Page 12 - AAA SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2016 Online Magazine

FEATURE COMPOSITE MRO

Price Takers

MRO industry is gearing up to service an increasing number of airliners employing a much
higher share of composite materials
By Jay Menon

With the aDVent oF aiRBus a350 on order, and about 850 additional 787s Late last summer AFI KLM E&M completed
and Boeing 787, MRO service providers projected to join the current fleet of 450, the construction of its new shop providing
are investing in new equipment and in there is a growing base of customers who will cutting-edge technologies and innovative
training technicians. However, the changes, need aftermarket support for the full range processes brought by the MRO Lab.
according to MRO service providers, are of their newly acquired technologies. “Innovation is central to our development,”
“evolutionary rather than revolutionary.” says Franck Terner, Executive Vice-
The large commercial aircraft with MRO Firms are Ready President AIR FRANCE KLM Engineering &
predominantly composite components Already MRO service providers have seen a Maintenance. “Developing our MRO Lab in
have made it necessary for attention to be real change in where the repairs will have to the new facility means, for example, we will
focussed on the development of new and be performed. be able to deploy new, less environmentally
effective maintenance strategies. Air France Industries KLM Engineering aggressive sanding tools, with less abrasive
“Boeing’s new 787 and Airbus’ A350 & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) says the stripping methods based on pressurised
introduced quite a few new technologies company already performs repairs on wing, cornstarch blasting, for composites and
to the industry, not the least because of without taking down a component or panel. metals alike.” The use of scanning tools will
predominant use of composite materials in “We choose to do so to make logistics easier be developed to check the various surfaces
their structures. As a result, considering the and shorten the turnaround time,” says to be treated or repaired. Hélios will also
pace of new developments, the capabilities James Kornberg, products and business equip with state-of-the-art machining tools
that MROs need to win business in the next development manager for aerostructures. for complex work on composite materials,
5 to 10 years will clearly differ from those In 2012, the Helios project was with a hitherto unrivaled degree of precision,”
needed today. For instance, with hundreds launched with the aim of upgrading AFI Terner adds.
of the new wide-bodies in use, and over KLM E&M’s industrial base and offering The Airbus A350 XWB is indeed a
1600 more in production, there is a growing enhanced performance to its clients. All the quantum leap in technology, from the
demand for relevantly qualified maintenance aerostructures facilities at Le Bourget in large share of carbon fiber composites and
staff with skills aligned to the emerging Paris are being brought under a single roof to titanium alloys used in its structure to its
needs of the industry,” says Kestutis ensure an optimized aerostructures offering. highly advanced turbofan engines. Most of
Volungevicius, the Head of Engineering and
Training at FL Technics.
The aerospace MRO market for
composite components is a developing
market primarily driven by increasing
acceptance of composites in aerostructures,
especially in primary aerostructures such as
fuselage, wing structure, and empennage.
The increasing fleet of newly acquired
aircraft across the globe and greater
penetration of composites in aircraft such
as the Airbus A350, Airbus A380, and Boeing
B787 is expected to further aid the market.
A latest MRO Survey, conducted by
Oliver Wyman, indicates that over 34
percent of MRO providers plan to invest
into development of composite repair
capabilities in the next 5 years.
Firm orders for the A350 as of end July
2016 is 810 aircraft for 43 customers across
the globe. With these many A350 aircraft
12 ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA