PETALING JAYA, June 27 — Selangor is exploring possibilities to attract investment in the aircraft teardown services and currently in talks with the European aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, to set up the facility in the state, Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari announced today.

He said the discussions were expected to take between six and eight months but if it comes to fruition, would make Malaysia the first country in South-east Asia to offer the service.

"(Currently) We are identifying a suitable site. It (facility) must be near a runway,” he said after officiating the groundbreaking ceremony of Airfoil Services Sdn Bhd facility extension here.

The typical process of aircraft teardown includes draining service fluids, dismantling liquid parts from wings, tail and plane body, disconnecting landing gear, taking out the plane cabin, packing the removed parts and dispatch to repair shops for following and recycling the remaining body.

The spare parts which are repaired and recertified are added to the stock and create a very attractive alternative to spare parts from original equipment manufacturer in terms of price, availability and lead time.

A report on Research and Markets.com last year noted that the market for dismantling services was estimated at around US$97 million  (RM402.2 million) and was expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around six to seven per cent and reach around US$180 million in 2027.

The market for salvaged components was estimated at US$1.30 billion in 2018 and was expected to surpass US$3 billion by 2027.

Meanwhile, Airfoil Services chief executive officer Wim van Beers said the company allocated US$15 million in investment for the extension with completion expected in June next year.

He said the extension would increase the facility’s production capacity to 900,000 parts from 650,000 parts currently.

He added the extension would also create 200 new jobs.

Currently, Airfoil Services has 500 employees. — Bernama