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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

More engine work heading Standard Aero's way

Overhaul facility repatriated here from Netherlands

By: Geoff Kirbyson

20/06/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 3

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Archives Standard Aero workers repairing a PT-6a engine in the Ferry Road plant.

STANDARD Aero is repatriating an engine overhaul facility from the Netherlands to Winnipeg, a move that will boost its Manitoba workforce by 50 by the time it's completed at the end of 2010.

Manny Atwal, general manager for the Winnipeg-based aerospace company's Pratt & Whitney Canada division, said it decided to move the heavy repair and overhaul services for the PW100 engine to its complex near the Richardson International Airport because it already services a comparable engine, the PT6, here.

"The PW100 product requires similar expertise to repair and overhaul (to the PT6).

By combining the two programs, you get a bigger presence in North America, which is the world's largest aviation marketplace," Atwal said, noting both engines are used to propel turboprop aircraft.

The announcement comes two days after Standard Aero inked a 15-year, $850-million deal to repair, service and overhaul engines for WestJet's 737 aircraft. This agreement will boost the company's workforce by 250 people by 2012.

Coupled with the Netherlands move, Standard Aero's Winnipeg workforce will hit 1,550 within three years, an all-time high.

Atwal said the appreciation of the euro in recent months made it increasingly difficult for Standard Aero to compete in the international marketplace out of the Netherlands. The relatively lower value of the loonie offers its Canadian operations a competitive advantage, he said.

Atwal said it's too early to say exactly how the new hires in Winnipeg will shake out but it's unlikely many people move across the Atlantic Ocean for the work.

"It's a very big deal to move people from the Netherlands to Canada. The intent is a lot of those positions will be filled by the Winnipeg pool of people," he said, noting the transition will begin within three to six months.

Most of the positions are mechanical in nature but there are also jobs in customer service and program management, he said.

Standard Aero's Dutch facility in Tilburg will still employ between 35 and 40 people but all major repair work will be brought to Winnipeg, Atwal said.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 20, 2009 B4

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3 Comments

Posted by: brightstar

June 23, 2009 at 10:04 AM

Hi Wowpei,

It is heartwarming to see that there are people who appreciate the implication of this news. Thanks for your compasion. Future will show if Standard Aero will take good care for those who gave their best for the company.....some of them for as much as 20 years.

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Posted by: Tinus van Vugt

June 23, 2009 at 5:06 AM

I agree with "wowpei" fully. As a former employee of Standard Aero in Tilburg I sympathize with my former colleagues who have always shown great pride in their work and have always felt that they were highly appreciated members of Standard Aero's international family of employees. Although I understand that the author of the article has to focus on the economical impact for the Winnipeg region, a little more consideration and empathy to all those skilled workers in Tilburg who might be left without a job in the upcoming months could have been shown.
Kind Regards,
Tinus van Vugt BAe
(Trainer in Waalwijk, the Netherlands)

Note: The term ' repatriating' suggests that the Tilburg Business Unit (PT6/PW100/RR Gem Engines) is returning back to Canada, which is incorrect. In fact, repair and overhaul activities of turboprop engines already begun in the early '90
when Standard Aero Winnipeg was not yet in the picture.

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Posted by: wowpei

June 22, 2009 at 7:04 AM

Great news for those in Winnipeg but horrible news for most of those who work and live in Tilburg. A lot of people will be loosing their jobs because the head office in Winnipeg decided to move a good chunk of their engine repair work from Tilburg to Winnipeg. Of course most of those who work in Tilburg are also from that area so no one will move to Canada. I feel really bad for all those who will loose their jobs because of this. My thoughts are with those men and women and their families and hope that they will be able to find something else to help support their families and hope that Head office in Winnipeg will make sure that those people get really good severance packages to help them while they find other employment.