San Antonio, U.S. 25 April 2022. ST Engineering celebrated the 20th anniversary of its aircraft maintenance operations in San Antonio, Texas, U.S., at a ceremony attended by San Antonio Director of Airports Jesus Saenz and other invited guests.
The event, held at its San Antonio Aerospace (SAA) facility located at San Antonio International Airport, also gave recognition to SAA’s longest-standing employees. Many of these employees were former staff of the aircraft maintenance company started by the legendary San Antonio aviation pioneer, Dee Howard, which used to own the facility SAA now operates at.
Established in 2002, SAA provides airframe heavy maintenance, modification and repair solutions to a customer base made up of leading passenger and cargo airlines, supporting nearly all aircraft types including the 787 Dreamliner. Since its inception, SAA has steadily expanded its operations in San Antonio through the addition of new facilities and capabilities. Today, SAA has the hangar capacity to accommodate seven widebody and five narrowbody aircraft at any one time. Leveraging its expertise in performing heavy and complex aircraft structures work, SAA recently set up a Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversion line to support the A320P2F programme by EFW, a joint venture between ST Engineering and Airbus. The facility commenced conversion work in December last year.
Timothy McBride, Chairman and President of ST Engineering North America, said, “The accomplishments we enjoy in San Antonio today are in no small part contributed by the support we received from the local authorities and the hard work of San Antonio’s skilled workforce. In return, we look forward to being an invaluable part of San Antonio’s economic fabric for many more years, and building even stronger ties with the local community.”
“Key elements that make a successful company are customers and employees, and we are very privileged to have an abundance of both present today to celebrate the 20th anniversary of San Antonio Aerospace,” Jeffrey Lam, President of Commercial Aerospace, ST Engineering, said. “As we look forward to our next 20 years in San Antonio, we plan on delivering even greater value that is underpinned by safety and quality to our customers, and grow from strength to strength with our employees.”
With around 1,000 employees and an annual payroll of over US$70m, SAA is a major participant in San Antonio’s aviation industry. Beyond employment, SAA indirectly stimulates economic activities in airport logistics, education and training, housing, transport and many other areas.
It actively gives back to the local community, participating in various local charities and donation drives, and contributing to causes such as the Dee Howard Foundation and the Texas Sponsor A Highway® Program. In line with the global aviation industry’s push for sustainable development, SAA has been making its operations greener, such as installing solar panels on each of its hangar and back-shop buildings, which allow it to generate up to 15% of its daily electricity needs from solar energy.
