Collins Aerospace will be investing more than $27 million in expanding its MRO presence in two Asian cities, as it eyes growth in a key market.
The company will be nearly doubling the size of maintenance operations in Xiamen, China, moving existing works to a new 7,430sq m (80,000sq ft) facility. The new site will provide MRO services for Collins products including fuel control systems, avionics, evacuation slides, and engine vane actuators.
Collins says the Xiamen unit will service Chinese indigenous aircraft programmes, including Comac’s ARJ21 regional jet and C919 narrowbody. It will also support Boeing 787s, as well as Airbus A350 and A330neo aircraft, in addition to general aviation and rotary-wing types.
Collins is also significantly expanding its MRO facility in Selangor, Malaysia.
“The company’s Malaysian operations were previously dedicated to supporting MRO for Collins environmental control systems, but as part of the expansion the facility will add new MRO capabilities for Collins air cycle machines, heat exchangers, engine starters, valves, propellers and actuation systems,” it states.
Separately, Collins has signed long-term contracts with China Airlines and Tigerair Taiwan for engine accessory repair services under its FlightSense programme.
The contract – which Collins says is “the most comprehensive MRO agreement with the airlines to date” – covers China Airlines’ fleet of 25 A321neos, as well as Tigerair Taiwan’s 15 A320neos.
