“Key to Pemco’s 767 strategy is the acquisition of Wagner Aeronautical, which has been developing its 767 design for a year and has filed its programme application with the FAA last summer.” Pemco will now proceed with the Wagner programme and expects to deliver its fi rst converted 767 in the third quarter of 2010, he says.
However, Pemco’s plans might suffer a temporary setback due to the B787 programme’s delivery delay, an industry official said, adding that the short-term demand for cargo lift capability has affected the output market of 737 and 767s.
Pemco, which is headquartered in Dothan, Alabama, is the market leader in 737 conversion programmes, and it is still pushing ahead with conversionsdespite the temporary setback.
Parent sells off Pemco
In September last year, the Pemco Aviation Group, Inc. sold Pemco World Air Services, Inc. for $43 million to Sun Capital Partners, Inc., a private investment firm specializing in leveraged buyouts and investments.
Pemco provides commercial aircraft maintenance and cargo modification services on a contract basis to the owners and operators of large commercial aircraft. The firm also handles cargo modification for 737-300/400 aircraft.
In order to strengthen its business, Pemco recently made new managerial appointments which represent a forward step toward building a senior executive team that can improve the scope and quality of its commercial aircraft maintenance and cargo modification services.
Kevin Casey was promoted to Pemco president after serving as chief of the company’s cargo conversion division. Patrick Stewart, who worked in technical operations at Amercian Airlines, has joined the company as chief operations officer.
Dennis Johnson, vice president of commercial operations in Dothan, has assumed the same role at Pemco’s new facility in Tampa. Shane King’s new title is production director at the Dothanplant
Tampa expansion
Pemco has also expanded its aircraft maintenance and repair operations to Tampa, Florida at the Tampa International Airport in March this year. After unveiling its plans, Pemco immediately started hiring staff , and anticipates the facility will eventually support approximately 400 jobs.
The Tampa Airport Authority approved a 15-year lease to Pemco of the five-bay, 150,000 square feet maintenance hangar formerly used by US Airways. Pemco took occupancy of the hangar on April 1, 2008 and serviced its first aircraft at the Tampa facility in July 2008.
The Tampa expansion was an outstanding opportunity for Pemco as the former US Airways facility was a great addition to the company’s maintenance, repair and cargo conversion service currently being offered in Dothan.
Aside from the excellent facility at the Tampa Airport, the availability of an outstanding labour pool which Pemco believes the community provides is another plus factor to this development.
“Our headquarters will remain in Dothan, but we look forward to a longterm partnership with Tampa,” Smithsays.
Aurora Aviation Group
Aurora Aviation Group selected Pemco for conversion from passenger to freighter of five B737-300 aircraft in May this year, with options for five additional slots.
The first B737 aircraft was inducted at Dothan in late May with additional aircraft scheduled to arrive throughout this year. In addition to the conversion, Pemco will also perform heavy maintenance checks on selected aircraft and C checks with major component overhaul on the remainder of the aircraft.
Aurora Aviation Group’s senior vice president Christopher Olds says his company, a commercial aviation leasing, asset management and sales company, was excited to have Pemco as a partner and service provider for its assets as the company continued to diversify its 737classic portfolio.
China conversions
Some of Pemco’s conversion services are being off ered at the TAECO facility in Xiamen, China, as part of PEMCO’s 2005 partnership agreement with Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Company
One of the major reasons for carrying out the conversions in China, was a regulation by China’s General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC), which limits the maximum age of an aircraft into the country for conversions to 10 years for a passenger plane and 15 years for a freighter.
Generally, aircraft which are used for conversions are above 15 years’ old and therefore, the CAAC ruling makes it impossible for older aircraft from outside China to enter the country. As most of the aircraft have to come from China, so the conversions are done in the mainland as it will be much cheaper.
Pemco said for customers wishing to carry out passenger to freighter conversion services, they could do it either in the USA or in China.
Pemco carried out the first passenger to freighter conversion in China using a Pemco kit in September, 2006, jointly with TAECO and Taikoo (Shandong) Aircraft Engineering Company Ltd (STAECO). The conversion involved a B737-300 passenger to freighter conversion to its customer, Shenzhenbased Donghai Airlines in Jinan. It was the first such project in the Asia Pacific region.
Pemco has also since successfully done other conversions at STAECO.
