Air Works acquires 85% in British firm

Expanding its aviation engineering business, leading Indian service provider Air Works Engineering today announced the acquisition of 85 per cent stake in a British firm, Air Livery, known for its aircraft painting services and facilities.

The deal is understood to be worth about $20 million.

Air Works, which already has a full-fledged facility for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) at Hosur in Karnataka, is constructing a hangar to undertake simultaneous painting of two large planes like Boeing 777 or Airbus 340, its Director Ravi Menon told PTI here.

He said the paint facility would come up by this year-end and would cost about $2.5 million.

The MRO facility has received approvals from the European Aviation Safety Agency.

Air Works would use the technical expertise of Air Livery at this facility, which would help airlines in South, South- east Asia and West Asia reduce their maintenance costs by at least 25 per cent.

Airlines can bring their planes for high-level checks to Hosur and get them painted there instead of taking them to Europe or the US. This would save on costs by one-fourth, Menon said, adding the Hosur MRO would be "economical for all aircraft within five hours of flying distance".

"With the expertise and reputation of Air Livery, and its huge clientele in the West, we will be able to leverage its brand to attract customers," he said.

Following the virtual takeover, Air Livery would function as an independent business unit of Air Works, which would retain the key management of the company.