Strata on track for growth through automation and robots

Strata, which began production in 2010, said it expects to break even next year and expects to record annual revenue of Dh1 billion by 2020. Jumana El Heloueh / Reuters

Mubadala Development-owned Strata Manufacturing, a maker of composite aero-structures, said it is gearing up for higher growth with automation and robots, having recorded a 20 per cent growth in deliveries last year.

Strata delivered 521 shipsets, consisting of more than 9,103 components, which included parts for the Airbus A330neo and A350-1000.

“In six years only, Strata has proven to the world that it is capable of contributing to Abu Dhabi vision 2030 through diversifying the economy away from oil and gas and positioning Abu Dhabi and Al Ain as a global aerospace hub,” said Ismail Ali Abdulla, the deputy chief executive of Strata.

The company, which began production in 2010, said it expects to break even next year and expects to record annual revenue of Dh1bn by 2020.

Strata launched its Strata Lab at Masdar Institute last year to focus on manufacturing and materials research in aerospace production lines.

There are five research and development projects under way, it said.

The Aerospace Research and Innovation Center, a partnership between Khalifa University and Strata, has acquired a robotic arm to develop aircraft components. The robot is installed at Khalifa University’s Abu Dhabi Campus.

At the Farnborough Airshow last July, the Al Ain-based company won orders worth US$1 billion from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus to make inboard flaps for the A350-900 and horizontal tail plane for the A320 besides a multi-year contract to manufacture the vertical fin for the Boeing 787.

Strata is making a conscious effort to employ more nationals in its workforce, with Emiratis comprising 51 per cent of its staff. The feat came during a year that witnessed graduation of 105 UAE nationals from its Aero-structures Technician Training Programme, a collaboration with UAE University in Al Ain. Strata also has 48 women as team leaders, while four out of its 11 supervisors are Emirati women.

About 56 per cent of its nearly 480 suppliers are based in the UAE, with 88 per cent of the local suppliers comprising small and medium enterprises.

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