Aviation Week & Space Technology - 3 November 2014

Paul Seidenman San Francisco

Power Play

When Evergreen Aviation Technologies (EGAT) and GE Aviation announced a joint

venture to provide major maintenance on the GEnx engine, the Taipei-based MRO

made what appears to be a sure bet on the continued success of the GE-built, wide-

body aircraft powerplant. The GEnx MRO joint venture, to be marketed under GE

Evergreen Engine Services, was formally launched in March and is slated to have full

overhaul capability by 2019. In an interview with Aviation Week, EGAT Chairman

Michael Chang discusses the joint venture and other plans to grow what has been a

successful boutique MRO operation since its establishment in 1998.

AW&ST: Why did GE Evergreen

Engine Services decide to focus

exclusively on the GEnx?

Chang: The GEnx family is the best-

selling engine in GE Aviation history,

with more than 1,500 engines current-

ly on order. Over the last two years, GE

Aviation has increased production and

will deliver close to 300 GEnx engines

in 2014. There will be a significant need

for a best-in-class overhaul shop, and

GE recognized the potential of such a

competitive facility in EGAT.

Will EGAT compete for GEnx

maintenance globally, or mostly

within the Asia/Pacific region?

GEnx maintenance services are jointly

marketed by GE and EGAT through

GE Evergreen Engine Services. After

customers contract with GE, mainte-

nance services are distributed to GE’s

network of GEnx MRO facilities, includ-

ing GE Evergreen Engine Services.

Will EGAT have to build new facili-

ties to accommodate GEnx work?

We have no plans to build new facilities

for engine overhauls. Our new hangar,

scheduled for completion in mid-2016,

will be used for airframe maintenance.

Are there plans to expand the joint

venture to other engines?

Currently, we have no plans to extend

the joint venture beyond the GEnx.

EGAT is a well-known commercial

airframe MRO. Which airframes

are EGAT’s specialty today,

and on which new airframes will

EGAT plan to develop mainte-

nance expertise?

Boeing airframes are our specialty.

Our expertise includes the 737NG,

747, 767 and 777 airframe families.

Our capabilities and experience also

include the Airbus A320 and A330

Airbus airframe series. In addition,

we are developing our 787 airframe

capabilities.

EGAT is a designated Boeing Edge

program service center. Will it be

doing major airframe work on the

787 and 737 MAX families?

Barring unforeseen circumstances or

major changes, EGAT will handle ma-

jor airframe maintenance on both 787

and 737 MAX airframes.

Does EGAT plan to expand its

Airbus maintenance to include the

A350 or A320neo?

We have no plans to expand EGAT’s

Airbus product MRO oferings, beyond

the A320 and A330.

Where do you see the most oppor-

tunities for EGAT in airframe main-

tenance within the next five years?

Our greatest opportunities are in our

ability to deliver high-value service solu-

tions to airframe customers. EGAT ex-

pects to be working on a steady stream

of A320s, 737NGs, 747s, 767s, 777s and

787 airframes over the next five years.

In addition to letter checks, we expect

winglet modifications, interior and in-

flight entertainment system upgrades,

nitrogen-inerting gas system and WIFI-

installations to be prominent portions

of our service menu.

Will most of your opportunities in

airframe maintenance be gener-

ated by the emerging low-cost

MRO Edition MRO ASIA

MRO8 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION NOVEMBER 3/10, 2014 AviationWeek.com/mro

carriers in the Asia/Pacific region,

or by large international carriers

operating widebodies?

International carriers make up a size-

able portion of EGAT’s customer base.

Low-cost carriers amount to a consid-

erably smaller volume of business. By

default, low-cost carriers focus on the

lowest costs. While EGAT is highly

competitive, we are not and will not

be the cheapest MRO.

What are some of the challenges

you face over the next five years?

Training in the aircraft MRO industry

is time-consuming. It takes time to de-

velop critical hand skillsets. We also

face the challenges of a limited pool

of young adults interested in entering

the industry. Cost-growth pressures

are also a concern. EGAT efectively

manages this issue by making mechan-

ics stakeholders in the company. The

greater the company’s profit, the bet-

ter our employees’ bonuses.

Are you considering any expansion

of your facilities beyond Taiwan?

EGAT is a mid-sized, boutique aircraft

MRO with a controlled growth projec-

tion. To ensure consistent delivery of

quality services to our customers, we

plan to keep our operations here in Tai-

wan. MRO services are labor-intensive.

Understanding the workforce and ef-

fectively managing the productivity is

critical to the high quality of consistent

services that EGAT’s airline partners

have come to expect. Any expansion

outside of Taiwan would bring ad-

ditional management challenges and

risks. c

EVERGREEN AVIATION TECHNOLOGIES

Evergreen Aviation Technologies has

specialized in Boeing airframe work,

as evidenced by this 50th heavy

maintenance visit for UPS in May,

but is expanding its engine capabili-

ties through a joint venture with GE.

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