Press Release

Issued by MAJ Aviation.

February 10, 2012

MAJ Aviation (MAJ) has opened its new $10 million General Aviation Centre (GAC) hangar as part of JTC's Seletar Aerospace Park (SAP) Master Plan to address the needs of the General Aviation (GA) community. MAJ Aviation is also the first aviation small and medium enterprise (SME) to be sited in the SAP, an important recognition of the company's unique business model in providing one-stop light GA aircraft services.

Constructed on 0.6 ha of air-side access leased land, the two-and-a-half storey GAC hangar houses a first-in-the-world two-level rotating carousel. This innovative mechanized aircraft carousel can compact park or store up to 14 light GA aircraft. The carousel concept, although widely available in the United States and Europe, is the first of its kind in Asia, and the two-level system is the first in the world. The system won MAJ a CAAS grant for innovation in land intensification. The two level carousel design has been jointly patented by MAJ and Schaetz Design GmbH, the architectural firm responsible for designing the carousel.

Completed within a short span of 10 months, the GAC hangar was designed for integrated use. The hangar is able to park 14 aircraft with another seven undergoing maintenance. Besides compact parking, the strategic location of the hangar next to the light GA parking apron allows MAJ to provide "valet" parking for all GA aircraft that uses Seletar, helping to increase the capacity of Seletar Aerodrome.

Most privately owned GA aircraft do not fly intensely and owners generally prefer to park their aircraft in a sheltered enclosure after flights. The advantage of air-side access gives MAJ the opportunity to serve GA aircraft owners in the same way as those offered to business or corporate jets. This in turn would benefit the Aerodrome Operator in freeing up air-side apron parking, and allowing it to handle future increase in air traffic.

The building annex can also accommodate other uses such as the back shop support for aircraft maintenance as well as flight operations. It also houses a flight training simulator and MAJ's affiliated Discovery Flying Club plus other tenants in the GA business. On the second level, it houses almost 20,000 sq ft of office and workshop space, currently occupied by the Singapore Flying College.

Meanwhile, MAJ Aviation has also acquired another adjacent plot of land to build a steel structure hangar for increased maintenance and parking capacity. This second hangar project is expected to be completed within the next four months.

With the successful demonstration of compact parking at the GAC, and seeing the tremendous value of capitalizing on its air-side access land, JTC has appointed Jurong Consultants, MAJ and Schaetz Design GmbH to provide consultancy services and explore an innovative technical solution to intensify land usage for the aerospace sector. The project is expected to take about six months to complete.

Said Mr Khoo Beng Keat, Managing Director of MAJ: "Over the last eight years, MAJ Aviation has grown, diversified and progressed up the value chain in its aviation business offerings. With the opening of this new General Aviation Centre hangar, the company will be further equipped to provide value-added GA aircraft services to complement the thriving aviation eco-system at the Seletar Aerospace Park in accordance with the Singapore Government's vision for the aerospace industry. MAJ is privileged to be the first aviation SME to feature in these exciting plans for our nation."

Chief Executive Mr Png Cheong Boon believes that SMEs should continue to be relevant and competitive globally. He said, "Our SMEs must strive to constantly innovate and develop new capabilities with valued offerings. MAJ Aviation is a good example of a company that has transformed itself and moved up the value chain, from supplying manpower for the aviation sector to acquiring MRO capabilities for on-aircraft repair and maintenance. We hope other SMEs will follow suit to transform themselves."