In the latest in our From The Top series, FINN talks to Mansoor Jahani, CEO, Turbine Services & Solutions about playing to your strengths and how to stand out.
Turbine Services & Solutions, based in Abu Dhabi, offers MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) services for engines and turbines in aerospace and industrial settings.
Jahani said Turbine Services & Solutions is not a “new kid on the block”, having been established over 30 years ago.
Although the company is based in the Middle East, Jahani said: “We’re a global company. We have gone from [having] customers in Asia to South America, Europe and the Middle East. And we are truly pioneers of the aviation sector.”
OEMs
There’s some concern in the MRO sector about OEMs stepping in to provide their own competitive services. Jahani isn’t worried.
He said: “If you want to be in this business, our strategy and our view is you have to be with the OEM. At the end of the day, the OEM controls the aftermarket and sale at the point of sale so our strategy is very much OEM-driven.”
He added: “Over and above that, we deal directly with airlines that are coming off their OEM agreements. This is going to continue to be our strategy because we believe with next-generation engine platforms, the OEM will have an even stronger foothold than they currently have on legacy platforms.”
Standing out
Turbine Services & Solutions works with companies which are very focused on cutting-edge technologies, such as GE and Rolls-Royce. On whether an MRO company can really set trends as well as follow them, Jahani said: “You have to dictate your own strategy. We want to differentiate ourselves and have a competitive advantage.”
Turbine Services & Solutions is wholly owned by investment company Mubadala.
“We like to play to our strengths,” Jahani said, pinpointing these as access to capital, being a global business and innovation.
“Innovation is a key theme that Turbine Services & Solutions focuses on, but it’s also a key theme at a group level. We are blessed to have such a wide portfolio of companies where we tap into other resources. So we want to ensure that we actually set the trend and not be trend followers.”
Take control
Jahani noted there are certain MRO areas that are by their nature governed externally and by the customer but Turbine Services & Solutions focuses on the things which are in its control: people and efficiency.
“That’s where we look at R&D – to be as efficient as possible so that at the end of the day, my customer gets [their] engine in the fastest possible time and [we] make sure that [they have] the highest availability of [their] assets.”
In the From the Top series, FINN asks all aerospace leaders what keeps them awake at night.
Jahani said: “I have to say I sleep quite well. Part of that is because I’ve got a fantastic team.”
“We have a fantastic team, we’ve grown the company, we continue to grow the company,” he concluded.
