RAK company weighs move to Al Ain site

A company that makes mock aircraft interiors could become the newest tenant of Al Ain's aerospace cluster.

An Etihad cabin crew member attends to classmates during a training session.

Spatial Composite Solutions (SCS), a maker of aircraft cabin replicas for crew training, is in discussions to invest in new facilities at the emerging aerospace cluster in Al Ain.

SCS, which is based at a factory in Ras al Khaimah, could move to Al Ain in the next 12 months, said Joseph McKeever, its chief executive. The aerospace cluster project is being spearheaded by Abu Dhabi Airports Company and Mubadala Development, a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government.

"We have had discussions in the past six months with Mubadala and are considering a possible move to the aerospace cluster in Al Ain," Mr McKeever said. The cluster currently includes tenants such as Strata, a manufacturer of composite parts for Airbus aircraft, and there are plans for significant investments from aviation maintenance companies.

SCS produces mock-ups of aircraft cabins from composite materials such as carbon fibre. Mr McKeever said these materials are currently obtained from firms in Jebel Ali and in the US and Japan. But SCS could begin acquiring some of the materials in Al Ain if the cluster project eventually includes suppliers, he said. As part of its economic diversification, Abu Dhabi aims to make Al Ain a global centre of aerospace manufacturing, maintenance and training.