EFIC helped Aircraft Support Industries with a performance bond

Building on its considerable experience in Asia of providing specialised aircraft hangars and maintenance equipment, Aircraft Support Industries Pty Ltd (ASI) is now making headway in the Middle East.

The Sydney-based exporter won a US$68.2 million contract for the design and construction of an aircraft maintenance hangar at Abu Dhabi International Airport in the United Arab Emirates.

The company will supply the hangar complex, which can accommodate the A380, as well as associated workshops, offices and equipment, to Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT), which provides technical services for the commercial and military aviation industries.

Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC), Australia’s export credit agency, supported ASI’s contract by helping with the provision of a performance bond to ADAT.

EFIC issued a guarantee to ASI’s bank, National Australia Bank (NAB), to enable the bank to issue a standby letter of credit to the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, which in turn issued the performance bond to ADAT.

‘We have strong experience in designing and constructing large hangars both in Australia and overseas, but contract bonds can place a strain on our cash flow,’ said ASI’s chief executive officer, Mark Langbein. ‘The financial guarantees from EFIC and NAB have freed up our working capital so we can focus on delivering this new contract.’

EFIC has assisted ASI with export finance since 2001. In addition to the Abu Dhabi contract, EFIC has provided bonds to support the company’s projects in Vietnam, Jordan and Singapore in recent years.

Over the past 15 years, ASI has completed 10 major hangar projects and over 12 aircraft maintenance docking systems in Australia and in overseas markets such as Singapore, China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

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