OEMServices, headquartered in France and Thompson Robbins Components Pte Ltd, headquartered in Singapore, member of the Thompson Robbins Group, have jointly signed an agreement to work together to explore growth opportunities in the Asia Pacific region in the field of components services for the airline industry.

OEMServices is a joint venture between four Original Equipment Manufacturers namely, Diehl Aerospace, Liebherr Aerospace, Thales Avionics and Zodiac Aerospace Services. Its key mission is to address the increasing complexity of inventory, maintenance and cost management for airlines by developing original solutions linking aircraft operators and original equipment manufacturers. Thompson Robbins, with its headquarters in Singapore, signed in 2015 a multimillion dollar long term leasing contract with PT Gapura, member of the Garuda Indonesia Group, for the supply of ground support equipment (GSE) thanks to more than 40 years of experience in the GSE field and aviation components across the Asia Pacific region.

The combination of inventory, maintenance and cost management expertise on the one-hand and financing solutions expertise in the regional aviation industry on the other make both parties the perfect partners to offer integrated component services solutions to Asia’s burgeoning aviation industry, currently facing record expansions in fleets as well as passenger numbers.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the aviation market is likely to continue to shift East over the course of the next two decades where 50% of the top 20 traffic flows in the world will involve the Asia Pacific region. “We are truly excited about the prospect of working with a prestigious outfit like OEMServices which are backed by blue chip shareholders and with over 40 years of in-depth experience in supporting airlines by integrating the capabilities, assets and expertise of multiple OEMs”, Chris Chia, President of the Thompson Robbins Group noted.

The projected surge in air travel is due in part to Asia’s increasing population, which is anticipated to outpace that of other regions in the coming years. In particular, forecasts indicate that more than 65% of the world’s middle class will call Asia home by 2035. Air traffic is also expected to more than double in the region with the ongoing GDP development – making Asia Pacific an important market for future aviation growth. However the aviation value chain and infrastructure are not keeping pace with this growth and this is where the opportunity lies.

Didier Granger, President and CEO of OEMServices, notes that “To capitalize on the opportunities, there remains much scope for partnerships that offer expertise in all aspects of the aviation value chain and operational customer-proximity in key markets for a deeper understanding of local challenges. We believe that Asia Pacific is likely to be a key centre of growth for the aviation industry and as such, we seek to firmly establish our presence and leadership in such a key market.”