34 COMPANY FOCUS As a follow-up, and to reinforce the
honour, the French Prime Minister, Jean- Marc Ayrault, visited the factory a few days later amid much media interest.
Further fields
GSE aside, there is more afoot at the factory, as Laurent Decoux, TLD’s Technical Director, explains to me. He’s engaged on a trio of solutions to the industry puzzle that has arisen over the use of composites in aircraft construction. Those of you who read the last issue of Ground Handling International will recall the slight vagueness that surrounds the question of impacting a composite panel: some say one thing, some say another. Suffice it to say that TLD is engaged on solutions. Watch this space…
The Chinese operation
And so to China, initially to TLD’s Shanghai factory. Some readers will know of TLD’s growing presence in China and its Asian operation is looked after by one Thomas Dorn. He tells me that there has been great change indeed during the last three years. “We’ve seen enhanced productivity
here in what was, in the past, something of an inflexible approach to the building operation,” he reports. “This has translated into better production: whereas before we built perhaps 15 beltloaders a month, now that figure can reach 52. In fact, we are so well equipped that we can, if necessary, produce a large number of beltloaders in just a few weeks.” It doesn’t stop there, though, for both GPU and stairs output has been increased and because essentially it is the same team involved, the engineers can move from one GSE type to another with perfect equanimity. Ambulifts and catering trucks are also made in Shanghai and there exists the possibility of mounting US-made products on to trucks here also. With 140 staff, which represents a slight increase over the last couple of years, the plant will usually see 40 staff on the floor at a given time. “All components are sourced either
from China (around 80%) or Europe (10%) and the US (10%). This lean approach requires only a small assembly workshop and has proven to be more practical in years of slow growth compared to local competitors who have a large set-up and who produce everything in house. Once confronted with a hiccough in sales, they either have to shed workforce or venture into other products and industries. We keep a strong team of Vendor
Shanghai factory has seen enhanced output over the last three years
Quality Engineers (five in Shanghai and three in Wuxi), who inspect suppliers and train them to achieve our quality requirements.”
Both sites export a similar amount: some 60% of production is currently exported, mainly to the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. China Eastern Airlines is TLD Asia’s biggest client today and the carrier has had a most satisfactory relationship with this manufacturer for a decade now. This is according to Wang Quihua, General Manager - Loading Department, at Shanghai’s Pudong airport. However, he is quick to mention the changing fortunes within the marketplace. “We’re mostly concerned with cargo handling and we’ve looked after 800 flights a day in the past, although the recession has cut that statistic to around 700,” he says. “We perform ground services for 52 foreign airlines and move around 270,000 tonnes of cargo a month. This figure has also gone down over the last 12 months; however, passenger figures have gone up a little, so that’s some good news.” Other problems have also manifested themselves at the airport. China Eastern has over 500 drivers employed within its 1,400 strong workforce here and a recurring problem is that of recruiting experienced or more highly qualified drivers. Unfortunately, there is an equal demand for these skills from other sectors.
But back to GSE proper. Whilst TLD
isn’t the airline’s sole GSE provider, it does furnish quite a lot of equipment to the Chinese carrier: at present, over 60 of the carrier’s 93 loaders are from TLD whilst 90 of its 137 beltloaders are also from TLD. Qian Qiong, the carrier’s Deputy General Manager, remarks that the right quality equipment is what counts. “We are looking to reduce the
turnaround time on widebodies, for example. We’ve found that we can indeed cut this by using TLD equipment. The company listens to our requirements and reacts accordingly.”
Maintenance of the equipment is
Banner translates loosely as: “High technology with safety developments”
vital in this context and around 1,800 vehicles are looked after by China Eastern’s maintenance division. Some 250 staff are involved in this and Qian Qiong reports that maintenance is now easier than in the past thanks to design improvements and that fault finding is quicker. On the agenda is a new maintenance subsidiary that will be able to look after the GSE of other companies at Pudong.
Local Chinese carrier rules dictate that imported GSE is scrapped after 15 years whereas home-grown equipment may be refurbished when it reaches six or seven years of age: thereafter, it is destined for the scrapheap at ten. Delicately put, the reason for the disparity is that domestically-produced equipment isn’t always of the highest quality. This rather puts TLD Asia, as a home producer, into a quandary - doesn’t it? “Not really,” says Thomas. “Customers here know that what we build in China is of the same standard as that which we make in Europe or in the US. So really, we can be considered an exception to the rule.”
What about the airport and the
environment? Is there any sign of progress in this sector? Qian Qiong says that the government has policies in place and has drawn up some initial targets and indeed, the airport authority has taken these initiatives on board. To illustrate this, in 2012, China Eastern began using electric bag tractors and beltloaders on a small scale. Moreover, TLD Asia’s electric prototypes, namely beltloaders and stairs, were actually ready in February this year. However, the Deputy General Manager admits that there have been several challenges. “The airport infrastructure isn’t yet in place, for a start. Although we’re eligible for incentives to buy electric (this translates into 30% of the purchase price), the TCO is a big concern: will the overall cost be justified? In the end, if electric does prove to work out, then we will pursue it. A lot of studies have been done on battery power but I feel that service support will be critical; also, there will be a training requirement so that
GROUND HANDLING INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2013
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