Tuesday, 17th November 2009 - 09:10CET
Updated: Leading aircraft maintenance firm to set up Malta base - employ 350
Easyjet aircraft to be serviced in Malta
A new aircraft maintenance company is to be set up in Malta by Swiss-based SR Technics with assistance from Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks.
The new investment was announced at a press conference this morning by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Finance Minister Tonio Fenech.
The company will focus on the maintenance of commercial aircraft. It will initially use an existing hangar at Luqa airport before building its own facilities. The first aircraft will be received in the second half of next year. Major low-cost airline EasyJet will be the company's biggest client, with its 157 aircraft being serviced here.
The company is projected to employ 350 people by 2014.
Gulf-owned SR Technics is one of the top aircraft maintenance companies in Europe, headquartered in Zurich. It recently concluded a 10-year aircraft maintenance deal with EasyJet.
Prime Minister Dr Gonzi hailed the investment.
"This investment is another significant and concrete step towards achieving our country’s vision for 2015 which includes establishing Malta as a centre of excellence for high-value added industry," Dr Gonzi said when announcing the investment.
"Over the past few years, Malta has fast established itself as a regional hub of aircraft maintenance. Following this new investment, employment in this industry is expected to be above 1,100."
He said that throughout the current economic crisis, the government had made it a priority to not only protect existing jobs but to encourage companies already in Malta to continue investing and creating more job opportunities.
"Although Foreign Direct Investment is shrinking worldwide our country is still managing to attract investment to Malta."
The government, he said, had intensified its efforts to bring new high-value added activities to Malta in those niche sectors which it believed the economy could sustain in the long term. Aviation maintenance was one of those sectors.
"This morning we have a strong show of confidence in Malta’s potential and in its workers by companies of the international calibre of SR Technics and EasyJet. Their presence here will in fact compliment an already-healthy and growing aviation cluster. They join other prestigious names in the sector such as Lufthansa Technik, Rolls Royce, MCM and Medavia. They also strengthen Malta’s engineering tradition, a sector in which high quality projects abound with more than 5,000 people employed."
This investment, Dr Gonzi said, was evidence of Malta's successful efforts to diversify its economic base thus reducing the risk of being too dependent on particular sectors.
"Over the years, we have already successfully moved into the pharmaceutical and ICT sectors and we are now sealing our position as a leading destination for aviation engineering, confirming that Malta can attract good quality industry and it is still competitive on the international market."
He said tailor-made investment support packages by Malta Enterprise had been instrumental in attracting high-quality foreign investors of international repute. Packages did not only include fiscal and tax incentives but also office space to suit the investors’ needs.
For this investment to materialise, SR Technics would be able to build the largest hanger on the island – a four-bay facility to handle its operations in the medium-to-long term, and to upgrade already-available facilities for the short-term.
Dr Gonzi thanked Mr Fenech for his leadership in managing the processes with SR Technics and EasyJet that has resulted in the choice of Malta as their preferred investment location.
EasyJet's Technical Director, Ian. Davies, who was present for the press conference, said that the airline had a €1.6 billion agreement with SR Technics which would see the airline reducing its costs by 17 percent. He said that by 2012 EasyJet would have a fleet of 207 aircraft.
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said the deal was also being announced at the London Stock Exchange and the Dubai International Airshow. The agreement, he said, included investment of €40m in new hangars.
The hangars will be built by Malta Enterprise, which would get its money back over a 30-year lease agreement.
Andre Wall, SR Technics' Chief Operations Officer, when asked whether the Malta plant would replace disinvestment in Ireland, said that this was expansion as well as restructuring of the company's international operations. He praised Mcast for its worker training and said he was confident that sufficient resources would be found in Malta.
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Indeed, I have worked with foriegn Engineers on their own home territory on contiental Europe. At home where ones gets to know native people much better rather when visting, as tourists or bussiness people, for example !!! They know how to play in groups, believe me.
Maybe some of these will come to work as managers in Malta. Off course after gaining experience working with Home Grown BIG European companies on home ground. Building a career while never leaving the comforts of the Good old Mummy and Daddy home environment. Maltese Enterprise should be very very carefull here. I mean, we are adults afterall, no.
There is more to this rather than just what you correctly observed. There are still so called Big Europeans on continental Europe that just look down upon a nation that does not have the technology to ENFORCE RESPECT. Such continental Europeans simply don't have the guts to look down upon France, for example.
It that thinks big can only respect what is BIG !!! That is another very interesting story when it comes to the psyche of being BIG. !!!!
Ir rigni ghedin f idejn il PN mux f'idejn MLP. Kif tippretendi li jintqal l-istess diskors?
Skuzani imma l-kumment tieghek barra min loku.
If that doesn't tell you anything...I don't know. More of the same.
"There's no doubting that this company is setting up shop in MALTA TO BENEFIT from labour costs. Besides this, they will get their HANGER ( to be the largest ever built here) without forking out a single euro-cent, as its being provided by our charitable Government !!!!! (Euro 40m.) "
It is true that it is being built by Government, but the agreement announced yesterday states that the hangar will be paid back, over the lease period of 30 years, to the last cent.
"As regards wages & saleries, this was clearly stated during the conference when one of the directors said that they plan to cut maintenance costs by 17% ."
True. But clearly that's because wages in Zurich and Ireland are very above EU average; AND because Malta is providing Additional quality, productivity and turnaround time.
So Mr Gatt, what do you say if I tell you that a Maltese engineer with the same type rating, same licence and same amount of years of experiece as the foreign engineer gets paid Lm4.00 an hour and the foreigner gets paid Lm13 an hour. Not just that, but the foreigner gets free acomodation and a free rental car.
I can tell you from three years experience of working in this industry, that the foreign engineers aren't half as capable as the maltese and don't come here to work, they come here for the easy money.
The guys at Lufthansa Technic want to work, and they really do. But when you know that your work is not appreciated, and all the management wants to do is take from the little you have. I can tell you ,your ambitions soon fades away.
If you have never worked in the company or talked to someone who has or is working at Lufthansa Technic, please becareful what you say. Lufthansa Technic Malta is another success story, just like the Malta drydocks... you just wait and see!
I'm so not 'cheap' that I don't even bother with Malta! I just see a country that's desperate and ask myself "why is this still happening?".
If Malta was not desperate, why would anyone be rejoicing over a company opening a branch in Malta? I'm sure you know a bit about globalisation and contemporary economy - do you think companies relocate to countries with strong economies where workers have proper wages? They go to India, Bangladesh, Rumania, Bulgaria and the whole lot !
Let's stop deluding ourselves and not be in denial any longer! Yes, we are desperate - we haven't evolved since the Mintoff days. Tal-fabbriki konna u tal-fabbriki ghadna! We haven't developed and skills or sectors, so we still have to beg and our only way of being competitive is by offering cheap labour.
Bring in a new right party and start building!! Now, if people are happy with the situation, then TOUGH! After all we say "l-iblah taqlghalu ghajnu..."!!
As regards wages & saleries, this was clearly stated during the conference when one of the directors said that they plan to cut maintenance costs by 17% . OTHERS here have already commented that companies operating in this field are paying poor wages !
I still want to fly with Air Malta when I visit the islands. Please don't let Air Malta falter. It is our national airline.
Minn naha l'ohra dal-Prim Ministru li ghandna ma jigba qatt jirredikola lilu nnifsu. Tajba din! Ghax gie nvestiment jghamel konferenza tal-ahbarijiet! Tant saret rari li jigi nvestiment f'pajjizna tahn gonzi illi meta jkollna investiment gdid issir ahbar kbira.
Kieku jghamel haga bhall din prim ministru ta pajjiz ewropej tghidx kemm jigi rredikolat! Immaginaw lil Gordon Brown, fl-Ingilterra isejjah press conference ghax fl-ingilterra sar investiment!
One thing that keeps knocking at the back of my head, is 'WHY are Easy Jet leaving their PRESENT MRO Facilities to come to Malta, & WHAT KIND OF SALARIES will they be offering? just a stone's throw away from their projected base as Luqa Airport near Park 4, is LHT Malta....Apparently they have not been offering attractive salaries, & rumours are that a building being built close by their Hangar is for accomodation purposes for their 'expat technicians'.......
& mentioning investment..whilst still at the Airport....
How about having an 8-10 floor NEW ATC Tower, & M.I.A investing in a New Parallel taxyway from 'C' to 'A' loop on 31 side & to 'RE-ATTRACT' the massive A124 stop overs, build an Apron exclusive for these massive cargo aircraft for the long term??.
As you might know when Lufthansa first started there operations here in malta they had difficulty finding people to employ, what happened back then people so that there was a reason why some one should study in that area and they actually did. And this is what will happen eventually students will see that there is a future and they will go for it. Keeping just a handful of companies will only hinder the possibility of more students going towards that sector.
To all who really doubt the intension or the announcement it self may i remind you that high quality job creation has been only for the past couple of years. And not 10's of years may i remind you the financial sector. Malta is making a shift and who stays behind due to laziness will suffer but for the hard working class who strive to study and continue during there life to study are getting rewarded.
Prosit Prim now we need a boost on the lower class maybe we start doing silicon Panels or at least assemble the Solars at a cheaper rate then Europe.
As regards to the various comments here, one can argue whatever he or she wants politically, economically or whatever. That is a never ending story I'm afraid.
I used to enjoy Civil Aviation. I don't anymore. I am more interested in humanitarian politics now considering I have found my soul in the German city of Nürnberg.
Good Luck and again a heartfelt well done to all those who made this new venture in Malta possible.
Labour's media machine are going to have a hard time spinning and explaining
to people how you managed to land 157 aircraft in Malta all at one go given
the issue they raised when you boarded just one private jet!!!
If achieving such an investment takes going to a football game on a private jet,
then may you watch every home match that Arsenal play.
This is the kind of investment that does Malta proud!
Less than 12 months ago SRT shut its operation in Dublin and lay off all of its 350 workers.
Given the partisan political climate in Malta it is to be expected that some readers with different political inclinations may find it difficult to believe this good news for Malta and the private partners concerned.
May I suggest to some of these readers to take a look at the following links which are not written by our political leaders.
http://www.srtechnics.com/datas/news/2009/091117_EXT_easyJet_e.pdf
http://www.srtechnics.com/datas/news/2009/091117_EXT_Malta_e.pdf
Several years ago at the Sliema Primary School there used to be the “dockyard class” for those students who preferred technical skills instead of sitting for the “Lyceum” examinations. Perhaps the Education authorities may wish to consider introducing a “technical class” at the primary level for those who wish to develop their skills at MCAST.
May I also suggest to the Labour Party to set up scholarships for the children of some of its supporters so that eventually these students will qualify for some of the jobs that are being created.
And yes, this is positive, but 350 are a drop in the ocean. It will only affect very few families....
I just hope they will be more and more of this...
350 jobs in a population of 400,000 (Malta) is equivalent to over 50,000 jobs in a population of 60 million (Italy). Ask Mr Berlusconi whether he would have called a press conference had he attracted such an investment.
Was the fact that it was announced today a political stunt (to take the heat off after yesterday's well worded opposition budget response)? Of course! But what do you expect...this is politics after all!
If people are ambitious enough to become properly qualified in the job they set out to do then they will get the position – whether they are Maltese or not.
Companies are there to make profit. This perception that companies pay people extra because they are not Maltese is unfounded. Companies will pay more only if those people have better training and qualifications. Nobody owes us a living.
They might say that this investment came ashore because of the "illuminating" Budget Reaction Speech by Muscat yesterday.
Wouldn't put it past.
Lufthansa Teknik is a continuation of AirMalta's technical section taken over by Lufthansa. Air Malta retired (or was forced to retire ) from the partership.
Living in a distant country may have blurred your memory that Air Malta is one of the strong monuments of the PL. Alas many have been sold for peanuts ( mid-med etc etc) or, even worse, given for free ( Sea Malta etc etc) by the PN
Easyjet sees profits drop by 50% - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8363657.stm
Budget airline Easyjet has reported a big fall in full-year profits to the end of September, after the rising price of oil pushed up fuel costs.....
Easyjet said the results were "extremely resilient", adding it was one of the "very few" European airlines to make a profit in the past 12 months....
Passenger numbers rose by 3.4% to 45.2 million. End of Quote.
*******
The article shows that Easyjet is one of the "very few" European airlines to make a profit in the past 12 months....
So you are indicating that Easyjet would not be doing or they will be triming on their aircraft maintenance, due to their drop in profits. It seems that people like you are not pleased when Companies invest here in Malta and create jobs. Not to mention other spin offs that Malta gain through such investments. Open eyes.
Sometimes I wonder if certain people live or belong to this country. What Mr. Gellel does not believe is not coming from Dr.Gonzi, but from the horse’s mouth. I do not think that Dr. Gonzi is crazy enough to use the name of a private company just to make headlines in a press conference and dampen the illustrious speech dashed out in parliament yesterday. As I once said in a comment posted months ago, some people cannot detach themselves from the parochial attitude that can only harm the country but continue to strive in this spiteful attitude.
However one must point out that these people are not to blame for their attitude, because it has been planted in them by you know whose media and is daily watered and taken care of by a couple of radio gurus and a news bulletin to add some spice.
Please Mr.Gellel, grow up and open your mind to the new world. The Berlin wall has fallen 20 years ago but many people like you are still living behind it. What a pity!
If this isnt good news for Joseph Grumble Muscat then I dont know what is.
Such is the way foward for Malta's long term competitveness i.e. to diversify Malta's economic activities attracting high- tech and high value added industries offering the Maltese skilled workers, meaningful long term employment opportunities.
Keep up the good work .
REUTERS : AIRSHOW-Easyjet, SR Technics in Malta maintenance deal - http://in.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idINLH56206020091117
Ikollok temmen habib.
X'ilsien ghandu l-Malti. L-anqas din il-website ma tghemmen, minn Reuter , l-aqwa agenzija ta' l-ahbarijiet fid-dinja..
Jekk jigu jista jkollok xi hadd tal-familja jahdem maghhhom, u mela mohkhom fic-cucati, li T Fenech mar jara l-Arsenal jew inkella li ma hallas lil kuntrattur???????????????
can you please tell us which of Joseph's list of accusations of alleged corruption and broken promises is not true??
The vast majority of the jobs will be filled the same way that the jobs at Lufthansa Technik are being filled. Mainly, by competent Maltese workers that are being trained by non other another Maltese competent institution - MCAST.
Comments like yours go to prove that the PL, doesn't have, and never did have, high regard for Maltese workers and and our teaching Institution. We all remember well what was left of the University under the PL.
Perhaps we were all stunned last night by Joseph Muscat speech.. However, it seems that you where left dumb folded by your statement since you cannot make up what you have read in the above article.
For your information it is not a "Low Cost aircraft company" that is going to be opening a maintenance base n Malta; but a leading aircraft maintenance firm headquartered in Switzerland. It just happened that Easy jet who presently operates some 157 aircraft and it is foreseen that by 2012 will be operation 207 aircraft happened to come to an agreement for the next 11 years to have it's aircraft by STR Technics here in Malta, instead at it's facilities in Ireland. Aircrafts, whether they are operated by low cost airlines or scheduled airlines needs to be maintained just the same.
Perhaps, you and the rest of the Gloom and Doom crowd would have prefered that these jobs went/stayed in Ireland, Shame on you all.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091117/local/malta-slips-in-corruption-perceptions-index
Easyjet sees profits drop by 50%
I suppose you still insist that Lufthansa Technik does not really exist!
@ jesmond zammit
Why are so many jealous of the government's successes? After all, such benefits are for all to enjoy not just the blues. Joseph is so bankrupt in ideas, so devoid of adding any value to the Budget, that he went out of the way to emphasize the negative in an attempt to shroud the successes. And his gullible followers keep on swallowing his garbage!
The new investment is yet another feather in Gonzipn's hat!
I believe Dr. Gonzi only when he says judge me by what I do NOT by what I say. The above is proof enough of where he places in peoples' minds. But he still goes on promising not doing !!!!!
"But as things are happening, it is becoming harder for us to swallow."
Tonsillitis?
well timed, this scoop is annouced just a few hours after the
Leader of the Opposition's ............Budget knocking speech...!
Was this scoop a coincident ?
"Not even 100 a year!!"
These are high tech, high value jobs and not factory workers mass producing textiles! Besides there could very well be secondary business here from this venture. If Easyjet have a major maintenance facility, it makes sense as well to establish a base here and therefore more jobs and more jobs for the tourism sector.
This investment was not just to ensure 350 workers' employment. There is much more to it.
350 jobs over 4 years.......wonderful....our employment problems are over.
halluna. kemm tahsbuna fidili?? wara smart city u weghdiet ohra isma' bil-fors u emmen jekk trid. u tiftakruha AMS? dawk li hadu l-flus u sparixxew???
My friend this is not just good news for 350 employees. Is it possible you cannot understand the business such an enterprise will generate for other firms on the Island. Such as Freight Forwarers, Accountants, IT and software support etc etc.
Yesterday Joseph Muscat showed all how weak he was to reply to this year's budget. This morning this good news. I think it will be another PN victory in 3 years time yet again.
prosit lid dar centrali ghazlet hin eccellenti biex taghmel propogabda b dal progett, ghalmenu tipprova taghti nifs lil gonzi li bhal donnu m ghadux in office and in power
While Labour wastes time with speeches and half-baked proposals, Government is delivering. People want jobs. Labour says we must get more jobs. Government DOES get more jobs.
Prosit PM, Prosit Tonio Fenech.
You forgot the never ending Press conference. JM was praying that the transmission would end ( due to over running time) and the questions from the press would not be hear. In fact on PBS we only heard 4 questions do not know if there were more.
Well done to all who worked to get this investment. A victory for Malta.
@ Mario Gellel, Franco Mercieca and Mario Cauchi,
We should all rejoice when we hear some good news that is going to be beneficial to the Maltese workers, or is this a question of “Sour Grapes” perhaps?
Let us leave partisan politics aside for once and endeavor to make Malta a better place for us all!
JC.
PL created Air Malta, they then kick-started the idea of LH Technik. This was materialised by PN, and now PN are bringing this investment.
While I concur with Franco Mercieca's comment re quality of personnel, I believe that there is an opportunity to exploit, and that if we do raise the education standards, particularly in the MCAST sector for this field (the Engineering degree is already of a good level @ Uni), then we should be fine. The Maltese have risen to such challenges in the past. Let's keep up the good work!
Job well done ,but what about illegal immigration??
OK.. A good welcome to our economy... BUT... Did you have to call a special press conference just to announce that a Low Cost aircraft company is to open a maintenance base in Malta, after the Second Half of 2010, some more than 8 months from now....!!??!!??
Have you really been STUNNED so much with yesterday`s SPLENDID budget reply of Opposition and Labour Party Leader Dr. Joseph Muscat, that you had TO DO something so quick, to EASE its adverse impact on you and your party...!!!
Ah Well.... GonziPN & Friend Tonio.... I Don`t Blame You At All to come up with such an early stunt, `cause Joseph was SO SUPERB in tearing your bugdet`s bluff to pieces, that you just cannot immagine what really hit you......
WELL DONE JOSEPH...
During a recession whereby we hear many large international companies cutting down heavily on jobs, we have managed to achieve such an investment in Malta. This is the substance of politics....not the colour of the tie!
17 November 2009= PM and Tonio Fenech. 30 mins. 40 million investment. 350 new jobs.
Enough said!
350 people by 2014
Not even 100 a year!! (And these are just promised jobs)
You know how many people lost their jobs last year? According to the NSO 1,200!
Any investment is positive. But please do not make us believe this will save Malta from the problems we are facing in employment.
A good place to start is Super One which seems hell bent on feeding bad news and manufactured bad news for the first 15 minutes until we switch over from the bad news channel to the all roses good news channel that is Net!
Trid veru ma jkun hemm xejn x'tara fuq it-televizjoni biex toghqod
tisma l-kritika fjakka fuq il-budgit. Kien hemm ir-'wrestling' u rajt
lilu ghax iktar kien interessanti.
Dal-ghodu ahbar pozittiva ghal l-ahhar. Prosit Prim Ministru w l-ministru.
FIDUCJA SHIHA FIKHOM. GRAZZI.
REUTERS : AIRSHOW-Easyjet, SR Technics in Malta maintenance deal - http://in.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idINLH56206020091117
Ikollok temmen habib.
Malta is on the way of becoming the centre of excellence!
Well done to the Hon. Minister of Finance for this fantastic achievement which is going to benefit the Maltese economy by employing another 350 people and the consequent spill offs.
This is the way forward and not by childish rhetoric which we are lately hearing in parliament.
Keep it up Malta.
JC.
Many Labour supporters just ooze negativity and pessimism.
They have become so accustomed to not having faith in Malta’s ambitions that they cannot accept any good news. Sometimes I suspect that they wish that these projects would fail.
No wonder they support Partit tal-Le.
One has to keep in mind that this important investment comes at a time of global recession. Well done and keep it up.
So well done Tonio! Your sin of rubbishing the code of ethics is now forgiven.
You probably felt the same about Smart City, Lufthansa Technik, eGaming, Financial Services, Software houses and a myriad of other pockets in our economy that have all led to local job creation and national wealth - to improve our collective quality of life - or perhaps you yearn for the locally induced economic crisis of the Sant years!
It is now up to our local workforce, authorities, Government, and Opposition to work concertedly for another success in this field. We simply cannot let partisan political divisions endanger its progress. Nor can let ourselves spiral into complacency and endeavour to produce skilled personnel in this field by bulk.
The quality of personnel and a proper, professional work ethic (down to the entry level technician) is key. It has worked with LH Technik, as we've already seen.
Congrats to ME and all those who have made this possible!
minkejja li ghaddeja krizi internazzjonali Malta xorta qed tattira investiment barrani ta' kwalita.
Hemm tara d-differenza bejn min mohhu biss biex imaqdar u qadd ma joffri soluzzjonijiet u min minghajr hafna daqq ta' trombi jkun qed jahdem biex johloq ix-xoghol u jsalva l-postijiet tax-xoghol.
- Peter
I'm sorry Gonzipn, But as things are happening, it is becoming harder for us to swallow.