HARTZELL PROPELLER ADDS SERVICE CENTER IN CHINA
Piqua-headquartered Hartzell Propeller has added a service and support center in China, the company announced.
Hartzell appointed the Aircraft Repair and Overhaul Plant of Civil Aviation Flight University of China as the service and support center. Located in Guanghan City, CAFUC has 110 employees who perform maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft, engines, propellers and components.
The partnership with CAFUC gives Hartzell additional in-country service and support capability, the company said. Hartzell has completed translations of propeller owner manuals into Mandarin for the most popular turboprop and piston-powered aircraft flying in China.
“This latest appointment demonstrates Hartzell Propeller’s ongoing commitment to Chinese owners, operators, maintenance facilities and the continued growth of general aviation in China,” said Weiqing (Max) Wang, Hartzell Propeller managing director for China, based in Shanghai City.
Hartzell Propeller controls about 80 percent of the market for propdriven planes with engines that produce between 80 and 2,200 horsepower. The company makes about 40 aluminum alloy and composite propellers per day.
Hartzell works closely with about 100 airplane makers and modifiers, according to JJ Frigge, the executive vice president in charge of daily operations at Hartzell. About half of the company’s total sales come from aircraft manufacturers, modifiers and hobbyists. The other half comes from aftermarket parts and service work.
CAFUC is the largest civil aviation university in Asia and the one of the world’s largest flight training institutions. It is responsible for operating and maintaining the largest fleet of propeller driven aircraft in China. CAFUC also has pilot training facilities at five airports in the Henan and Sichuan Provinces of China.
Hartzell Propeller and two sister companies, Hartzell Engine Technologies in Montgomery, Ala., and Mayday Manufacturing in Denton, Texas, are subsidiaries of Tailwind Technologies Inc., based in Piqua. A third company, Hartzell Aerospace in California, was sold to ITT Corp. in 2015.