied
aircraft. The addition of a wide-bodied aircraft hangar to BASCO's
capacity is being planned for 2003. Since commencement of its operations,
BASCO has set up repair capabilities for B727, B737CG, B737NG, A320,
A319, A300 and A321. It targets to get certified to provide B757
maintenance in 2003.
This joint venture will enable ST Aero to take on maintenance services
for the commercial aviation market in Europe. The new site also
offers further opportunities for growth in capacity to include maintenance
support for other aircraft types.
On the other side of the Atlantic, ST Aero capitalised on the opportunities
created by the consolidation of airframe maintenance, repair and
overhaul business in the US and acquired the assets of the former
Dee Howard Aircraft Maintenance L.P. in San Antonio, Texas, for
a consideration of US$14.2 million.
Since its incorporation on 29 May 2002, San Antonio Aerospace (SAA)
has been awarded maintenance contracts from aircraft operators including
United Parcel Service (UPS) and Mesa Airlines. The contract with
Mesa provided SAA an entry into the maintenance market for Embraer
regional jets.
SAA will leverage on ST Aero's strength in airframe maintenance
capabilities and build up its capacity to about 800,000 man-hours
within its first year of operations. It plans to move progressively
towards its full capacity of 2 million man-hours over the coming
years.
With a staff strength of about 430, SAA is now FAA Class 4 rated
for the B727, B737, B747, B757, B767, A300, DC-8, DC-9, DC-10, MD-11,
MD-80, ERJ-145 and CRJ-200.
CREATING VALUE COST-EFFECTIVELY
ST Aero's ability to provide Total Aviation Support for its
customers was greatly bolstered in 2002 by its growing global network
and extensive aircraft maintenance services.
Drawing from more than ten years of component rotables management
and support experience, ST Aero further enhanced its 'by-the-hour'
maintenance offering by providing an innovative value programme
known as 'Maintenance-By-the-Hour' (MBH™). This programme
bundles expert engineering services in the area of maintenance planning,
maintenance reliability engineering and work process improvement
with airframe, engine and component maintenance services.
Integral to its focus on business growth, ST Aero continued to implement
initiatives to bring value to its customers. As an illustration,
it initiated a value-added programme with Indonesia's second
largest airline, PT Merpati. Based on the Kaizen methodology of
systematically re-designing work processes and flow to achieve quantum
leaps in productivity, this programme aims to directly improve flight
operational reliability by reducing aircraft down time.
RAMPING UP SERVICE CAPABILITIES
2002 was marked by aggressive repair capability build-up for new
aircraft types. ST Aero continued to add to its already comprehensive
airframe capabilities by undertaking the build-up of capabilities
on the A330, A340 and B777.
On component support, ST Aero increased its component capabilities
on commercial aircraft such as B737, B757, A320 and MD-11, as well
as military aircraft including the F-16, Chinook and KC-135. It
commissioned a series of new test facilities including a new Test
Cell 4 for T55/T700 engine types, an Universal Fuel Component Test
Stand for F100/F404 accessories, Chinook transmission test cell
as well as test facilities for various F-16 components. ST Aero
also completed depot capabilities set up for the T55-712 S/SB engines.
The A330 heavy maintenance set-up has been commissioned and certified
by the JAA by the end of 2002, while A340 and B777 capability set-up
is well advanced and on target for certification in 2003.
ST Aero also enhanced the scope of its B737 capabilities with the
addition of B737NG maintenance support in July 2002. It plans to
launch A320 maintenance services in Asia in the first quarter of
2003.
In the US, ST Aero continued to improve the turnaround time on the
B757 Passenger-to-Freighter conversion programme at its Mobile facility,
ST Mobile Aerospace Engineering (MAE). Its Dallas-based facility,
DalFort Aerospace, is also re-establishing its presence in the market
after successfully concluding its labour agreement with the union.
ST Aero's facility in Singapore, ST Aviation Services Co (SASCO)
was also able to leverage on its track records on the B747-400 and
B767 to improve its market positioning and programme performance
in 2002.
2002 also saw the expansion of ST Aero's chartered aircraft
operations with the induction of a new Learjet 45 under its subsidiary
company, Pacific Flight Services. It also received approval from
the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) Australia in July 2002
to service and maintain its own Learjet 35 and 45 aircraft.
WINNING NEW DEALS
ST Aero's ability to continuously deliver excellent quality,
turn-time responsiveness and value-for-money enabled ST Aero to
retain key customers and attract new ones.
ST Aero consolidated its position as the leading McDonnell Douglas
wide-body maintenance and modification facility in the world, with
over 50 MD-11/DC-10 heavy maintenance re-deliveries accomplished
during the year for Federal Express, Northwest Airlines, UPS and
Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
ST Aero holds the enviable record of being the only facility in
the world to consistently re-deliver a DC-10 'D' Check
within 30 calendar days. It is also continually improving the turnaround
time on its MD-11 Passenger-to-Freighter conversion programme.
ST Aero also won several significant contracts for B767 maintenance
from customers around the world. It successfully completed a line
of B767 maintenance for a major Australian carrier, and a 'H'
Check for Air Canada against stiff international competition.
2002 also saw the successful completion of ST Aero's first B747-400
'D' Check for a major European carrier, and increased follow-on
work from Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airlines.
ST Aero re-delivered more than 230 aircraft from its MAE facility
to clients around the world. MAE continued to build on its solid
customer base and add new customers, with notably significant additions
of European customers.
ST Aero's new facility in the US, SAA, also received a feather in
its cap for having re-delivered more than 90 aircraft during its
first six months of operations. Amongst its achievements, SAA was
appointed as UPS' designated MD-11 'C' Check maintenance centre,
and was awarded a two-year contract (2003 and 2004) by UPS for a
line of DC-8 'C' Checks.
A new contract was also inked in September with the Singapore Youth
Flying Club for the maintenance and support of the existing Piper
Warriors and two new CT4 aircraft.
2002 also saw ST Aero's CERO division securing numerous significant
component and engine maintenance contracts from customers in Asia,
Europe, Africa and South America. It also boosted its engine repair
and overhaul operations having successfully won several new customers
in 2002 for the CFM56-3 engines.
Confident of gaining a greater share of the engine repair and overhaul
market in Asia for 2003, ST Aero also expects to see an increase
in the number of commercial engine inputs from Europe and the Americas.
On the military front, ST Aero expects to make further inroads with
military operators from ASEAN, the Indian subcontinent and Africa.
ST Aero also made some noteworthy achievements in its EMS operations.
Its MBH programme, together with its extensive competence on the
B737 aircraft, has helped it to capture new accounts from customers
like Buzz in the UK and Skynet in Ireland. ST Aero also clinched
a seven-year contract from AirAsia, Asia's first 'low-cost' airline,
for component MBH support.
ST Aero expects the MBH programme to bring in more business from
mid-tier and 'low-cost' start-up airlines, which are likely
to outsource their supply chain and repair management, in order
to reduce maintenance costs.
ENGINEERED FOR DEFENCE
ST Aero's business of providing aircraft engineering services
to military forces around the world continued to thrive. The most
significant aircraft upgrade solution launched by the EMS'
Engineering & Development group in 2002 was the F-16 Technology
Demonstrator aircraft, which was exhibited at Asian Aerospace 2002
in Singapore.
The Block 15 F-16A, owned by the RSAF, arrived at ST Aero in May
2001 for modifications as a technology demonstrator. In a short
period of eight months, the aircraft flew with a new avionics suite
comprising a Mission Computer and Operational Flight Programme designed
and developed by ST Aero.
In Europe and South America, ST Aero completed the Critical Design
Reviews (CDR) for the Brazilian F-5 upgrade programme whilst continuing
with the production support on the conversion of the Turkish F-5
upgrade.
Back home in Singapore, ST Aero also completed the CDR for the Super
Puma upgrade programme while work on the prototype aircraft continued.
The Super Puma helicopter upgrade programme is based on a new avionics
system that is integrated with the Mission Computer designed and
developed by ST Aero.
ST Aero also successfully restored 19 RSAF SF260 aircraft that were
transferred to TNI-AU. It also trained a team of 20 specialists
from TNI-AU on the SF260 to ensure the aircraft are well supported
while they are in service.
The US Navy (USN), one of ST Aero's long-term military customers,
renewed its C-130 DLM servicing contract in February, and in October,
signed a further Integrated Maintenance Concept (IMC) Planned Maintenance
Interval (PMI) contract with ST Aero for a period of five years.
In May 2002, the first Singapore Apache Longbow attack helicopter
was delivered to the RSAF. This delivery marked the fruition of
the engineering efforts of the Singapore Apache Team, which comprised
staff from Boeing, Singapore Defence Science and Technology Agency,
ST Aero and other partners.
Together with Boeing and the other members of the Singapore Apache
Team, ST Aero was awarded the 2002 Gruppo Agusta International Helicopter
Fellowship Award by the American Helicopter Society. The prestigious
award was presented to the team in recognition of its significant
contribution to international vertical flight co-operation.
THE ROAD AHEAD
In spite of a bumpy ride for many players in the industry, 2002
ended on a high note for ST Aero with many new achievements under
its belt. ST Aero remains committed to building and growing long-term,
mutually beneficial relationships with its customers around the
world.
Value offering like the MBH programme demonstrates ST Aero's
belief that the highest quality aviation maintenance and engineering
services can and should be made affordable for both large and small
customers.
Its new facilities in the US and UK, as well as improved capabilities
in Singapore, serve to assure customers of the company's ability
to grow with their needs for a broad range of services.
2003 looks full of possibilities as airlines continue to outsource
more of their maintenance activities to achieve better profitability
through cost reduction. With its value-added packages, comprehensive
range of services and ongoing investment in developing cost-effective
solutions and new services, ST Aero is in a strong position to capitalise
on these new opportunities and enter 2003 flying high, further extending
its services to a broader clientele worldwide.
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Growing
A Global Network
Creating Value Cost-Effectively
Ramping Up Service Capabilities
Winning New Deals
Engineered For Defence
The Road Ahead
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1
ST Aero's ability to continuously deliver excellent quality,
turn-time responsiveness and value-for-money enabled it to retain
key customers and attract new ones.
2
The RSAF Block 15 F-16A was modified into a technology demonstrator
equipped with a mission computer and operational flight programme
designed and developed by ST Aero.
3
Asia Pacific's largest independent repair and overhaul operations,
ST Aero supports a wide range of military and commercial engines.
4
A series of new test facilities was commissioned to support its
customers' evolving requirements.
5
ST Aero's ability to provide Total Aviation Support was bolstered
in 2002 by its extensive aircraft maintenance services and growing
network of facilities.
6
Since commencement of its operations in July, BASCO has set up repair
capabilities for B727, B737CG, B737NG, A320, A319, A300 and A321.
7
SAA, ST Aero's third aviation maintenance facility in the US,
provides support for B727, B737, B747, B757, B767, A300, DC-8, DC-9,
DC-10, MD-11, MD-80, ERJ-145 and CRJ-200.
Richard Hunter
Deputy Chief Engineer
AEROSPACE
"Making
music is part of who I am. I play the trombone because it is great
fun and because it is such a versatile instrument – it is used
everywhere from orchestral symphonies to jazz and brass band music.
I also revel in the challenge of learning new pieces or simply finding
new ways to perform an old piece! It allows me to express myself creatively
and work with other like-minded people to share the experience of
building towards a performance.The self-discipline involved in rehearsing
music and continually improving my performance is something that I
carry through at work – I believe in giving my best and in working
with my colleagues to achieve the desired results."
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