Timco Growing 737NG Airframe MRO Business

Boeing 737NG airframe maintenance is a growing business for Timco Aviation Services, which has recently added capacity in the U.S. for C checks and plans to add more later this year. Timco opened an C check line in September 2010 in Greensboro, N.C., where it has carried out winglet installation modifications on the type since 2005, and it added a second C check line there in late December 2010. The Greensboro capabity supplements Timco’s initial 737NG C check line in Lake City, Fla., where it has done the work on 737NGs since 2008.

C checks for narrowbodies such as the 737NG and Airbus A320 family are expected to lead the airframe MRO market in the near term: The number of C checks that operators will require this year shows a slight incline over recent years, and the number of C checks slated for the worldwide 737-800 fleet, for example, will grow from 1,580 to 1,678 over the 12-month period from September 2011 September 2012, according to MRO Prospector data.

This growth is driving Timco’s expansion. “As larger numbers of the newest family of Boeing 737 aircraft are coming up for scheduled maintenance, we have anticipated increased visits of the type at our facilities,” says Mike Anderson, general manager for Timco’s Greensboro operations.

Timco’s Greensboro facility is doing all phases of C check work on Boeing 737-700, -800 and -900 aircraft. In 2010, it completed C checks on nine aircraft for North American customers; the addition of the second line late in the year allowed it to produce an additional five aircraft, says spokesman John Eichten. Based on its current plan, Eichten says Timco expects 20-25 visits per line at the Greensboro facility this year.