OREANDA-NEWS. October 03, 2012. Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (“HAECO”) and Cathay Pacific Airways have teamed up to form a joint venture company, HAECO ITM Limited (“HXITM”), in Hong Kong to provide inventory technical management services to Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, as well as other airline customers, reported the press-centre of Cathay Pacific.

HAECO ITM services primarily cover provisions and pool management of components inventory, management of component repairs/overhaul and engineering/reliability, supply chain management, and 24/7 AOG support.

HXITM, 70%/30% owned by HAECO and Cathay Pacific respectively, will be managed by HAECO, with staff secondment from the existing HAECO ITM business and Cathay Pacific Engineering, combining the technical expertise and operational excellence from a leading airline group and a top-tier aircraft engineering service provider. The joint venture will take over HAECO’s existing aircraft component assets, combine it with Cathay Pacific’s existing inventory, to support both Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, and other airline customers.

HAECO Chief Executive Officer Augustus Tang said: “This is a milestone development for HAECO. The global trend is that airlines will outsource more non-core capital intensive engineering activities such as component management to service providers. This transaction enables improved economies of scale and creates synergies with Cathay Pacific, putting the best-in-class joint venture organisation in a strong position to manage supplier relationships and secure potential customers in the Asia Pacific region where strong growth is expected.”

Cathay Pacific Engineering Director Christopher Gibbs said: “We are pleased to have reached agreement with HAECO to establish a joint venture company to provide ITM services to Cathay Pacific, Dragonair and other carriers. HAECO ITM brings together the strengths of the partners to form what is destined to be a world-class service provider. Cathay Pacific is expected to benefit from improved asset utilisation and cost competitiveness the partners will jointly create.”

Mr. Tang further added: “The HAECO ITM component pool is based in Hong Kong, with excellent air freight network and cargo handling infrastructure. As we grow the business, it will also create air freight volume for HKIA and employment opportunities for aircraft engineering professionals, further strengthening the Hong Kong hub in the future.”