Story ID: 358GDCTechnic.doc
GDC Boosts Engineering Capability with PFW Acquisition
By: Charles Alcock
Caption: The GDC Technics completions center will now have access to PFW Engineering’s design organization approval capability.
Word Count: 488
Aircraft completions group GDC Technics has acquired engineering design specialist PFW Engineering Group. The deal, announced on December 4 with an undisclosed value, includes Germany-based PFW’s subsidiaries in the UK, U.S. and Canada, as well as the group’s EASA Part 21J design organization approval.

“This is a strategic investment, which strengthens the competent engineering resources in our portfolio,” said GDC Technics general partner Mohammed Alzeer. “PFW Engineering preserved irreplaceable intellectual capital, which gives GDC Technics complete Level 1 and Level 2 capability to design and certify major modifications up to an entire aircraft. This is a game-changer for GDC Technics. The strong expansion of our engineering and certification capabilities will benefit our customers and set us apart from other modification centers especially with regard to next generation airplanes such as the Airbus A350 and the Boeing B787.”

PFW, which was founded in 1995, is authorized to approve supplementary type certificate (STC) modifications as an EASA design organization. It also produces various aircraft parts, handles repair approvals and provides technical publications and other aspects of customer support. Its current STC projects include satellite communications and local area network upgrades for the Airbus A330-200, a Boeing 757 cabin conversion, camera installations for the A319 and 747-8, cabin components for a 767 VIP completion and flight inspection system integration for an ATR42-500.

The company, based at Oberpfaffenhofen in southern Germany, has provided various engineering services for the A380, A350, Boeing 787 and Bombardier Global 7000 and 8000 aircraft. It holds multiple FAA and EASA Part 145 maintenance approvals and is certified to ISO 9001, AS9100 and AS9110 quality management standards.

In May, Alzeer’s MAZ Aviation group, which last year acquired the former Gore Design Completions business, renamed the San Antonio, Texas-based company GDC Technics. According to Alzeer, the rebranding reflects a new strategy of expanding the business beyond its VIP completions roots to providing a broad range of aircraft modification services, including engineering solutions, STC development and customized modifications on civilian and specialized platforms.

In February, GDC (Stand P5) started work in its first Boeing 787 green completion project, which it expects to take 36 months. “We look at the 787 as a gate to the future, with the challenges of a composite fuselage and digitized systems, and being on the forefront of that change is extremely exciting to us,” said Alzeer.

GDC is due to start work on a second 787 completion before year-end, having invested some $20 million to upgrade the San Antonio facility, including new Dassault Systèmes Catia software. It sent staff for training at Boeing in preparation for working on an aircraft with a high proportion of composite materials.

Future plans call for GDC to open satellite facilities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to maintain more contact with customers. The completions specialist employs more than 500 people and its hangars can accommodate three widebody and two narrowbody aircraft simultaneously.