UK/ Malaysia/ Singapore, 16 July 2018 – The world’s leading tier one supplier of aerospace systems and products, GKN Aerospace, is investing US$30 million in a state-of-the-art aerospace component repair and research centre in Nusajaya Tech Park, located within the Iskandar Malaysia economic zone in Malaysia, to bolster growth in the Asia Pacific region. This facility marks the group’s first greenfield project in Malaysia and will serve as the regional repair and service centre for its customers around the region, focusing on specialised components used for commercial aircrafts.
GKN Aerospace has committed to lease three units of ready-built facilities (RBF) in Nusajaya Tech Park, with a total gross floor area of about 105,000 sq ft. The repair and research facility is slated to open in mid-2019, and is expected to employ approximately 150 employees in the first two years of operation, with the number doubling to 300 after five years.
Mr Joakim Andersson, CEO of GKN Engine Systems, said, "This new facility highlights GKN's commitment to support our customers in Asia and demonstrates our intention to further grow our engineering capabilities. The Malaysian Investment Development Authority has been a key facilitator in our decision to locate our first Asian facility in Malaysia, and we thank them for their support. Our new facility at Nusajaya Tech Park will be a state-of-the-art parts repair and research facility, which will allow us to leverage the skills of local employees to provide world-class service and quality to our customers in this region."
GKN Aerospace is also actively pursuing future product streams and is in discussions with its customers to identify the types of product support they require in the Asia-Pacific region. The group aims to establish research capabilities within this new facility, to support the expansion of its product offerings.
Against the backdrop of booming air travel in China, India and Southeast Asia, the Asia Pacific aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market is projected to rise at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 5.3 percent from 2018 to 2023. “The growth in this region will be the greatest in the world over the next 10 years and GKN is committed to providing our customers with a high level of service and responsiveness that can only be delivered by being active in the region. Nusajaya Tech Park represents the first step in our journey. It fitted our requirements with an excellent geographical location next to Singapore and pre-built solutions that provided a good shop floor layout, flexibility and future expansion opportunities.” Mr Joakim Andersson added.
Owned by Nusajaya Tech Park Sdn Bhd (“NTPSB”), Nusajaya Tech Park is an integrated tech park jointly developed by Ascendas and UEM Sunrise Berhad (“UEM Sunrise”). Designed for a wide range of light to medium industries, it offers an eco-friendly and premium business environment, with integrated industrial, commercial spaces, dormitories, amenities and support facilities, all in one location. Strategically located just minutes from Singapore, the 210-hectare tech park will be built in phases over nine years.
GKN Aerospace adds to the stellar list of companies that are currently located at Nusajaya Tech Park, which includes multinational corporations and leading local enterprises from a wide variety of industries such as aerospace, automotive electronics, precision engineering and IT/data centres.
Mr Manohar Khiatani, Chairman of NTPSB and Deputy Group CEO of Ascendas-Singbridge said, “We welcome GKN Aerospace to the Nusajaya Tech Park community. GKN’s commitment to anchor their very first Asia facility at the park signifies their strong confidence in the region’s growth potential and reflects the attractiveness of Nusajaya Tech Park as a high value-added manufacturing location in Malaysia. It is exemplary of how multinational companies can leverage Nusajaya Tech Park as a base to grow their presence and access fast growing economies in this region.”
