SR Technics' closure of Dublin base 'part of restructuring process'

SR Technics' closure of its base in Dublin was part of a restructuring process and the government was not worried about the investment coming Malta's way, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said.

Mr Fenech was reacting to comments attributed to a former SR Technics' employee warning Maltese workers to beware of the company.

Swiss-based SR Technics, an aircraft maintenance company, plans to generate up to 350 jobs in Malta by 2014.

For the past 32 years, the Irish employee in question worked at the company's base in Dublin, which the company closed earlier this year as part of a restructuring exercise.

Asked to comment about the employee's warning, Marco Imboden, SR Technics' head of communications, said the company had to move away from high-cost base facilities, like the one in Dublin, and seek sites that would enable it to offer more value to its customers.

"The decision to close our facility in Dublin earlier this year was extremely difficult. The loss of major contracts from primary load customers, the business and economic forecasts as well as the high cost base of the operation meant it was impossible to fill very significant capacity gaps with new business and, as a consequence, the closure was unavoidable and it was not a decision taken lightly."

He said SR Technics remained "fully cognisant" of the personal implications of the closure on the workforce and that the company did all it could to support them during this difficult time.

Mr Imboden said SR Technics' plans for Malta should be looked at on their own merits and in isolation of the decision to close Dublin.

"As we have indicated, SR Technics' decision to establish a maintenance facility in Malta is part of our long-term growth strategy directed towards the expansion of the group's global market position through offering services to customers across the entire maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) value chain in Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and North America."

He said the new facility would allow SR Technics to deliver its world class MRO services from "a new, highly-attractive platform" and to substantially increase its competitiveness in the labour-intensive airframe maintenance segment.

Moreover, he said the strategic location of Malta would allow SR Technics to further expand its customer base.

Meanwhile, Mr Fenech yesterday toured two institutes at the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology, specialising in training for aviation maintenance.

Addressing the students, Mr Fenech said it was thanks to them that companies like SR Technics decided to choose Malta to set up a base. He said there were good prospects for them in Malta.

The college's Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineering and the Institute of Mechanical Engineering together have 270 students, including those following evening courses.

Mr Fenech said the government was working closely with SR Technics and Lufthansa Technik to offer more tailor-made and specialised courses with the possibility of having another intake of students in February.