Story ID: 141Aug19
Copperstate Turbine Engine Becomes TAE Aerospace
By: Kim Rosenlof
Caption: The Australian buyer is looking to make inroads into the U.S. MRO market.
Word Count: 358
During the recent Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association conference, Australian MRO provider TAE Aerospace announced the name change of its latest acquisition, Arizona-based Copperstate Turbine Engine Co. (CTEC), to TAE Aerospace. The acquisition—which included CTEC’s Scottsdale, Arizona, and Anchorage locations—occurred in February shortly after TAE purchased Kansas City-based Propulsion Controls Company (PCC). In addition to other capabilities, all three companies provide MRO support for the Honeywell TPE331 turboprop and/or its associated Woodward fuel control.

“CTEC was a good match for us in culture, market knowledge, and the way they do business,” said TAE Aerospace CEO Andrew Sanderson. “We could see where the synergies from our business in Australia would fit well with these businesses in the U.S. [The acquisitions were] a good stepping stone for our entry into the U.S. market.”

Founded in 2000 to perform aircraft maintenance for the Royal Australian Air Force, TAE Aerospace offers a range of MRO services including overhauls, repairs, or maintenance on various aircraft wheels and brakes; select GE, Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney Canada, and Rolls-Royce engines; Honeywell and Woodward fuel controls and governors; electro-mechanical components; and Kidde fire protection equipment. With the acquisition of PCC and CTEC, TAE claims to be the largest provider of TPE331 services in the world.

“With these acquisitions, we can share components with global coverage,” said Sanderson. “TAE can now serve TPE customers around the world from Alaska to Antarctica and everything can stay within our combined capabilities. We will also have better buying power with Honeywell and others in our supply chain by combining the CTEC business with our Australian business.”

While Sanderson said TAE plans to infuse some capital into improvements at the CTEC facilities, personnel will essentially remain the same.

“The employees are excited about being part of a global enterprise with more corporate structure,” said John Phoenix, former CTEC v-p, now TAE Aerospace U.S. sales and marketing manager. “They see that TAE is serious about improvement and that [TAE] didn’t buy us to simply sell us off. We’re all in this together.”