Abu Dhabi's position as major aircraft maintenance, repair hub boosted by GAMCO

GAMCO, a world class technical and maintenance services provider for the aviation industry, believes the Aviation Procurement Expo (APEX) opening at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre tomorrow (March 19) can be its springboard to business growth following a flurry of recent successes.

GAMCO was recently awarded a five-year AED343 million contract by the UAE Air Force and Air Defence to carry out maintenance on their fleet of Hawk aircraft.

APEX, organised by Streamline Marketing Group, has been commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Government to support the growth of GAMCO as well as Etihad Airways, the UAE's national airline, and the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), which is responsible for operating the emirate's airports and expanding its aviation infrastructure.

GAMCO was established by the government of Abu Dhabi in 1987 to provide high quality and cost effective maintenance services for a wide range of aircraft, components and engines and is the leading provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services in the region.

The company's CEO, Saif Al Mughairy, said: 'Since its inception, GAMCO has built up a solid reputation for providing high quality aircraft maintenance for international airlines and we continue to attract, at an ever-increasing rate, additional business from airlines not only within the region, but also from Asia, Europe and North America.

'APEX will bring together senior managers and heads of procurement from airlines around the world and therefore our participation will increase our exposure and help us to make contacts within our target markets thereby helping us to ensure that this growth continues.'

Last month GAMCO was awarded a contract to perform heavy maintenance on the Hercules C-130 aircraft owned by the Tunisian Air Force. The company has recently completed work to overhaul a Boeing 757-200 for the new air carrier L'Avion (Elysair), which started operations between Paris and New York this year.

GAMCO, which is situated next to Abu Dhabi International Airport, provides MRO services to more than 80 commercial and military customers around the world and is anticipating further growth in the future. It is currently designing a three-bay hangar big enough to accommodate Boeing 777 aircraft to keep up with the increasing demand for maintenance of wide-bodied commercial aircraft.

Taking place under the patronage of H.H. Dr Sheikh Ahmed bin Saif Al Nahyan, Chairman of Etihad Airways and GAMCO, APEX runs until Wednesday and includes a major conference focusing on procurement issues facing modern airlines and featuring speakers from airlines around the world.

The event will also gather nearly 70 top aviation suppliers in an exhibition and allow procurement specialists from GAMCO, Etihad Airways and ADAC to view and test new products, services and technologies right on their doorstep.