Airbus approves Magnetic MRO's Tallinn plant to produce elements for planes
The Tallinn plant of MAC Aero Interiors, a subsidiary of aircraft technical care and asset management company Magnetic MRO, passed an Airbus audit and can start producing elements for Airbus aircraft at the plant located in the Estonian capital.
Risto Mäeots, CEO of Magnetic MRO, told BNS that MAC Aero Interiors previously produced parts for Airbus in the United Kingdom. In order to start production in Estonia, the new factory had to pass the audit of Airbus, which has now been successfully completed. This means that from now on, the company can produce Airbus elements in the Estonian factory if it wins future procurements.
Mäeots however stated that while smaller contracts are won through procurement, then the company's own activity is not enough to win large and long-term contracts, and extensive political cooperation would be needed. Mäeots cited the defense industry as a positive example of such cooperation.
On Tuesday, the Estonian Defense Industry Association announced that Estonian defense industry companies taking part in projects under the European Defense Industrial Development Program (EDIDP) have been allocated over 10 million euros in grants under the program, which puts Estonia in third place among the participating countries for that indicator.
Mäeots added: "When Estonia held the [EU] presidency, a kind of seed was planted there to form a consortium for the development of unmanned military equipment, and from there it began to grow. It did not start growing because someone from Milrem went and knocked on doors in France. It started to grow when Estonia held the presidency of the European Union. That is how big things are born, and that is what we need if we want to do big things and bring big contracts to Estonia."
While just before the crisis, Mäeots told BNS about the company's expansion plans, including the construction of an additional building in Tallinn, then now, capital-intensive investments have been put on hold to maintain liquidity. However, the company is moving forward with plans that are not capital-intensive.
Mäeots said: "We are still looking at different options for enlargement. There are companies and businesses in the market today that we would like to enter. Today, we see an opportunity to start negotiations with various partners," he said, affirming that active mergers and acquisitions activity will continue. Magnetic MRO is also planning to list within five years.
Magnetic MRO acquired MAC Aero Interiors, which offers aircraft interior solutions, in 2016. Until the end of last year, both the subsidiary's production and head office were located in London. This year, due to uncertainty accompanying Brexit and a complex economic environment in the UK, Magnetic MRO relocated the production unit of its subsidiary, MAC Aero Interiors, from the UK to Estonia.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste