Aviation activity in the Gulf region has taken off to new heights in the past 20 years with the launch of new airlines, a greater openness in accepting charter services and increased cargo traffic. This development has created the right conditions for the aircraft spare parts industry to dig in and flourish.

Maintenance being an essential concern, be it relatively new aircraft or ageing airframes, suppliers of spare parts are assured they will have plenty on their hands. The ageing airframe market is particularly alive and kicking simply because there are a very large number of aircraft that have had a long run and will have to be replaced sometime in the not-too-distant future but which in the meantime may need parts replacements to keep them going.

Attending to this niche market, taking care of virtually everything that an aircraft would need to keep it in topnotch condition, above and beyond spare parts, as well as serving as intermediary for the sale and lease of aircraft is FP Aeroparts Middle East FZCO.

The company, which, for the time being, has set up base in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone, goes all the way to make spare parts available  - from buying aircraft just to break them down to their components to having them overhauled at a recognised centre and finally having them certified by the proper authority so purchasers can rest assured of their quality. It also procures spare parts from approved distributors and manufacturers and these come with full traceability.

FP Aeroparts founder and managing director Philippe Ollivier stresses that while his company is deeply involved in the supply of aviation spare parts, it is also the provider of a host of specialised services and materials - from interior and exterior cleaning products to paints and fuel tank decontamination substances.
The company also oversees the manufacture of a new seat fabric 3X, described as “a new generation product in terms of aircraft weight.”  It is flame retardant as well as being a 100 per cent stain-free wool fabric impervious to liquids. The product was shown at the Dubai 2003 air show.

The company is an exclusive distributor of PSA (Produits Sanitaires Aeronefs), France, and Aerochemicals Alliance.  The companies in Aerochemicals Alliance are all specialised in the supply of eco-friendly interior and exterior cleaning products such as anti-static cleaners, seat fabric cleaners, label removers, windscreen and plexiglass cleaners, solvent-free exterior cleaning compounds for painted and unpainted aircraft body surfaces, composite blastic media, oil absorbent granules and paint strippers, engine cleaning products, NDT products and disinfectants.

The company stocks a large range of fasteners, airframe parts, O rings, seals and raw material or can have them delivered within 24 hours from its partner company on the US west coast, Associated Sales International.
And another segment that FP Aeroparts is pursuing and which could emerge as a big revenue earner in time is aircraft sale and lease.

“We have just contracted 14 Fokker 100-seater airplanes for two Gulf-based operators,” announces Ollivier. “We consider this as a step forward for growing airlines, especially airlines looking for low-cost investment and preparing a 10-year plan for fleet restructuring.” He is certain the return on profits generated will help the carriers invest in new-generation aircraft later on.

“Our partnership agreement with a very professional and strong UAE finance consulting company, Sher Consulting, offers you the opportunity to finance airplane acquisition. This can include the operational network cost analysis as well as full product support including IP study, engineering and training,” he tells potential customers.

But Ollivier emphasises that right now the core business remains spare parts.  The company buys and breaks up about two to three aircraft a year, removing from their innards things such as airframe parts, engines, APU, landing gear systems, wheels, brakes etc.... It also repairs these same parts as well as ground support equipment and avionics.

“We have agreements with a network of repair stations approved by original equipment manufacturers and the Federal Aviation Authority. They allow us to provide our customers the most competitive prices and best possible turnaround times for overhaul and repair of the parts,” he says.

“In the 21st century, many aircraft operators, as well as manufacturers, are realising that it is more economically viable to maintain and upgrade an existing fleet than pursue a totally new airframe. This approach generally results in a cost saving to the operators as the support system for an existing aircraft type is already in place.”
According to a recent Boeing study, half of the world fleet is more than 20 years old and these aircraft are candidates to be replaced in the next 10 years. Half of the ageing fleet is in the Asia-Pacific region. Some 200 government transport and head-of-state aircraft in the world fleet are in operation, and more than half are large airframes - the size of a Boeing 737 or larger.

The ageing airframe market has become a niche market. “It is a relatively small market as many of the big players are not interested in supporting an old aircraft as it would detract from their sale of new aircraft. Also driving this market are budgetary concerns,” says Ollivier.  “Surplus or overhauled spares tend to be less expensive than buying new; plus the operator can trade in his old part for rebuild or a core refund.”

FP Aeroparts offers a range of spares and components through its worldwide network, granting customers also the advantage of leasing or pooling them if they request it. It offers an updated quality system traceable to ISO 9001-2000 and through its US partner the ASA100 and ASA9000 standards.

Customers may also avail themselves of a financing network for leasing components or the buy back or lease back facility for major items including the engine. The financing is tucked into individual contracts but is offered on a case-by-case basis, says Ollivier. Engineering support is available on request including drawing, manufacture of spares and translation of technical documentation.  The platforms supported for aircraft are Boeing, Airbus, Fokker, ATR, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed, CASA. Pilatus, Grob Piper, DH-6, Cessna, Gulf Stream, Anotonov and Illyushin.  For helicopters, the platforms are Bell, Eurocopter, Agusta, Sikorsky, BO105, BK117, MI-8 and MI-17.

The market has done particularly well in countries beyond the First World where government operators are under financial restraints and cannot afford the new aircraft, engines or large-dollar-value spares. “This is where companies like FP Aeroparts can step in,” says Ollivier.  “We have a large network of suppliers for those types of items. This network is the result of the many years of experience and contacts brought to the company by its employees.”

Contact and experience are particularly thick at FP Aeroparts. Ollivier, in his 50s, himself brings to the business several decades of experience in the aviation industry. He graduated from Technology School Institute in 1968 and joined the air force to become a pilot but quit, realising he was not cut out for a military career. In the early 1970s, the regional airline market made its appearance, and Ollivier found work as an engineer for Piper aircraft.

He subsequently joined a company called Air Paris, working there for three years as technical assistant. When the TAT Group took over the company, he ascended the corporate ladder becoming the director of purchasing and director of contracts and finally vice president of sales before leaving in 1997 to set up his own operation.
Ollivier is joint owner of the business with his wife Marieleine. Serving as director of the company is Jean Paul Lissonnet, who worked first with Pratt & Whitney Canada, then for a number of years with TAT and also had an eight-year stint as manager of French Bureau Veritas’ aeronautical and industrial branch in Africa.

The company moved to its Jebel Ali location only two years ago from France where it operated as Aeroparts and Services. “Most of our customers were in the Gulf, so it made sense to move in there,” says Ollivier. The French tax system and bureaucracy must have also been important considerations for the relocation to Dubai’s free zone haven.

“I heard about Jebel Ali Free Zone through local friends, and decided to move in after visiting the area. The Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority and the welcome it extends to foreign entrepreneurs is an example for the entire world, not just this region. As a matter of fact, Europeans should consider this kind of system if they wish to reduce manpower costs,” he comments.

“Ninety per cent of our customers are in the Gulf, 10 per cent are in West Africa,” says Ollivier. FP Aeroparts counts as its customers such prominent Gulf organisations as the Bahrain Air Force, Dubai Police, Oman Air, Emirates, Gulf Air and Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Company (Gamco).
In its second year at Jebel Ali, the company registered a growth of 52 per cent in the spares segment, and expectations are that the third-year increase over the previous year could be as high as 50 per cent, bringing in revenues of Dh60 million.

The company is only in its third year at Jebel Ali and still in a peripatetic mood. “Operating in Jebel Ali is an experience, but to expand and be closer to the aviation people, we have a plan to move to the Dubai Airport Free Zone in the third third quarter of 2004.” says Ollivier.