Dublin – November 3rd, 2011: Taoiseach Enda Kenny today officially opened a new 40,000 sq foot €4.5m state-of-the-art Landing Gear Centre at Dublin Aerospace which will result in the company more than doubling its peak-time workforce.  The new facility will double the capacity available currently and will also result in complete coverage for the overhaul of the landing gears for both the Airbus A320 series and Boeing 737 series of aircraft.

 Dublin Aerospace was established at Dublin Airport in 2009 after SR Technics closed its operations. The investment in the new €4.5m Landing Gear Centre together with other investments in their Aircraft Overhaul and APU businesses will result in more than doubling of employment to over 300 during the next two years. 45 new permanent jobs will be immediately created.

 Speaking at an event at Dublin Aerospace, the Taoiseach, Mr Kenny welcomed the investment in the new facility:

 “This Government’s top priority is to restore economic growth, protect and create jobs and to rebuild confidence at home and abroad. Today’s announcement shows there are success stories and great opportunities, especially for indigenous Irish companies like Dublin Aerospace.

 ”Dublin Aerospace has shown that in a short space of time, through innovation and fresh thinking, Irish companies can build a reputation for excellence at home and abroad resulting in today’s announcement of a doubling of employment and a commitment to the future through this new €4.5m Landing Gear Centre,” Mr Kenny said.

 Conor McCarthy, founder and Executive Chairman of Dublin Aerospace, said:

 “The company was fortunate that there has been a tradition of high-quality aircraft maintenance skills at Dublin Airport for over 70 years. The international aerospace maintenance business has always relied on the highest standards of quality and safety but over the past ten years it has also become a hugely competitive battleground.  We are just 3 hours from the lowest cost economies so we must compete fiercely on cost whilst providing our customers with the world beating reliability and ‘downtime’. 

In just 24 months our teams in aircraft overhaul, APU overhaul and landing gear overhaul have shown that they can win business in these challenging conditions. Our business is now profitable, growing and we are investing heavily in our people and our capacity.  Today marks a further milestone with the opening of our new landing gear centre which more than doubles our capacity and our potential market with the addition of airbus 320 landing gear capability”, said Mr. McCarthy.   

 Frank Ryan, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, which has partnered on the development of Dublin Aerospace, said:

 “Enterprise Ireland is delighted to support the expansion by Dublin Aerospace at Dublin Airport.  The company has shown energy, determination and commitment in developing the project, securing its international business and now innovating and investing for continued growth.  They are providing valuable jobs in this important sector and we look forward to continue working with them as they build their global business”.

CONOR McCARTHY, Executive Chairman of Dublin Aerospace has been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the “Emerging” category.

Conor, who founded Dublin Aerospace in 2009, thanked the staff at Dublin Aerospace and the investors who backed the company in the spring of 2009 when accepting the award on 20^th October 2011.

“It was a really difficult time generally, and we had to convince investors that this was a business that could work, despite the difficulties that had beset the aircraft manufacturing business in the previous years.”

Frank O’Keeffe, partner-in-charge of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year commented “Dublin Aerospace represents an industry which many sceptics had doubts about as being either too expensive or too complex from an industrial relations perspective to work successfully in Ireland. However, Conor McCarthy has turned this belief on its head by growing Dublin Aerospace into a hugely successful brand in aircraft maintenance based on the premise of high quality and cost competitiveness.

 Note: The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® award is a recognition programme organized globally which recognizes, acclaim and support entrepreneurs. At present, the programme is run in more than 50 countries across six continents. The Irish edition, now in its 14th year, is distinguished as one of the most prominent programme in the world. 

To view the awards ceremony please click here and forward to 7:47 & 11:00 minutes.

Following on from last year’s successful Aer Lingus Aircraft Overhaul programme Dublin Aerospace has concluded a contract with Aer Lingus for the provision of a significant portion of its base maintenance services. The maintenance services under this new contact will commence at Dublin Airport from 1st Sept 2011. The contract includes full overhaul of 8 Airbus A320 aircraft for the winter season 2011/2012 and a similar number of aircraft for 2012/2013.

Speaking after the contract signing Donal Rogers, Chief Executive Officer of Dublin Aerospace said “We are really pleased to be renewing our connection with Aer Lingus following the successful work completed during the winter of 2010/11 and we are especially delighted with Aer Lingus’ continued confidence in us.”

Aer Lingus Chief Operating Officer Fergus Wilson commented, “We look forward to a continued successful relationship with Dublin Aerospace through the provision of Airbus A320 base maintenance services under this new contract.”

The reputation of Dublin Aerospace in the market place as the provider of high quality workmanship and Turn-Time reliability was a key element in securing this significant contract.

Dublin Aerospace looks forward to further developing this commercial relationship with Aer Lingus.

The program will be split into phases consisting of Theoretical Training, Practical Training and Work Experience.

The Trainees commenced their course in July and due to finish it in July 2013.

Commenting on the announcement Donal Rogers, CEO said that “it is important for Dublin Aerospace that there is a continuous flow of suitably qualified people being trained to meet the business needs of the company in the future. I would like to take the opportunity to wish them success in their program.”

Dublin Aerospace is delighted to announce that it has concluded a contract with Jet Time A/S of Denmark for the loan and overhaul of APU’s fitted to its fleet of Boeing 737 New Gen and Boeing 737 Classics aircraft. The maintenance services under this new contract will be carried out over 5 years at the Dublin Aerospace facility in Ireland.

Dublin Aerospace is delighted to announce that it has signed a contract with Air Seychelles for the loan and overhaul of 331-200 APU’s fitted to its fleet of Boeing 767 aircraft.

The maintenance services under this new contract will be carried out over 5 years at the Dublin Aerospace facility in Ireland.

Dublin Aerospace is delighted to announce that it has signed a contract with Ukraine International Airways for the loan and overhaul of its Boeing 737 Classic landing gears.

The maintenance services under this new contract have already commenced with the completion of the first ship set of landing gears with the remaining four sets to be completed over the next two years.

Date, 20 October 2010

Dublin Aerospace is pleased to announce the appointment of Donal Rogers as CEO with effect from 1^st January 2011

Donal brings with him considerable experience in the aviation industry, and is currently Executive Board Director with vivaAerobus, the very successful Low Fares airline in Mexico.  Donal has been based in Mexico since 2006 and has occupied the positions of CFO and CEO of vivaAerobus. Prior to this he worked for five years as CFO/Deputy CEO of Pegasus Airlines based in Istanbul, Turkey.

Commenting on the appointment, Conor McCarthy, Executive Chairman said; “When we started Dublin Aerospace our aim was to appoint a CEO within a year in order to add impetus to our growth and operational excellence.  Now that the business model is established and our order book is very strong I shall be stepping into the role of Chairman with a focus on supporting our Selling Effort. We are delighted to have Donal join Dublin Aerospace as CEO.  He has a strong track record of Leadership, clear Strategic Thinking and a Cost Focus which will enable Dublin Aerospace to extend our customer base around the world.  

Commenting on his appointment, Donal said “I am delighted to be joining Dublin Aerospace as CEO. It is a young company which has achieved so much in a short space of time in a difficult competitive market. I look forward to leading the company going forward, supported by a very able team.

Dublin, 07th October 2010

Dublin Aerospace has been awarded a 5-year contract with easyJet Airline Company Ltd for the overhaul of their A319 series aircraft Landing Gears.

The services under this new contract will commence at Dublin Airport from 1^st Quarter 2011. Work covered under this agreement includes the removal, overhaul and refit of 270 Landing Gear Legs over the period 2011-2016 and is a huge boost to Dublin Aerospace which overhauls Landing Gears for Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family of aircraft.  It also triggers a $5.1M investment by Dublin Aerospace in expanding their existing facility over the next year.

Speaking after the contract signing Conor McCarthy, Executive Chairman of Dublin Aerospace said,

 “Winning this heavily competed contract from such a major respected airline as easyJet is a fantastic boost for us. We are delighted that easyJet have put their trust in our team of skilled and experienced Landing Systems engineers at Dublin Aerospace. The competitive package we were able to offer is as a result of the flexibility and competitiveness of our new business model and will enable easyJet to achieve industry leading costs and performance in this critical maintenance area.”

Ian Davies, Head of Engineering and Maintenance, easyJet, commented,

“We are delighted that Dublin Aerospace has won this contract as we believe the reputation of Dublin Aerospace in the market place as the provider of high quality workmanship and Turn-Time reliability was a key element in securing this significant contract.. This contract will enable us to achieve our vision of a sustainable low cost base for maintenance operations.”

To view the RTE News release on the contract see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_gjtBge7js