Welsh aviation company started in a bedroom

Citation

(2001), "Welsh aviation company started in a bedroom", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 73 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2001.12773daf.002

Welsh aviation company started in a bedroom

Welsh aviation company started in a bedroomKeywords: Total Engine Support, Aero engines, Maintenance

An innovative Welsh business started in a back bedroom by two entrepreneurs with just £5,000 capital is now Europe's leading supplier of engine fleet management services to the aviation industry.

At the official opening of Total Engine Support's (TES) new offices recently the company announced major expansion plans which will see its workforce more than double and sales reach the £12 million mark.

Managing director Ashley Cooper said TES – the company that he and operations director Bob James started from scratch in 1995 – is experiencing phenomenal growth and business plans for the next two years will see a massive investment in its materials division. The staff body is expected to increase from 25 to 56 by 2003.

TES, which is based at the Innovation Centre in Abercynon, Wales, UK, provides a bespoke service to a growing number of airlines and aircraft leasing companies. It manages a complex range of technical commercial and logistic issues surrounding the maintenance and repair of their aircraft engines, supplies quality key engine parts to airlines and engine repair facilities throughout the world.

Its warehouse in Treforest is fully computerised and with the impending e-business platform will be able to allow its key account holders to view parts and documentation "online", raise a purchase order and reportedly have parts shipped anywhere in the world within 24 hours, dramatically reducing the normal lengthy purchasing cycle.

It now has responsibility for the engines fitted to more than 100 aircraft from 15 different airlines including Virgin Express, British Airways – Go, KLM UK –buzz, British World Airlines, Pegasus Airlines, Air Liberte, Tombo Aviation Inc. and Channel Express.

As part of TES's growth in technical services and maintenance planning it commissioned the design of a specialist engine management software tool in partnership with Imagitech of Swansea, UK.

The product is said to have not only given TES a significant market advantage in the provision of its technical service products, but is proving to be a best seller as a stand-alone software product.

EFPAC – engine fleet planning and costing – enables airlines and leasing companies to plan long term repair and maintenance programmes, allowing detailed financial forecasting and planning.

First Minister for Wales Rhodri Morgan, who officially opened their new offices, said:

TES is an outstanding success story. It represents an example of Welsh enterprise and innovation at its best. The opening of this new development on the old Navigation Colliery site shows the way to the future prosperity of Wales now, just as the old heavy industries did in their day. I am delighted to see a "made in Wales" company achieving such success and have no doubt that they will continue to grow and go from strength to strength.

Despite its modest beginnings, in its first year TES had sales of £350,000 and last year saw £2.2 million in sales and a 52 per cent growth in gross profits. It remains totally self-financed.

The growth has been driven by deregulation, explained Ashley Cooper:

The new European "open-skies" ruling made it relatively easy for small airlines to secure slots and routes and commence operations. Unlike the larger and state run airlines, these new airlines tend to concentrate on their core businesses – which is flying people to various destinations – and anything peripheral tends to be outsourced to experts within the industry. We saw an opportunity to provide technical management services focussed upon the cost effective repair of aircraft engines. We invested just £5,000 in total, drawing minimum wages and reinvesting into the business. TES provides a total service – technical planning, commercial forecasting, regulatory compliance – and managing and defining with our customers what needs to be done to every engine once it is removed from the aircraft wing, with TES engineers carefully controlling and auditing every key stage of the process.

Ashley Cooper explained there was a growing market demand for their services because the amount of money that could be saved by airlines through close technical management was very scant. The financial liability is huge he said as repair bills for engines can run to $1 million-$1.5 million per engine every two to three years.

Welsh Development Agency chief executive Graham Hawker said TES was a home-grown success story and a role model for potential entrepreneurs.

They saw an opening in the highly competitive aerospace market and have effectively captured this niche market. TES is a highly successful company that has grown from a business start up to develop into a leading edge company engaged at the forefront of aircraft engine technology. It has made a tremendous impact on the European market and making inroads into the US. Its future growth prospects are exciting and will create more high quality engineering and IT jobs. It is exactly the sort of company that we need in Wales.