AFI KLM E&M Partners Max Aerospace to Create India Market Leader

Paris, Amstelveen, 16 November 2010- AFI KLM E&M and Max Aerospace, a major player on the Indian MRO market, recently signed a strategic partnership agreement. Engaged in developing a global MRO network, the Franco-Dutch group has thus become the first global MRO to offer a significant component repair capability “on the doorstep” of its Indian sub-continent customers.

A promising market. AFI KLM E&M is developing its strategy of creating a local/global MRO network based on its French and Dutch centers of excellence. With its plans for an Indian facility jointly developed with Max Aerospace in India, AFI KLM E&M has positioned itself in the very heart of an emerging market that is already sizable and promising.

Airlines in the Indian sub-continent (India and adjacent countries) will benefit from the tailored support of a local player backed by the muscle of a global MRO sector leader. The exchanges of skills within the network will allow Max MRO Services to offer services suited to local requirements at a level of performance that is acknowledged worldwide. This pioneering partnership should furthermore benefit the entire Indian aviation industry by setting new standards to meet airline requirements in this area.

The rise and rise of a global MRO network. For Franck Terner, President of Air France Industries, “This new partnership illustrates the growing importance of our global MRO network, built to operate as closely as possible to our existing and prospective customers. We will have the support of local entities that will be called on to deploy locally the sort of performance which we are permanently developing in our network in France and the Netherlands. In India, Max MRO Services’ exacting vision, together with its strong local presence, prompted us to forge this partnership, which is earmarked for further development.”

Bharat Malkani, Chairman and Managing Director of Max Aerospace, said: “This partnership with AFI KLM E&M will help us to achieve our component support ambitions, and to have the resources to stay abreast of the vigorous growth on our market. The Group’s skills and performance are acknowledged worldwide. Becoming an active member of this network is for us a development opportunity not to be missed. By combining the resources of AFI KLM E&M and our own strong local presence – we are already a major player on India’s MRO market – we will create a new market leader!”