Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group expects turnover from its business aviation division to grow by more than two-thirds within five years through aggressive and targeted expansion of its core activities.
The Marshall Aviation Services unit, which covers maintenance repair and overhaul, aircraft sales, charter, management, handling and all of Cambridge airport’s activities, is forecast to turn over around £60 million ($100 million) this year. By the end of 2018, revenues are expected to rise to £100 million.
Expanding the MRO capabilities at its Broughton, North Wales and Cambridge facilities is central to this growth strategy. Marshall’s acquisition in September 2013 of Beechcraft’s 50-year-old flagship European service centre in Broughton has helped the company to boost its critical mass and widen its scope of activity to include aircraft completions.
It is now set on expanding this MRO capability across both bases and will widen its portfolio of aircraft platforms to include Bombardier and Dassault Falcon business jets. “We would also like to secure a larger share of Europe’s Cessna Citation MRO market at Cambridge,” says Marshall Aviation Services managing director Steve Jones. “On top of that we are also working hard to build a VIP airliner completions business.”
Jones says the company has “plenty of skills and lots of space to expand. A proposal has already been submitted for a new hangar to accommodate the extra work,” he continues. While engineering is core to Marshall Aviation Services’ expansion strategy, the company is also keen to grow its other activities. Jones explains: “We are on the acquisition trail, looking at charter companies and fixed-base operators in strategic locations that will compliment our business.”
Source: FlightGlobal.com
