Category: PRs

The scope of Franck Terner’s responsibilities has been extended with his appointment as President, AIR FRANCE KLM Engineering & Maintenance. He is a member of the AIR FRANCE KLM Group Executive Committee.

The appointment forms part of ongoing changes in the organization of the AIR FRANCE KLM Holding Company, resulting in greater integration of the Engineering & Maintenance arms of the two airlines. AIR FRANCE and KLM strategy and business development will henceforth be steered overall at Group level. Operational management of the businesses will remain the responsibility of the Engineering and Maintenance EVPs of the two airlines, which already market a joint offering under the AFI KLM E&M brand.

Franck Terner, 53, is a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure Electronique et Application (ENSEA), and the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM) engineering schools, and of the Institut d’Administration des Entreprises (IAE), a Paris business administration institute.

Franck Terner joined Air France in 1988 as a production engineer on the Concorde program, before successively heading Scheduling and Planning at the Maintenance Division, running production in the on-board component repair shop, heading up Concorde maintenance, then the Orly Light Maintenance facility and then running the Air France medium-haul fleet maintenance department. In 2002, he was appointed Head of Aircraft Maintenance at the carrier Regional. In 2007, he became Executive Vice-President, Operations and Support at Regional, now an Air France subsidiary, before his appointment there as Chief Operating Officer in 2008.
Since 2010, Franck Terner has been President of Air France Industries and became a member of the AIR FRANCE KLM Group Executive Committee on 1st January 2013 as Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Commercial, Engineering and Maintenance.

Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) and VistaJet International announced the enrollment of the first of 50 Global aircraft on the JSSI Program, providing hourly cost maintenance coverage for the Rolls-Royce BR710 Engines and the Honeywell APU. This marks the beginning of their historic agreement, announced on May 21, 2013.

The record-setting deal to enroll 50 Bombardier* Global 5000* and Global 6000* aircraft onto JSSI’s Platinum Engine and APU hourly cost maintenance programs was announced last month in Geneva, Switzerland. The long-term agreement is valued at over $205 million US. The aircraft are part of VistaJet’s largest order in business aviation history placed in November 2012.

“It’s fantastic that JSSI can join us to celebrate both the delivery of the first Global jet from our historic order with Bombardier and the first Global from our fleet to enroll in their program,” commented Nick van der Meer, VistaJet’s accountable manager. “This partnership adds another dimension to the standard maintenance program and is critical to our business model commitment of providing non-stop point-to-point global coverage with guaranteed availability. We look forward to working with JSSI for many years to come.”

“As VistaJet begins accepting delivery of their fleet of Global aircraft, JSSI is committed to providing them with the same quality of service they provide to their customers,” stated Neil Book, president and CEO of JSSI. “They can be confident that their engine and APU maintenance costs are covered and that these valuable assets are protected from the first flight they take, anywhere in the world,” added Book.

Peerless Electronics Inc. has joined Aeroxchange http://www.aeroxchange.com, an aviation business-to-business Internet marketplace.

Peerless, an authorized stocking distributor of switches circuit breakers, relays, contactors, sensors, connectors and more, will be listing more than 3,800 part numbers with Aeroxchange. Aeroxchange Supply Chain members will be able to view real time current inventory parts status at Peerless, have instant access to technical data, pricing, and hyperlinks, as well as cross references to alternate part numbers including Boeing, Airbus and MS part numbers. This data is available 24/7 to Aeroxchange members.

Peerless is an authorized distributor for Sensata Klixon, Honeywell Sensing and Control, Eaton Aerospace, OTTO Controls, TE Connectivity AMP & Raychem, Esterline Leach, Switchcraft, Cooper-Bussmann and more. Aeroxchange is a multi-airline global e-commerce marketplace. Headquartered in Dallas, USA, Aeroxchange formally began operations in October 2000 under the direction of many major airlines.

Gulfstream Aerospace has opened a sales and design center at the company’s facility in Dallas. The 9,300-square-foot (864-square-meter) center enhances the customer experience during the sales and design stages of a Gulfstream business jet by allowing them to see and evaluate potential paint schemes, cabin layouts and interior cabin selections.

Gulfstream Dallas encompasses more than 420,000 square feet (39,019 square meters) and comprises a completions center for Gulfstream mid-cabin aircraft — the new super mid-size G280 and the wide-cabin, high-speed G150 — and a service center for all Gulfstream aircraft.

“With the entry-into-service of the G280, we wanted to offer mid-cabin customers cabin-design capability at the same location where their aircraft is being completed,” said Tray Crow, director, Interior Design. “What they will find is a clean and neutral space that is comfortable and conducive to the process of choosing an aircraft and personalizing its interior to suit their needs.”

The centerpiece of the Dallas sales and design center is a material showroom filled with leathers, fabric swatches, carpet samples and veneers as well as examples of cabin amenities. Using a state-of-the-art, mobile visualization application called DesignBook, which Gulfstream first demonstrated to customers at the 2012 NBAA Convention, customers and company personnel can also experiment with various cabin configurations, colors and fabrics.

DesignBook is also available at Gulfstream’s Savannah Sales and Design Center, a similarly equipped 17,900-square-foot (1,663-square-meter) facility that opened in June 2007.

“This technology enables our Interior Design teams to create a highly realistic rendering of a cabin in real time,” Crow said. “With the click of a mouse or touch of a screen, customers can see how different fabrics and colors look together in a particular cabin configuration. We can adjust and refine until the customer gets the desired interior.”

The Gulfstream Dallas Sales and Design Center is staffed by designers, Completion Sales executives and support staff.

STS Aviation Group and its employees say they are immensely honored to be selected as the winner of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for the South Florida Services category. The STS Aviation Group looks forward to continued success and growth in the future, and at the National Level Competition. “In the almost thirty years that STS has been in business, this, by far, is our crowning achievement,” states STS CEO PJ Anson.

The finalists and award recipients, selected by an independent panel of judges, were honored at a gala event at the Fountainebleau in Miami Beach on June 13th.

The award recognizes outstanding high-growth entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their business and communities. Collectively, the Florida award recipients grew employment for their companies by 64 percent and their revenues by 48 percent between 2010 and 2012.

The next step for STS will be the National Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year overall award winner which will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 16, 2013. The awards for this event will be given to the nation’s most prestigious of high-growth, market-leading companies.

IKHANA Aircraft Services has received FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) and Parts Manufacturing Approval (PMA) for their RWMI DHC-6 Re-Life Flight Controls. This is the latest addition to an expanding catalog of value-adding Twin Otter modifications. All eleven (11) DHC-6 Flight Controls are re-manufactured, providing NEW 66,000 hours/132,000 cycles of fatigue life with applicability to all DHC-6-100/-200/-300 Series Twin Otter airplanes. “Many operators don’t realize that the flight controls are life limited assemblies that require tracking and expire upon reaching 66,000 hours or 132,000 cycles of use,” says John Zublin, president/CEO of IKHANA. “The RWMI DHC-6 Re-Life Flight Control STC is an ideal fit with our other proprietary STCs for the RWMI DHC-6 Re-Life Wing Box and DHC-6 Re-Life Fuselage.”

The original -100, -200, and -300 Series Twin Otters, produced from 1965 to 1988, have a structural fatigue life limit of 66,000 hours/132,000 cycles for the fuselage and flight controls. IKHANA’s RWMI Re-Life Flight Controls are the FAA PMA equivalent of FACTORY-NEW equipment and complements the RWMI DHC-6 Re-Life Fuselage STC (awarded in November of 2011) and the RWMI DHC-6 Re-Life Wing Box STC (awarded in 1996). With the RWMI DHC-6 Re-Life Flight Controls, IKHANA has the ability to provide a re-life for all of the Twin Otter’s major structural assemblies.

IKHANA (and its predecessor, R.W. Martin, Inc.) has manufactured more than 100 re-lifed Wing Boxes and expects strong demand for the latest STC products. Re-lifed aircraft are customized by IKHANA for operations supporting executive transport, regional/commuter airlines, and special missions. Available options include increased gross weight capability, enhanced air conditioning, glass cockpit avionics, VIP amenities, cargo handling, camera hatches, and integration of surveillance/patrol systems.

For further information, contact Naras “Bo” Alksninis, Director of Marketing Tel:951-600-0009 x218; Mobile:818.554.5906; Email:BAlksninis@IKHANAgroup.com

Spairliners has named Sven-Uve Hueschler as new managing and financial director. He assumed his role on July 1. Hueschler has been with Lufthansa Technik for seven years and was previously in the position of head of Business Development of the Product Division Aircraft Component Services. Hueschler brings strategic and operational leadership experience to the company.

Since starting his career at Lufthansa Technik he has held several positions in International Sales and Business Development Ventures. “We are pleased to gain someone with such experiences in the MRO industry and moreover on strategic business development for Spairliners. Mr Hueschler’s appointment fits in perfectly with the E-Jet expansion and the upcoming growth of the company,” says Dr. Burkhard Andrich, member of the Supervisory Board of Spairliners. “With its highly skilled personnel and an excellent managing team, namely Olivier Mazzucchelli (CEO) and Sven-Uve Hueschler (CFO), Spairliners is very well positioned to cope with the exciting challenges ahead,” adds Robert Anton, chairman of the Board.

“I am excited to be joining Spairliners and feel honored to take on my new position at this important phase of the company’s growth,” says Hueschler. “To continue the success of a Joint Venture between two well-recommended MROs by entering a new market is a challenging task,” he adds. Former CFO Andre Schulte-Bisping held this position for three and a half years and has now returned to Lufthansa Technik.

Dynamic Systems, Inc. has announced a low cost tool, equipment, and maintenance manager for the aviation industry based on bar code technology.

In business since 1981, DSI provides bar code systems that track tools, maintenance, equipment, documents, work orders, inventory, capital assets, ID badges, and job costing. Bar code data collection has been proven to be the most accurate and efficient method of tracking or counting items.

DSI has announced the immediate launch of “Toolroom,” targeted for airports, MRO’s, and FBO’s that need to reduce the loss of tools and equipment and save time tracking them down. Service Manager tracks maintenance performed in accordance with Aviation Regulations. Job Costing calculates parts & labor used on particular projects. Stockroom Inventory tracks materials used down to the lot number, prints PO’s and has complete cradle to grave lot tracking. Also a complete audit trail reporting function. The program is integrated, user friendly and flexible.

“I’m impressed with the simplicity and adaptability of your Management Systems. It’s affordable for most companies, even those with just a few employees,” stated Bill Allen, process control consultant.

If it requires one minute checking a tool in and out, and if the company’s staff spends even 20 minutes a day searching for tools or servicing equipment, the overhead savings is dramatic. “Loss of tools and malfunctioning equipment is a major overhead cost today,” states Alison Falco, president.

 

KARL STORZ Industrial Group America announced the distribution of the new KARL STORZ TECHNO LED NOVA 150 light source for industrial and scientific remote visual inspection applications.

The KARL STORZ Industrial LED NOVA 150 is the next generation of environmentally friendly LED high-output light sources intended for technical borescope inspection applications. The compact, high-performance cold light projector delivers cold bright white light (6400k) that generates virtually no heat; illumination is transmitted through the borescope using robust fiber optic light guide cables. The LED NOVA 150 is energy-efficient, noiseless and has an industrial grade LED illumination module, making lamp changes virtually unnecessary. An international power supply enables worldwide use.

The KARL STORZ TECHNO LED NOVA 150 is compatible with all KARL STORZ borescopes and provides high-output LED illumination which is necessary to illuminate large voids, ideal for imaging applications that include large castings, engine cylinders, fuel tanks, oxygen tanks and similar components.

New KARL STORZ TECHNO LED NOVA 150 Light Source

Designed and manufactured in Germany in our world-class manufacturing facility and strengthened by world-wide product support, the Techno LED Nova 150 is ready for deployment into your demanding industrial vision application.

 

Comtek has received PDA design approval from Transport Canada on the Embraer 170/190 cabin & baggage floors therefore allowing Comtek to develop aftermarket floors for this aircraft. Under the existing bi-lateral agreements, this PDA approval is accepted under FAA and EASA airworthiness rules.

This approval allows Comtek to leverage its extensive experience in the design and manufacturing of floor panels on other aircraft platforms to sell a cost competitive product directly to Embraer operators with improved lead times over OEM. The floor panels are constructed to be highly wear resistant for maximum durability and are guaranteed by a 24 month warranty that covers materials and workmanship.

“The addition of these floor panels to our product line reinforces our ongoing commitment to optimizing Comtek’s customer experience. By offering high quality floor panels right off the shelf, we can significantly reduce lead times to our customers.” says Dennis Cicci, director; Sales & NPI.

Comtek will continue to expand the list of available part numbers based on customer demand until such time as the 170 and 190 platform portfolios are complete.