France’s Snemca and India’s Max Aerospace have finalized an agreement to form an aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul operation called Maxaero Aircraft Engines Pvt Ltd (MAEPL). The partners claim that the operation, which is set to start operations during the second quarter of 2015, will be India’s first privately owned engine MRO joint venture.
Initially, MAEPL will provide line support for the Snecma M53 engines that power Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters operated by India’s air force. The service has indicated that it plans to outsource more maintenance work.
The new company will also start supporting CFM56 airliner engines, made by Snecma’s CFM International partnership with GE Aviation. According to MAEPL chairman Bharat Malaki, there are currently approximately 400 CFM56 engines in service with Indian carriers such as Jet Airways, Air India and GoAir. He said that this number is projected to double in the next decade and that MAEPL will focus on providing line support for operators. Air India has its own CFM engine shop but has to send some engines to overseas repair facilities due to a lack of in-house capacity.
The joint venture is investing approximately $17 million in a new facility at Nagpur that is due to be ready by 2017. Max Aerospace, which is headquartered in Mumbai, holds a 76.1-percent stake in the business, with Snemca having the remaining 24.9 percent.