On Tuesday (11 Feb), agreements worth S$500 million have been inked by JTC Corporation (JTC) at the Singapore Airshow 2020 with aerospace companies that are looking to expand operations in Singapore for the next five years.
The aerospace companies involved are GE Aviation, Overhaul Services – Singapore; SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC); Singapore Aero Engine Services (SAESL); Ametek MRO; GE Aviation, Engine Services – Singapore; Pattonair; and RLC Group (Singapore).
The changes from the agreements include expansion of existing operations and new facilities. According to JTC, under the agreements, supplier networks and aerospace ecosystem will be expanded whereas Singapore’s position as a global aerospace hub will also be strengthened.
An engine overhaul facility will be set up by GE Aviation, Overhaul Services – Singapore, which is a joint venture between GE Aviation and SIAEC. The location of the engine overhaul facility will be at a newly-levelled site at JTC’s Loyang estate and it will utilise data analytics and digitisation to enhance productivity, JTC remarked.
As the facility for CFM LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines, SIAEC has identified a potential site which is at the JTC’s Changi North estate. This builds upon the earlier agreement between SIAEC and Safran Aircraft Engines to offer engine maintenance services. According to JTC, the facility will adopt the latest quick-turn processes and engine maintenance in its operations.
The joint venture between SIAEC and Rolls-Royce, SAESL is looking out to expand in JTC’s aerospace enclave in Loyang estate, but details are not yet available. As the Trent centre of excellence and world’s largest Rolls-Royce Trent aero engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility, SAESL serves more than 30 airlines globally.
New entrants will always find home at Seletar Aerospace Park. Among these entrants, the independent aerospace distribution firm Proponent is set to launch a 20,000 square foot (sf) regional distribution facility there later in 2020.
Costing US$15 million, Paint supplier PPG is starting up a 38,750 sf application support centre which will become the firm’s investment up until now in South-east Asia. The centre, to be completed by the middle of this year, will accommodate higher demand for the packaging of third-party products, chemical management services as well as aerospace sealants, coatings and transparencies, JTC added.
JTC further added that the manufacturer of planes and trains, Bombardier is now on the path to quadrupling the footprint of its Singapore Service Centre at Seletar Aerospace Park. Eventually, the centre will be the biggest OEM-owned business maintenance facility in the region.
Other companies like Ametek MRO is discussing future facility requirements with JTC and has begun investments in additional capacity, JTC stated. In addition, RLC Group (Singapore) is planning to lease another facility at Seletar Aerospace Park whereas the newly merged Pattonair and Wesco Aircraft is on the lookout for new premises there, JTC further stated.
Ng Lang, the chief executive of JTC, commented that “the series of new facility openings and expansions is a vote of confidence for JTC estates and Seletar Aerospace Park. The Park is just over a decade old and has already attracted over S$1.5 billion of investments.”
JTC also launched a new cluster of nine ready-built standard factories, called the aeroSpace Three at the Airshow. These standard factories will offer“plug and play” solutions for MRO activities and aerospace manufacturing.
The next phase of land preparation works in Seletar Aerospace Park will proceed in 2020 to expand capacity for future investments in aerospace, JTC concluded.
