AMAC Aerospace’s strategy for success is simple: Find the right people, be the best at the job. The rest will follow
From aircraft completions to acquisitions to MRO – AMAC Aerospace is the Swiss Army Knife of the aviation industry.
The advantage of a Swiss Army knife is its capacity to solve a myriad of needs, all within a single device. Each knife component has a special purpose that, when taken together, have made the Swiss Army knife a reliable tool for more than a century.
AMAC Aerospace could be considered the Swiss Army knife of aviation services. From a humble start in Switzerland just 10 years ago, AMAC has rapidly grown into an international aviation services provider with revenues in the millions of dollars.
The key to AMAC’s hyper growth has been to focus on the quality of service long associated with Swiss culture, acquire assets, and apply the company’s quality of service to the new assets.
In just a decade, AMAC Aerospace has strategically acquired regional companies to become a comprehensive provider of services ranging from corporate jet services, to aircraft completions to maintenance, and even aircraft sales with offices in Switzerland, France, Turkey and Lebanon. In total, AMAC now has 1,000 employees, all dedicated to delivering the same level of service that the company’s reputation for quality was built on.
Different locations, different specialties
Like a Swiss Army knife, different locations have different specialties while sharing a common core set of values. As an example, JCB Aero, based near Toulouse, France, was recently acquired for its craftsmanship for designing fixed and rotor wing aircraft
interiors. In comparison, AMAC in Bodrum, Turkey specialises in commercial line and base maintenance during the winter (when demand softens) and VIP business maintenance in the summer. To keep up with the local growth, AMAC recently added a seventh hangar, providing an additional 4,626 sqm of space.
AMAC Aerospace in Beirut, Lebanon helps support the exclusive distributorship for Pilatus Aircraft in the Middle East. Thus far, AMAC has sold three PC-12 aircraft – the high-performance, low-operating cost single engine turboprop built for getting into and out of smaller airports that larger aircraft cannot utilise. The company’s new PC-24 is intended to extend the PC-12’s capabilities to a twin-jet aircraft which Pilatus bills as an SVT or Super Versatile Jet. AMAC has strong dialogue with potential clients for their allocation of one of their PC-24s ahead of the late 2019 deliveries.
A completion track record
A major key to AMAC Aerospace’s success has been its aircraft completion division. To date, the company has provided customers with more than 20 aircraft completions for total revenue exceeding one billion US dollars.
With this impressive track record, it came as no surprise when AMAC recently announced the start of a 20-month Boeing 747-8i completion project for a head-ofstate customer.
This will be the company’s second 747 completion and should include a “unique design” according to AMAC Group Chairman and CEO Kadri Muhiddin.
Waleed K. Kuhiddin, Vice President Strategic Operations & Business Development added, “We only return to service one-off cabin designs and interior, which make each aircraft extremely unique to the world market of private aviation, whether it is a Global Express or a B747-8i.”
The company also recently redelivered a Boeing 777-200LR. While details are confidential, company officials did note that a 64-inch HD monitor was part of the interior specification inclusion as with an array of new technology installations.
With the recent first delivery of the Boeing BBJ Max 8, AMAC is hoping to win contracts for at least five purchasers of Boeing’s next-gen offering.
Always at the forefront of new tech
During the 2017 EBACE, AMAC was successful in being the preferred completion centre for the new Airbus A320 NEO, of which they are the first in the world to receive a completion order on. Whilst they thrive on delivering on-time projects, AMAC must also remain at the forefront of new technologies and aircraft variants.
At the 2018 EBACE recently held in Geneva, Switzerland, AMAC proudly announced that their Basel location has been certified as an authorised service facility by Bombardier, specifically for the Global Express, Express XRS, and CL-300 and -600. The same facility has also recently been certified by Airbus as a completion centre for the corporate jet version of the A350 commercial jet.
Another hot market for AMAC Aerospace is the initial and reconfiguration of high-speed Wi-Fi. The newest Ka-band solutions are highly sought after by VIP/ VVIP clients as they rely more than ever on bandwidth-intensive operations such as video conferencing and streaming of content, even in the air.
Given AMAC Aerospace’s growth in its base in Switzerland, the company has had to enter into discussions with Basel airport authorities to add a fifth hangar before the close of 2018. Similar growth from its Bodrum, Turkey facility will result in a tender to acquire additional land for another hangar, per the demand that this facility receives.
With its continued focus on Swiss quality services, AMAC Aerospace is poised to continue on its hyper growth path, making it an indispensable provider of aviation services ranging from configurations to maintenance, to charters, to sales.