Page 26 - Sphere No.31 (Jul 2012)

24 Sphere 31
of its 25 per cent stake, HWL became a 50 per cent shareholder
in the company. today, gAmeCo is one of the top three
aircraft maintenance companies in mainland China and has
bold plans for growth within this highly competitive industry.
reflecting the varied nature of its offering, the company’s
business can be divided into three distinct segments: line
maintenance, heavy maintenance and component maintenance.
Additionally, the company provides a range of engineering
services, upgrades to airline components and provision of
training for mechanics.
The first service offering – line maintenance – generates
about a quarter of revenue. This segment comprises technical
services provided by gAmeCo engineers to airlines during the
course of their operations; in other words, performing crucial
checks on aircraft during turnaround time – usually overnight –
to ensure they are safe to fly the next day.
equally important to the safety of air passengers are
gAmeCo’s heavy maintenance services, accounting for
around half the company’s revenue. This segment covers
more extensive maintenance, such as cabin refurbishment,
repainting and, most importantly, regular ‘deep checks’ as
required by national regulations or aircraft manufacturers,
conducted on aircraft which have been taken out of operation
for a period of time and parked in gAmeCo’s hangars at
guangzhou international Airport.
The rest of their revenue is derived from component
maintenance, which comprises checks and repairs, carried
out in specialised workshops, to many components critical
to the safe and efficient operation of a modern aircraft. These
include anything and everything from instrumentation,
avionics and navigation devices to safety vests, oxygen
equipment and life rafts.
gAmeCo’s partnership with China southern – HWL’s joint
venture partner, also holding a 50 per cent stake in
the business – virtually guarantees
an exciting and fast-
moving future. The airline currently
accounts for around 70 per cent of
gAmeCo’s revenue. such reliance is
no hindrance, considering China southern’s significant clout
in the Chinese aviation market; in terms of fleet size and
passenger numbers, it is the largest airline in Asia – perhaps
surprising, given its lower profile as compared to some other
major Asian carriers.
China southern is also at the cutting edge of aircraft
developments, meaning gAmeCo must keep pace with ever-
changing maintenance requirements. The airline’s brand new
Airbus A380 entered operation with its maiden flight taking
off in october 2011 – in tandem, gAmeCo ensured that its
engineers were ready, assisting them to attain full technical
capability and clearance to service the enormous aircraft. China
southern will also be the first Chinese customer, and only the
fourth airline in the world, to operate Boeing’s new dreamliner,
set to enter operation in 2012 – presenting another new
challenge for gAmeCo’s experienced mechanics to meet
and overcome.
China southern is not the only airline reliant on gAmeCo
for efficient and effective maintenance services. since moving
its Asian hub to guangzhou, fedex has been another major
customer for both line and heavy maintenance. other
international airlines, such as Qantas and Aeromexico, have
also called upon gAmeCo in the past year, simultaneously
highlighting the recognised quality of the company’s services
and the growing importance of guangzhou as an international
aviation hub.
Like most modern Chinese companies, gAmeCo has
its sights set firmly on building growth momentum over the
coming years. How does it aim to achieve this, especially
in a historically closed and regulated aviation market such
as China’s?
“of course it is not always easy to grow, especially
considering the protective tendencies of the industry here,”
admitted mr marx. “one advantage we have is our strong
partnership with China southern, and we will continue to
leverage this relationship.”
mr marx went on to explain how the company aims to drive
growth in three areas: volume, capabilities and reach. increased
volume can be achieved primarily through building new aircraft
hangars and hiring more mechanics. Construction of a new
eight-bay hangar is underway at guangzhou airport, expanding
gAmeCo’s capacity to provide heavy maintenance services to
more aircraft simultaneously.
in terms of technical capabilities, safety concerns are
such that the aircraft mechanical servicing industry is
necessarily subject to heavy regulation and stringent training
requirements. gAmeCo is presently investing heavily in
training its mechanics and improving its facilities to deliver
maintenance services for certain components, notably
landing gear, which are currently outsourced to specialist
sub-contractors. similarly, the complex carbon-fibre
“our objective is to develop
capabilities in all areas ,
so that we can eventually
provide our customers with a
total service package.”
Big aircraft like the
Boeing 747 require up to
600 kilogrammes of paint.