Abu Dhabi: The capital's plans to create a global aerospace cluster to rival the likes of Seattle and Toulouse in large commercial-jet manufacturing have gained momentum with the delivery of the first product to be fully constructed in-house at Al Ain's Strata manufacturing plant.
Strata, a private sector aerostructures company based in Al Ain, recently delivered a ship set of A330/A340 Flap Track Fairings to Fischer Advanced Composite Components (FACC) in Austria; less than six months after the opening of the facility, which is located in the industrial zone beside Al Ain International Airport.
Strata is part of Mubadala Aerospace, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development, a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government.
It aims to become a full-fledged tier-one supplier to major aircraft manufacturers, including Airbus and Boeing, within the next decade.
Humaid Al Shemmari, Chairman of Strata and Executive Director of Mubadala Aerospace, said yesterday: "We want to be a global player in the aerospace industry and we have been able to find world class players to work with as we look to diversify Abu Dhabi's economy. Within the next five to ten years, when people talk about aerospace, we want them to think about Al Ain in the same way they think about Seattle and Toulouse.
"Abu Dhabi is a great player in the aviation industry; we have some of the strongest airlines in the world here in the UAE. Strata's intent is to become a leading tier-one supplier of composite aerostructures for the next generation of aircraft, and less than a year ago, we promised to deliver our first product in 12 months. We are proud to announce we have delivered on this promise and we look forward to further expanding the business."
Development
Construction of Strata's Al Ain plant began in September last year. The facility comprises 21,600 square metres of floor space and the company aims to create over 1,000 jobs by 2015. Mubadala plans to pump over $500 million (Dh1.8 billion) into composite manufacturing in the UAE over phases one to three of Strata's long-term development.
Ross Bradley, CEO of Strata, said: "Announcing the release of our first product to be fully manufactured at our plant is a great milestone in our ambitious plans for the company.
"It is a remarkable achievement to have come this far so quickly and we are excited about the next steps in our development."
