Joramco poised for major expansion

Speaking on the eve of the MRO Middle East, Jeff Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer DAE Engineering, the Joramco majority shareholder, told Arabian Aerospace the Amman-based MRO is embarking on a multi-faceted programme that will position Joramco as the global independent MRO providing national flag carriers and Tier 1 operators with a full one-stop-shop solution including the further development of its part-out activities.

The expansion programme includes the potential for two new hangars at Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA), a multi-line maintenance hangar – including an OEM-partnered passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion line – along with additional back shop capabilities and further expansion to the current 5-axis CNC machining centre.

The second hangar will see Joramco partner with one of the world's biggest paint providers to build a Centre of Excellence paint shop capable of taking aircraft up to one B777 or two narrowbody aircraft in parallel. 

Wilkinson said the foundations for the growth were cemented with the success of Fraser Currie and his team in 2021-22 – given that Joramco exceeded the $100 million target – and such expansions remain the key enabler for its $200 million target over the coming years. 

Wilkinson estimates the first maintenance hangar – designed to take one widebody up to A380 and four narrowbody types in parallel – will be operational by Q3 of 2024. 

He said: "Our vision was always to become a global MRO. We were extremely successful in attracting European business, while maintaining our Middle East customer footprint, and more recently proud of our first widebody customers from Asia and South America.”

Looking into the regional market, Joramco has recently secured a deal with Emirates to carry out C-checks and modifications to 777s in its fleet. The 15-month extendable contract comes at a time when the Dubai carrier is operating at full capacity in its maintenance division with its own multi-billion-dollar cabin retrofit project. 

Following on from the Joramco success story, Wilkinson said he is still open to expanding DAE Engineering reach beyond the Amman-based MRO, where the opportunity exists, ideally towards the Southeast Asian, Eastern European and North African regions.