AIME & MRO Middle East 2020
AI and new technologies dominate latest exhibition on aerospace industry
New technologies and innovations dominated the latest Aircraft Interiors Middle East (AIME) and MRO Middle East 2020 show with many of the 330 exhibitors highlighting new trends in the aerospace industry.
The co-located two-day events held at the Dubai World Trade Center kicked off on February 25 with a Royal Tour from H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chief Executive and Chairman of Emirates Airline & Group, who toured the stands and interacted with a number of exhibitors, including SITAONAIR, Sanad Aerotech, Falcon Aviation and Anjou Aero.
More than 70 airlines from 40 countries were represented at this year’s edition, making it the perfect platform for suppliers to interact with airline buyers in a dedicated environment.
Additionally, over 5000 trade visitors came to the event to interact with the 330 exhibitors and attend the IFEC Seminars that took place on the show floor.
Creative France
France, the only country which hosted a cluster of companies, brought in 18 French companies, it’s 9th consecutive year of participation at the trade show. They introduced their latest products, technologies and innovations at the show.
In the MRO industry, participating French exhibitors highlighted their capacity to offer innovative solutions in many areas such as flight monitoring / predictive maintenance, rapid and efficient parts replacement, improvement of processes on new technologies, digitization of documentation and monitoring, use of big data, virtual training, etc.
In the interior design segment, the French exhibitors focused on materials engineered to be lighter, interiors customized to make airlines stand out, volume use optimization, Inflight Entertainment and communication systems and more.
“The wide variety of responses offered by the French aviation market may easily meet the needs of Middle Eastern airlines, which are constantly expanding their fleets to answer significant growth in local air traffic. Considered as a powerful sector, French aeronautics industry ranks second world-wide and enjoys an excellent reputation boasting considerable innovation capacity. Indeed, 11% of the sector’s turnover is invested in R&D,” said Frederic Szabo, Managing Director Business France Middle East.
The aerospace industry in France encompasses nearly 4,000 companies and 320,000 professionals. In 2018, the sector generated €65.4bn in sales, €44bn of which came from exports. This cogent, supportive, responsive and dynamic industry is a technological and economic excellence center for France.
France can also lay claim to a fertile aeronautical ecosystem composed of renowned groups such as Airbus, Dassault, Thales and Safran, as well as an extensive network of subcontractors that accounts for half the jobs in the sector. De facto, France is the UAE’s 3rd largest supplier in aeronautics.
With support from the Occitanie Region (southwest of France), the French Pavilion had the following companies at the show: AAA: Service Provider—Manufacturing, engineering, customer support, FAL Integration, repair, overhaul, etc.; ADHETEC—Designs, manufactures and supplies technical adhesive solutions for aerospace; AD’OCC, Invest & Trade in Occitanie—Regional Development Agency of the Occitanie region; AMC AVIATION—Offers an important range of services such as Maintenance support, engineering services, airworthiness management, civil aviation trainings, software solutions and flight operation services; AUXITROL WESTON –The aftermarket arm of Auxitrol Weston provides global MRO support and services; BOLLORE LOGISTICS—a global leader in supply chain management ranking among the world’s top 10 in transport and logistics; CREATION & IMAGE PARIS—The firm has dressed over 400 brands worldwide including Kuwait Airways, Gulf Air, Oman Air and Royal Bahrain Flight; CRYSTAL AERO SOLUTIONS—Unique MRO in the world integrating PART 145 with logistics/freight forwarding and customs, for 100% optimized maintenance solutions, in order to reduce AOG time frame; DEDIENNE AEROSPACE— International company specializing in aerospace tooling for civil and defense markets; EXCENT FRANCE—A firm specializing in providing design and integration of industrial solutions & assembly lines, through turn-key projects; FLEURET —Expert in technical containers and Ground Support Equipment; LATECOERE—LATECOERE Equipment and system division offers off the shelf and dedicated tailored solution for any Airborne Video System addressing external, cargo and cabin surveillance, passenger entertainment and assistance to operations; OPT’ALM—A company, specialized in metal additive manufacturing using the directed energy deposition process; REVIMA —Leading independent MRO solutions provider, specialized in APU, Engine Parts and Landing Gear, for civil and military aircraft; bin equipment and furnishings; TALA – The Aerospace Logistics Alliance—Organization founded by a group of independent logistics providers, specialized in solving the time-critical transportation needs of the aerospace industry; UUDS AERO—Aircraft cabin interiors floor to floor turnkey solutions from Bio Decontamination, to full modification, including local Digital manufacturing capability; WIN-MS—Helps airlines (air Forces, MRO) improve by 5 the wiring maintenance efficiency and help saving AOG costs.
Deals and more
Several agreements were signed on the sidelines of the event, including a long-term agreement between Safran Nacelles with Sabena technics’ GO TEAM support services for a scope of nacelle repairs that bring the GO TEAM’s resources directly “on wing” all over the world.
In addition, Saudi Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI), a Honeywell certified service center, announced completion of over 100 auxiliary power unit repairs from its Jet Propulsion Center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
With SAEI, Boeing B777 and Airbus A330 operations with Honeywell APUs receive MRO services in the Middle East. This capability strongly positions SAEI in achieving the Saudi Vision 2030, part of which aims to localize more than 50 percent of military equipment spending by 2030 and includes covering MRO services for fixed and rotary-wing military aircraft.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub also chose the event to host a networking session for key exhibitors and aviation companies.
Mohammad Al Falasi, Aerospace Director of Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub, presented an overview of the project and showcased its benefits and solutions to the industry, including the including recently launched projects such as Supplier Complex, Helicopter Centre, and Office and Retail.
“MRO Middle East is one of the most prestigious and important events in the Middle East,” said Al Falasi. “It attracts many of our potential clients, as the majority of the big aviation companies are part of the show.”
Etihad Engineering, which provided MRO services to 356 aircraft in 2019 spending more than 1.6 million manhours in total, showcased its full range of capabilities.
“The past year has been truly remarkable for Etihad Engineering as we have expanded many boundaries, from production processes and hangar utilization, to pioneering industry firsts like the A380 12 year check we completed in less than 100 days,” Frederic Dupont, Vice President Technical Sales at Etihad Engineering, said in a statement.
AIME and MRO Middle East will return to Dubai World Trade Centre on March 2-3, 2021.
Caryn McConnachie, Aerospace Director of show organizers Tarsus F&E LLC Middle East, said the response from both exhibitors and visitors to the show is encouraging.
“Seeing the response from exhibitors and visitors is gratifying, and demonstrates that the aircraft interiors and MRO sectors are still booming in the Middle East, driven not just by the fleets of the big Middle Eastern airlines, but also by the many smaller airlines in the region,” said McConnachie.
Lydia Janow, Managing Director/Events, Aviation Week Network, added, “We’re so pleased at the success of MRO Middle East 2020. The demand from exhibitors to return in 2021 just reinforces our belief that this event brings a necessary platform to the industry in the Middle East and further afield.”
