Air
Works Group, one of India’s oldest and biggest MRO and aviation services major,
has achieved a unique and historic milestone, completing 75 years of service to
the nation. It was on 16 April 1951, that Air Works’ founders, (Late) Mr. BG
Menon and (Late) Mr. PS Menon, laid the foundation of what has today become the
“Indian MRO industry” - by
commencing operations at the Mumbai International Airport.
Beginning
with maintenance of Douglas DC-3s and DC-4s on behalf of leading industrialists
and international airlines flying to India, Air Works eventually established a
comprehensive portfolio of aviation Engineering and Maintenance services that
spanned over 50 different types of aircraft (General Aviation) at a time,
including forging strong and meaningful relationships with several global OEMs
such as Dassault, Bombardier, Bell, Leonardo, Gulfstream and others. The
founders’ visionary and self-reliant (Atmanirbhar)
approach even saw Air Works establishing a specialised academy that
trained and produced highly skilled aircraft maintenance professionals in the
early 80s, ahead of time.
After
about 50+ years, eyeing the fast-growing global market, Air Works undertook a
series of radical steps that included professionalising its management and ways
of working and infusing capital, to set up the country’s first, EASA approved,
private commercial aircraft maintenance facility at Hosur, Tamil Nadu, turning
a new leaf and diversifying its business to include maintenance of commercial
aircraft within Indian shores, boosting indigenous MRO capabilities
significantly. In 2011-12, Air Works entered the Defence MRO business by
forging a strategic partnership with Boeing for maintaining BBJ aircraft for
Heads of State, thereby straddling every customer segment with a rich suite of
offerings.
With JVs such as SA Air Works (with
Scandinavian Avionics) and Acumen
(into asset management
services), Engineering and Maintenance excellence at its core, a
philosophy of ensuring complete customer satisfaction (Fly Assured) fueled by a legacy of transforming for tomorrow, Air Works Group has become an
enterprise success story and a well respected brand in the Indian Maintenance,
Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) industry, with an enviable customer mix that
includes leading Indian and regional airlines, lessors, airlines and cargo
operators, OEMs and defence forces such as the Indian Air Force and Indian
Navy. In fact, prior to its strategic focus on India beginning 2019, Air
Works Group was India’s only MNC in the Aviation sector with interests across
the USA, UK, Europe, Middle East, and China.
"The
entire company is thrilled to celebrate this momentous and record-breaking,
once-in-a-lifetime milestone," stated D Anand Bhaskar, MD & CEO, Air Works
Group. He further added,
"Our journey has been one of passion, perseverance, and professionalism,
driven by the commitment of our founding fathers’ to continue serving the
evolving needs of our customers and those of the overarching aviation industry.
None of this would however be possible without the support and dedication of
every one of our 1600+ employees, our customers and partners. Turning 75 isn’t
just a company achievement – but a collective tribute to the faith and
commitment of every member of the Air Works family."
Sharing his experiences with young
colleagues, Ravi Menon, Director, Air
Works Group, remarked, “We
never imagined surviving such a long journey in this dynamic industry, or of
ever growing from 50-100 member team to become a family of 1600+ today. Our
greatest advantage is our culture and family values that foster collaboration,
trust, and transparency, together with the unique opportunity to rub shoulders
with some of the finest, most passionate and sought after minds in the field of
aviation engineering and maintenance, across our pan-India network. The
developments over the past year at Air Works have made us even more agile, and
we’re raring to go.”
