From Left to right: Simon Wayne, General Manager, Bombardier Aerospace Singapore Service Centre; Wong Yu Wei, Deputy Chairman & Executive Director, Boustead Project PTE Ltd; Glory Wee, Director, Aerospace, Industry Cluster Group, JTC Corporation; Alvin Tan, Assistant Chief Executive, Aerospace, Industry Cluster Group, JTC Corporation; Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Vice President and General Manager, Bombardier Business Aircraft; Lynn McDonald, High Commissioner of Canada to Singapore; Lim Tse Yong, Director of Capital Goods, EDB Singapore; Thomas Chu, Managing Director & Executive Director, Boustead Project PTE Ltd; Idris Jumari, one of the first batch of employees who joined Bombardier Singapore Service Centre in 2012; Chris Debergh, Vice-President of Aircraft Service Centers, Bombardier Business Aircraft.
Montreal, February 26, 2019 – For business and luxury travellers there was good news from Bombardier today as the company announced the next major investment in enhancing its global customer service experience with a significant expansion in the growing Asia-Pacific region.
The award-winning Singapore Service Centre at the Seletar Aerospace Park will more than quadruple its current footprint, transforming the facility into a high-capacity, one-stop-shop super centre, offering its customers a full gamut of maintenance, refurbishment and modification services required throughout an aircraft’s life, directly on site.
“Our high-capacity, optimized Singapore Service Centre will bring industry-leading aircraft availability, faster turnarounds and greater convenience and peace of mind to Bombardier’s growing customer base in Asia,” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Experience. “Customers will enjoy access to the complete range of OEM customer service and support right on their doorstep, 24/7, 365 days a year. This expansion is another key building block in our drive to enhance the accessibility of our OEM expertise for customers worldwide and to solidify our position as a leader in aftermarket services in the Asia-Pacific region, a pivotal growing part of our global network.”
“This expansion is another testament to the robust ties that bind our two countries together,” said the Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification. “This important Canadian investment in Singapore is a platform that will create new opportunities for Canadian business in the region, and further diversify Canada’s export markets.”
Unveiling of the expanded Singapore Service Centre, From left to right: Alvin Tan, Assistant Chief Executive, Industry Cluster Group, JTC Corporation; Lynn McDonald, High Commissioner of Canada to Singapore; Jean-Chrisophe Gallagher, Vice President and General Manager, Bombardier Business Aircraft
“Bombardier's commitment to Singapore extends far beyond this CAD$85 million project,” stated Madam Lynn McDonald, High Commissioner of Canada to Singapore. “The company has MOUs with local educational institutions to ensure that the aerospace pipeline of skilled workers remains strong - creating highly-skilled, high-paying aerospace jobs for years to come. Therefore, and as the Honourable Jim Carr, remarked, this expansion "is another testament to the strong ties that bind our two countries together.”
The Singapore Service Centre announcement follows the October 3, 2018, news that Bombardier is growing its North American maintenance capabilities with the construction of an expanded service centre at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. This facility will be inaugurated in 2020 and will more than double the current customer service footprint in Florida.
These major investments and expansions are the next steps in providing worldwide customers with new, enhanced maintenance and refurbishment options. Located at Seletar Aerospace Park, the Singapore Service Centre, which opened in 2014, will more than quadruple its current footprint from 100,000 sq. ft. (9,260 m2) to approximately 430,000 sq. ft. (40,000 m2) by 2020. The expansion will introduce exceptional new customer facilities, a full-service 37,000 sq. ft. (3,500 m2) paint facility, advanced interior finishing capabilities, with key support functions, such as training, sales and customer support and an expanded portfolio of component, repair and overhaul (CR&O) services. It will also offer heavy structural and composite repair capabilities, in addition to a 10,000 sq.ft. (929 m2) integrated parts depot.
Jean-Chrisophe Gallagher, Vice President and General Manager, Bombardier Business Aircraft, in the Global 6000 business jet.
The new expanded Singapore Service Centre will be capable of supporting more than 2,000 visits annually. The groundbreaking of the expansion will occur on February 27, 2019, with the facility being operational in 2020.
“Singapore’s Seletar Airport is the gateway to the Asia-Pacific market and boasts a growing aviation footprint that includes the development of a dynamic, new passenger terminal that will greatly enhance passenger traffic in the region,” Mr Gallagher added.
“Bombardier Business Aircraft has an extensive fleet in Asia-Pacific, with more than 320 aircraft representing 30% of the industry-wide fleet. And we are building this transformative facility to Bring Our Jets Home and further meet our customers’ needs in keeping these valuable assets in the air.”
The Singapore Service Centre currently employs more than 150 staff, including 100 licensed engineers and technicians, and has received more than 20 certifications and authorizations from international regulators to service the full range of Bombardier Global, Challenger and Learjet aircraft including the largest, most luxurious and longest range business jet ever built, the flagship Global 7500 aircraft.
In addition to offering scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and aircraft on ground (AOG) support, the Singapore Service Centre is recognized as a centre of excellence for complex retrofit work, including avionics and Ka-band installations.
“Bombardier’s decision to establish a full suite of aftermarket capabilities at its Singapore Service Centre will add to the vibrancy of activities at Seletar Aerospace Park,” said Tan Kong Hwee, Executive Director, Capital Goods, Singapore Economic Development Board. “Bombardier’s expansion in Singapore is testament to our attractiveness as an aerospace hub, and our ability to capture growth opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. We look forward to forging stronger ties with companies like Bombardier, to grow the sector and create more good jobs for Singaporeans.”
With its industry-defining craftsmanship and design, market-leading deliveries and largest backlog in the industry, Bombardier Business Aircraft is the preeminent brand in business jets worldwide. Bombardier Business Aircraft currently has an extensive footprint in the Asia-Pacific region, with more than 320 aircraft of its industry-wide fleet of 1,025 aircraft operating there. In total, Bombardier has 4,800 business aircraft operating around the world.
Bombardier estimates industry-wide deliveries in the region between now and 2027 to be 950 aircraft for a forecasted sales revenue of US$37 billion. The most popular growth area are the Global aircraft, and the expanded Singapore Service Centre will be instrumental in supporting the growing fleet, including the Global 7500 aircraft, the industry’s largest and most luxurious business jet.