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Sanad Aerotech signs $6.5b Rolls-Royce deal

Abu Dhabi-based Sanad Aerotech announced on Monday the inking of a landmark $6.5 billion agreement with Rolls-Royce.
The deal that makes Sanad Aerotech a Rolls-Royce Trent 700 Authorised Maintenance Centre was inked at the Paris Air Show as Boeing raised its rolling 20-year industry forecast for passenger aircraft by three per cent.
The US planemaker said it expected 44,040 new airplane deliveries over the next two decades, up from the roughly 43,000 it forecast a year ago. The optimistic outlook was based on strong air traffic predictions, although global geopolitical and economic risks could upset the rosy outlook.
Sanad Aerotech, wholly owned by Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Company, is a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), provider for aero engines and industrial gas turbines.
The nine-year agreement will see Sanad Aerotech providing complete overhaul services for Trent 700 engines, including component repair, to operators globally.
Under the deal, Sanad Aerotech will more than triple the number of Trent 700 engines it services annually - from the current 22 to 75. This represents 25 per cent of the global Trent 700 engine maintenance conducted annually, which will cement the company's global position as the leading Trent 700 MRO service provider.
"For Sanad Aerotech, as a fully independent MRO with complete Trent 700 capabilities, becoming a Rolls-Royce Authorised Maintenance Centre is a major milestone in our three-decades-long legacy in Abu Dhabi. The magnitude of this agreement will benefit the UAE economy greatly over the coming nine years and reinforce Abu Dhabi's position as a leading global aerospace hub," said Sanad Aerotech's CEO Mansoor Janahi.
The Abu Dhabi firm has overhauled over 90 Trent 700 engines to date. With this new agreement, this number will increase to more than 600 over the contract period. To meet the increased load, the MRO is growing its workforce by more than 40 per cent to almost 500 aircraft engineers and technicians.
"This agreement involves an upscaling of our capacities for Trent 700, benefiting both Rolls-Royce and other existing customers through access to world-class capabilities and a highly-skilled multinational workforce that overhaul engines to the highest quality," said Janahi.
Dominic Horwood, Rolls-Royce, chief customer officer - Civil Aerospace, said Sanad Aerotech has a proven track record in working with the Trent 700, and will be a valuable addition to our network.
The addition of Sanad Aerotech supports the growth of Rolls-Royce's maintenance capacity and also supports its wider services strategy to develop an increasingly capable, competitive and flexible CareNetwork. The Trent 700 currently powers more than 800 Airbus A330s, flying with 83 operators worldwide.
- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com