28 April 2020
Celebrating 20 years in the aerospace industry
From very small beginnings in 2000 to now a global aerospace player, TAE Aerospace has come a long way over the past 20 years and will celebrate this significant anniversary as an Australian aerospace company throughout May 2020.
Starting as a contracting company at the RAAF Base Amberley, with one of the very first F-111 maintenance support contracts, we moved and adapted well to market shifts and fleet changes into turbine engine and component MRO, diversifying from just the defence market into commercial aviation; and adding manufacturing and fire suppression technology to our portfolio. We are now operating globally following three acquisitions in the United States last year, taking our unique perspectives on the market, our trusted position as an independent service provider and our care for customers from Australia to the world.
In addition to celebrating our 20th anniversary, an early highlight for 2020 has been our move away from Amberley. Our headquarters recently moved to the new and purpose-built 16,000 sqm Turbine Engine Maintenance Facility in Ipswich. The facility now houses MRO activity for engines from the F135 for the F-35 Lightning II, the F414 for the F/A-18 Super Hornet, the F404 for the F/A-18 Classic Hornet and the AGT1500 for the M1A1 Abrams tank.
The Ipswich site is one of 11 TAE Aerospace sites around the world, from Alaska to Adelaide. Across these sites, our 360 TAE staff deliver their industry leading aerospace maintenance, engineering and manufacturing services for a wide range of customers from Air Forces, Armies and Navies to Airlines and OEMs, through to aerial agriculture and fire-fighting operators. This cross-over allows us to transplant the best parts of each market to the other markets to help customers succeed.
Although we are widely known for engine MRO activity for military fighter aircraft, tanks and turboprop aircraft, we have also become the world’s largest MRO provider for the TPE331 engine; the range of activities is now much more extensive, including aircraft wheels & brakes, auxiliary power units, fire extinguishing and avionics chassis manufacture.
“Our ability to continually adapt to changing markets and products has been the key to our success,” TAE Aerospace CEO Andrew Sanderson said.
“This diversity in product and customer base continues to keep things interesting every day for our team and helps us continue to find new opportunities for expansion and customer delivery around the world.
“The first 20 years has been an exciting journey from our Australian base and now with an expanding presence around the world we look forward to what the next 20 years may bring.”