Sanad Aerotech and Rolls-Royce in landmark USD 6.5bn engine maintenance agreement

Aerospace Turbine Services & Solutions (TS&S), now rebranded as Sanad Aerotech, has announced the conclusion of a landmark agreement with Rolls-Royce plc (Rolls-Royce) to become a Rolls-Royce Trent 700 Authorised Maintenance Centre (AMC).
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The agreement, which is valued at USD 6.5billion (AED 23billion), will see Sanad Aerotech provide complete overhaul services for Trent 700 engines - including component repair - to operators globally, over a nine-year period (2019-2027). Sanad Aerotech will, under this agreement, more than triple the number of Trent 700 engines it services annually - from the current 22 to 75. This represents 25% of the global Trent 700 engine maintenance conducted annually, which will cement the company’s global position as the leading Trent 700 MRO service provider.

“For Sanad Aerotech, as a fully independent MRO with complete Trent 700 capabilities, becoming a Rolls-Royce Authorised Maintenance Centre is a major milestone in our three-decades-long legacy in Abu Dhabi. The magnitude of this agreement will benefit the UAE economy greatly over the coming nine years and reinforce Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading global aerospace hub,” said Sanad Aerotech’s chief executive officer Mansoor Janahi.

The Abu Dhabi-based MRO has overhauled over 90 Trent 700 engines to date. With this new agreement, this number will increase to more than 600 over the contract period. To meet the increased load, the MRO is growing its workforce by more than 40% to almost 500 aircraft engineers and technicians.

“This agreement involves an upscaling of our capacities for Trent 700, benefiting both Rolls-Royce and other existing customers through access to world-class capabilities and a highly-skilled multinational workforce that overhaul engines to the highest quality. This landmark agreement also introduces healthy competition into the overhaul marketplace and is testament to our track record of quality, safety and timely delivery which Sanad Aerotech has consistently demonstrated since 2013 when we first started the overhaul of Trent 700 engines,” said Janahi.

The addition of Sanad Aerotech supports the growth of Rolls-Royce’s maintenance capacity and also supports its wider services strategy to develop an increasingly capable, competitive and flexible CareNetwork. The Trent 700 currently powers more than 800 Airbus A330s, flying with 83 operators worldwide.

Dominic Horwood, Rolls-Royce, chief customer officer - Civil Aerospace, added: “It’s great to welcome Sanad Aerotech to our Global CareNetwork. As our family of Trent engines continues to grow, we are expanding our services network and continually reducing engine maintenance turnaround times, so airlines can keep passengers flying. Sanad Aerotech has a proven track record in working with the Trent 700, and will be a valuable addition to our network.”