Page 28 - AAA JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 Online Magazine

says Young. “We are the largest commercial doing the repairs.” At the Paris Air Show in June this year, AAR
trader in the used serviceable market, the larg- announced that it would be the exclusive distributor for Woodward
est airframe heavy check maintenance provider for the promotion and sale of spare piece parts in support of U.S.
in North America, the largest independent com- Government fleets. As part of the deal, AAR OEM Solutions will
mercial component repair power-by-the-hour provide piece part distribution for components on multiple plat-
provider in the market and one of the largest forms including the T700, LM2500 and TF34 engines.
military supply chain solutions providers in the
market. We are all stand-alone businesses; that “We are the only major distributor that has both commercial and
allows us to be nimble.” military capabilities equal scale,” says Young. “On the commercial
Apart from growing interest from OEMs in side, we have 100 salespeople around the world. On the military
its parts distribution services, the company has side, we are the largest distribution vendor to the U.S. government
also seen the industry respond enthusiastically and sell to 30 different countries.”
to its online PAARTS Store. “Every month is
a record month,” says Young. “Everything our Young says the military side of the business is growing rapidly,
business sells is factory new but in the near keeping pace with the commercial side. “With the U.S. Government
future, we are looking at offering used service- prioritizing operational readiness of the fleet, the U.S. military is
able materials as well. The company also has a experiencing a big budget increase. The military side of the busi-
separate business that deals with USM.” ness is growing; currently, it is at 35 percent, but we would like to
see a 50:50 commercial-military split.”
Strategy for Growth One of AAR’s existing OEM product-support partners is Eaton
Young believes that the success of his business Aerospace: AAR is an exclusive distributor for Eaton’s Fluid and
has a lot to do with the fact that it serves “like Electrical Distribution division and for subsets of its Fuel and its
an extension” of the OEMs, complimenting their Motion Control divisions. It also provides 24/7 AOG support for
efforts. “We are not looking to replace the OEM Eaton Aerospace. Unison Industries, a GE Aviation subsidiary, is
sales force,” he says. “Many of our agreements a long-term partner, with AAR being the exclusive distributor and
are based on part numbers, regions or markets provider of AOG support.
that are not core to their sales team but still Another partnership that Young is excited about is the one that
have real value. They need someone to focus his business has struck with Zodiac Aerospace, a member of the
on such areas and sell more than they can. We Safran Group. In November 2018, AAR was named the preferred
have 100 percent data transparency with the global distributor for the company’s water and waste product lines.
OEMs we partner with.” “This is our first distribution agreement with a Safran group com-
pany. We are very excited about growing that relationship.”
Most of the deals that the business has struck
are exclusive in nature. “OEMs have very high Acquisitions on the Cards
standards,” says Young. “When they give exclu- With the US $2 billion company heading for a record financial year,
sivity, they expect growth, market intel and there is plenty of excitement about the future. Young expects AAR
strategy inputs. Our data analytical capabilities to grow bigger in the near future. “We have very little debt; we
are one of our greatest strengths; that helps have the ability to do big deals, a number of them,” he says. “We
us provide the kind of input that really makes are looking at potential acquisitions, but it is too early to talk about
a difference.” them. I don’t think you will see us doing something totally different;
it has to be highly synergistic with our existing businesses. We like
Striking Major Deals the niche we are in.”
As per the deal with BASF that was signed in
April, AAR will be the global distributor of BASF
Deoxo aircraft cabin ozone/ Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOC) converters and converter
Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) ser-
vices. BASF’s technology reduces harmful
ozone and VOC in aircraft cabin air.

This technology removes ozone, which can
cause adverse health effects such as head-
ache, fatigue, irritation of the eyes and chest
pain, and reduces certain hydrocarbon com-
pounds, thus improving air cabin quality. “They
want to capture the aftermarket, do more of the
repair of the ozone converters,” says Young.
“They were missing a big part of the repair
market; a lot of third-party shops are currently

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