Hawker Pacific 10th Anniversary Special

As an aviation and high technology marketing and product support organisation, the company has developed a diverse business base representing and supporting products and services covering a wide spectrum of the civil and military aviation markets.

. Geographic diversification, a strong management team, tight financial controls and the strength that comes from being a part of the worldwide Hawker Siddeley Group have contributed to a record of strong, stable growth.

The decision to establish Hawker Pacific came from Hawker Siddeley’s recognition in the late 1970’s of the need to create a separate aviation marketing organisation divorced from the manufacturing activities of its major Australian subsidiary, Hawker de Havilland, which last year celebrated its 60th anniversary. Hawker Pacific officially came into being on 1st January, 1978 with its initial operations based on the former marketing and product support divisions of its sister company.

One of the leaders of the Australian aviation industry, Mr Rollo Kingsford-Smith was appointed inaugural Chairman and Mr Laurie Jones founding Managing Director. Mr Bruce Price, formerly Managing Director of Hawker de Havilland, became Chairman in January 1987 following the retirement of Mr Kingsford Smith. Hawker Pacific’s present Managing Director, Mr Chris Ryland assumed his position in January 1983, following the retirement of Mr Jones.

FORWARD PLANNING

In a recent visit to Head Office we had the opportunity to talk to Chris Ryland about the company’s view of the industry and its future plans. He stressed that Hawker Pacific had been successful in the difficult and relatively limited Australian aviation market through a commitment to corporate planning, with a programme mapped out for a minimum of four years ahead.

According to Ryland, the company’s current objectives are, firstly, to consolidate management, and marketing a technical expertise in aerospace and high technology products and systems; secondly, to increase -the range of products and services marketed by the company and thirdly, to continue pursuing growth opportunities through offshore expansion and acquisition, particularly in Asia, the United States and Europe.

The company realises that its business is strongly influenced by changing economic conditions, phases of technological innovation, product replacement cycles and the various peaks and troughs commonly associated with military procurements.

Sound planning and a strong, diversified business base have paid dividends with ‘across the counter’ sales last year topping $160 million and projected to grow strongly in the years ahead. A record profit was achieved despite some unexpected problem areas which as Ryland pointed out, justified the corporate decision to expand particularly in the USA.

Currently, Australia accounts for 40% of turnover, Asia 40% and the United Sates the remaining 20%. But with an aggressive acquisition programme in place, Ryland sees Australia, Asia, the United States and Europe contributing equally to turnover and profits as early as the end of the decade.

LOCAL AUTONOMY

Ryland mentioned that many in the industry remain confused over the relationship between Hawker Pacific and Hawker de Havilland, even after ten years. He stressed that they are two completely separate companies operating at arm’s length.

While a Hawker Siddeley Group company, nevertheless Hawker Pacific’s Board exercises a high level of local autonomy. In addition to the Chairman, Bruce Price and Managing Director, Chris Ryland, board members include five Executive Directors: Paul Bisson, Finance; Ian Blackie, Aviation Services; Merv Church, Commercial; David Price, Aerospace and Defence Marketing; Pauline Sanderson, Aviation Product Support and Tim Sallitt of the Hawker Siddeley Group.

Outside the Board there is an Executive Committee, comprising the Executive Directors and Company Secretary, the hard-working Ian Greaves, which meets on a regular basis to exercise ‘hands-on’ operational control and coordination of company divisional activities. This structure, coupled with tight and effective accounting procedures enables virtually instantaneous exposure of any problem area. However, as Ryland pointed out, it provides divisional managers with a great deal of independent authority and flexibility in their business activities.

Total personnel employed by the eight divisions of Hawker Pacific is nearing 700 including 120 in Asia and 180 in the United States.

Geographic Diversity

From early beginnings in 1978, with facilities at Bankstown, Canberra, Moorabbin, Jandakot and Archerfield and a limited presence in Singapore, the rapid growth of Hawker Pacific is illustrated by today’s spread of offices and facilities including Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Cairns, Auckland, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, Hong Kong, Seoul, Beijing, Los Angeles, Miami and Amsterdam.

Hawker Pacific is still the only Australian-based aerospace company to have a presence in the People’s Republic of China, having opened an office in Beijing in 1985. This move quickly achieved results when the company assisted Qantas in obtaining a major contract from CMC for the overhaul of JT9D engines.

The latest Hawker Pacific office is rather closer to home, in the Qantas International Centre in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. With booming Falcon corporate jet sales, it was a logical step to place the company’s Falcon dealership in a central city location close to the corporations which have made the Falcon Australia’s most popular business jet.

AIRCRAFT SALES: MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE MARKET

Hawker Pacific was founded on its general aviation and product support distributorships, backed up by a number of key agencies for international aircraft manufacturers, supplies of aerospace and defence-related systems as well as electronic companies.

David Price, who has been closely associated with aircraft sales activity with the two Hawker companies since 1961, provided an update of the company’s developments in this area.

Airbus Industrie

The links established with Airbus lndustrie since 1969 has resulted in the sale of A30084s and more recently A320s to Australian Airlines and an A310-300 to Air Niugini. While it is disappointing that Australian Airlines has decided to defer the introduction of the high technology A320, Price is confident that the 1990’s will see this aircraft introduced, perhaps in stretched form. Also, the deregulation of the Australian airline system may well see other purchases of the A320 in the region.

Falcon Jet

In 1980, Hawker Pacific took over the Falcon Jet dealership and despite some flat years in the mid 1980s, excellent sales in recent times under David Irons’ management has seen the Falcon range of aircraft well established in the Australasian region, with the largest current population of any manufacturer.

The company has won the prestigious ‘Falcon Jet International Dealership of the Year’ award on three occasions, including 1986 and 1987. According to Price, the Falcon 900 operated by the Bond Corporation since April, 1987 has surpassed all expectations with its high level of VIP comfort, quiet afld virtually trouble-free operations and long range/speed capability. The aircraft, which will be joined by a second 900 this month, makes regular crossings of the Pacific to meet the needs of top Bond Corporation executives.

Hawker Pacific is also bidding the Falcon 900 for the RAAF VIP fleet leasing requirement where the aircraft’s domestic and international flexibility would be valuable.

In a recent development, and to enhance support for the Falcon jet range, the Falcon Jet Corporation and Hawker Pacific have agreed to establish a $5 million spare store to serve the Australasian region.

De Havilland Canada

A Hawker Pacific subsidiary, Australian Aerospace, is responsible for the de Havilland Canada aircraft agency. More than 30 Twin Otters have been sold since the mid 1960s and although production has now ceased, this aircraft continues to be in demand and good second-hand aircraft fetch near new prices.

Two Dash 7s with Air Niugini continue to perform their difficult operational tasks well and the introduction of the Dash 8 into Talair in late 1986 has been most successful. Hawker Pacific also supplies de Havilland Caribou spares to the RAAF and expects the 22 aircraft to continue in service until the mid 1990’s.

Beech

Since joining Hawker Pacific as Manager of the Aircraft Sales Division, Michael Keenan has been very active with the company’s Beech distributorship. The Division’s former Manager, David Bell, has taken responsibility for corporate development at Head Office and recently spent a valuable six months in the USA managing newly acquired Flight Accessory Services.

Keenan together with John Steinbeck control Hawker Pacific’s extensive Beech distributorship throughout Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Malaysia and the South Pacific. This founding distributorship, held since 1960, has placed over 800 aircraft into the region including more than 50 King Airs.

In Australia Hawker Pacific has established a major market for the King Air, especially in the aero-medical field with organisations including the NSW Air Ambulance Service, Royal Flying Doctor Service and National Safety Council of Australia operating this popular type.

In addition, small airlines including Norfolk Island Airlines (NIA) and Flight West also operate this type. In fact, NIA has the highest annual utilisation of King Air operators anywhere in the world, achieving more than 2000 hours per year. Hawker Pacific is now undertaking an extensive review of its support for these highly utilised King Airs to ensure that both maintenance and spares demand throughout the region are fully met.

Throughout Asia where Hawker Pacific, in addition to local offices, has a specialist Beech salesman, Beech have proved immensely successful with the company most recently delivering 4 Barons to the Indonesian Air Training School, LPPU, following earlier completion of final deliveries of 25 Beech T-34C training aircraft to the Indonesian Air Force and two Bonanzas to the Indonesian Navy. Two of the most extensively equipped King Air 200s are operated by the Malaysian OCH in the flight inspection role.

Early February 1988 saw the Australian debut of Hawker Pacific’s Beechjet 400 with a nationwide demonstration tour following its display at the Asian Aerospace Exhibition in Singapore.

Nomads in Asia

On both a commercial and government aid basis, Hawker Pacific has achieved significant market penetration for the GAF Nomad in Asia. Large numbers have been supplied to Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines with the company also providing extensive local support for the aircraft.

Twenty N22Bs were sold by Hawker Pacific to the Royal Thai Air Force in 1982 and prior to entering service were extensively modified by the company at Bankstown. This involved the installation of upgraded avionics, the fitting of self-sealing fuel tanks and the ‘tropicalisation’ of various components including oil cooler inlet doors.

Four of the aircraft were fitted with external loudspeaker systems while one was equipped as an air ambulance. Based at Phitsanulok, the Nomad squadron is used for light observation purposes, transport and training.

In Indonesia where 17 Nomad Searchmasters supplied under Australian Government aid are in service with the Navy, Hawker Pacific is contracted to the Australian Department of Defence to provide engineering services, training of local engineers, spares support and the provision of technical records. The Nomads are used for search and rescue operations as well as territorial water patrols. Consisting of types N22B and N22S, the Nomad fleet is based at Juanda Naval Base, Surabaya. .

Support for the Nomad in Asia has not been confined to military users. In 1984 the company undertook a major rebuild of a privately owned Noniad which had been badly damaged in a landing incident. Ir\ an ‘in-the-field’ operation on the isolated Marinduque Islands, a team of Aviation Servicing Division personnel replaced a stub wing as well as a complete wing assembly. Price believes that the Australian Government failed to fully appreciate the market potential for the Nomad. “Fitting neatly between the Islander and Twin Otter, with ongoing development the aircraft would still be selling today. Regrettably, funding and organizational problems removed the flexibility required for quick responses to marketing opportunities and structural modifications. ”

ENGINE POWER

An important foundation of Hawker Pacific’s operations since 1978 has been its extensive Allison 250 distributorship. Its territory, the largest of any Allison distributor outside the US, extends through the Far East, South East Asia, India, Australia and New Zealand and covers some 1800 installed engines.

Comprehensive spares support, engine and component overhaul and the provision of field service teams have established Hawker Pacific as the top distributor in the annual reviews undertaken by specialist Detroit Diesel Allison teams.

Brian Tydeman, Hawker Pacific’s Allison Distributorship Manager, explained that the demand for overhauls of the Allison 250 in Asia is continuing to grow strongly. To meet this requirement, Hawker Pacific is further expanding its overhaul facility which it established at Seletar Airport, Singapore in 1982, and which has very successfully countered the challenge of overhaul companies based on the US west coast.

Tydeman and colleagues from the company’s Hong Kong office have been closely involved in OEM supply of the Allison 250 to airframe manufacturers, especially Hindustan Aeronautics tor the HT. 24 trainer, the new RTAF Fantrainer as well as the big Hughes/MOD OH-6 helicopter buy for South Korea. Hawker Pacific is the only Allison distributor to supply engines on an OEM basis and was, of course, heavily involved in the Australian Nomad programme.

Tydeman has high expectations that the latest developments with the uprated C20R version of the 250 will generate significant work for the company as operators of the many helicopter types powered by the Allison 250 will appreciate the advantages of this performance modification.

Hawker Pacific is also a major supplier to military and civil operators of spares and technical support for the Textron Lycoming T53 gas turbine which powers the Bell UH-1H military helicopter and larger commercial variants such as the Bell 412. Although volume is smaller than for the Allison 250, it is a growing area of the company’s business.

On the general aviation side, the company has active distributorships for Teledyne Continental and Textron Lycoming piston engines which dominate the general aviation market in Australia and overseas. Hawker Pacific has a major Department of Defence contract for the overhaul of RAAF CT-4A Continental 10-360 engines which is carried out at Bankstown.

More than 300 civil piston engine overhauls each year are completed at the company’s facilities at Perth, Moorabbin, Bankstown and Archerfield making it by far the largest overhauler of piston engines in Australia and of significant size by world standards.

Aviation Services Director, Ian Blackie, who for many years was based in Singapore and Hong Kong during the expansion of Hawker Pacific in the region, worked closely with his predecessor, Ivor Gregg who retried in 1984, in establishing on a turnkey basis, major engine overhaul facilities for both Allison 250 and Textron Lycoming T53 engines in Indonesia (Pelita), the Philippines (PADC Manila) and South Korea (Samsung). According to Blackie, these achievements provided strong evidence of the company’s engineering capability in the international arena and fully justified its Asian expansion programme.

A NEW NAME IN AIRLINE SUPPORT

Since late 1985 the company has been planning expansion opportunities in the United States, particularly in California. It took the first step in 1986 with the purchase of Burbank based West Coast Propeller Sales and Service, a major distributor and overhauler of propellers, governors and associated equipment.

Early in 1987 after extensive research by the company’s corporate development team led by David Bell and Dan O’Neill {Technical Manager), it took a major step into the US and European airline and helicopter support market with the acquisition of Los Angeles based Flight Accessory Services, (FAS).

With operations also in Miami and Amsterdam, FAS provides overhaul services for landing gear, and hydraulic and fuel components used on both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. It also manufactures proprietary hydraulic components as well as ‘build-to-print’ assemblies for major aircraft manufacturers and the US Government.

Since acquiring FAS, Hawker Pacific has injected additional capital and is currently expanding FAS’s machine tool base as well as computerised work-in-progress control systems.

Ian Blackie, who was closely involved in the finalization of the FAS acquisition and now has executive responsibility for its operations, emphasised that management changes had been kept to a minimum. David Bell who did an initial tour of duty as General Manager of FAS has now returned to Australia. His place has been taken by Bob Wilson who previously managed the company’s South East Asian Division in Singapore. With the new spirit engendered by Hawker Pacific and with the backing of a strong US management team, many of whom are former employees, FAS has already exceeded its turnover budget and shown a healthy profit in the first nine months of ownership.

Types currently handled by FAS include the complete Airbus and Boeing families, McDonnell Douglas DC-8, DC-9, MD-80, DC-10; BAe 146; Lockhe·ed L-188, P-3, C-130 and Convair 440 and 580. Principal helicopter makes include Bell Textroh,

Aerospatiale and Sikorsky.

Memphis based Federal Express, the world’s largest overnight package operator with a planned fleet of 98 Boeing 727s including 32 recently acquired ex-United Airlines 727s, is FAS’s most important customer for landing gear overhauls.

Other major customers include Continental Airlines for hydraulic component overhauls on A300s and 727s, Delta for DC-10 and 727 landing gear and USAir for DC-9 and 727 overhauls. During the year FAS commenced overhauling BAe 146 landing gear for Pacific Southwest Airlines, now a regular customer.

In December, 1987 FAS was appointed an approved overhaul facility for Bronzavia-Air Equipement for North and South America. This specialist French company manufactures a wide range of hydraulic components including pitch servo controls, artificial feel units and autopilot servos for the Airbus family.

With FAS already working on Continental’s A300s, this latest appointment opens up major business opportunities with the growing number of Airbus operators on the American continent.

An aggressive marketing campaign has also been put in place and the rapid increase in new business, both in the US and Europe has brought forward plans for capacity expansion. Major customers of the Amsterdam operation include KLM Helicopters, Bristow Helicopters, Britannia Airways, Transavia and Air Europe.

Amsterdam is the base for FAS’s marketing programme into North Africa and the Middle East, while its Miami facility, in addition to a heavy workload from Continental Airlines, is ideally positioned to expand business opportunities in Latin America.

Plans are now in hand to consolidate Hawker Pacific’s Los Angeles presence by locating its US subsidiary Hawker Pacific Inc, FAS and West Coast Propellers at one site in Sun Valley, providing more effective integration of corporate activities and much needed room for expansion.

PRODUCT SUPPORT

This vital area of the company’s operations draws upon the resources of the Aviation Spares Division, Far East Division (Hong Kong), South East Asia Division (Singapore), and Hawker Pacific Inc. (Los Angeles).

With a large number of distributors and an inventory of over 40,000 items, Hawker Pacific’s aviation spares operation is the largest of its type in the region.

Aviation Product Support Director, Pauline Sanderson who has total responsibility for this key area of the company’s operations considers that the investment in computer hardware and specialised software has been an important ingredient in its success. The system provides a 24 hour, computer-linked service operating from three major warehouses in Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore with supporting stores in Auckland,

Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Through Hawker Pacific Inc. , the company operates a spares brokerage service which plays a central role in obtaining specialised parts and maintaining contact with US based component companies and suppliers of military spares.

Following a presentation to the US Aviation Distributor’s and Manufacturer’s Association, the company is in the process of looking to significantly expand its role in the US aviation spares business with a view to establishing an alternative distribution system under the new name, ‘Avparts’.

On the local scene, Hawker Pacific’s position in aviation spares is set to further expand following the acquisition of Moorabbin Aircraft Spares in 1987, taking the company into the new areas of home builder and pilot supplies.

Graham Rock, Manager of the Aviation Spares Division is in the process of giving this operation a completely new look, including an update of all branch facilities and an aggressive marketing programme under the new name of ‘Skyshop’.

SERVICING

While FAS is making big inroads into the airline and helicopter overhaul markets of the US and Europe, throughout Australasia Hawker Pacific meets the needs of third level airlines, special mission, corporate and freight operators and the general aviation community with a network of regional service centres. Located at Mascot, Bankstown, Moorabbin, Essendon, Jandakot,

Archerfield, Eagle Farm and Cairns, these centres specialise in airframe and engine overhauls, maintenance, repairs and modifications to a wide range of piston, turbine and jet powered fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.

In addition to its piston engine overhaul capacity at its various Australian facilities, the company also handles maintenance on a number of popular turbine and jet engine types including the PT6, Garrett 331, 731 and ATF-3.

Under the direction of Barrie Hopkins, Divisional Manager of Aviation Servicing, the company is also making substantial inroads into the growing market for contract maintenance for third level airlines, special mission and freight operators.

Current contracts include full maintenance support for Skywest’s Northern Territory aero-medical operations, Flight West, Norfolk Island Airlines, Hazelton Airlines, Norfolk Jet Aviation and Pelair. In addition, the company supports a Qantas Westwind used for trans-Tasman freight operations.

Last year also saw a further three year renewal of the company’s manning contract to provide maintenance support for aircraft of the Army Aviation Corps at Oakey, Queensland, the base of the School of Army Aviation and the 1st Aviation Regiment.

Under the direction of RAEME staff of the 5th Base Workshop Battalion, 31 Hawker Pacific personnel are involved in maintaining the Aviation Corps’ Nomads, Bell Kiowas and Pilatus Porter observation aircraft. More recently the company was awarded a new three year Department of Defence contract for major airframe overhauls of the Army’s UH-1 Iroquois. This work will be carried out in Sydney and Cairns.

MODIFICATIONS

Hawker Pacific has an international reputation for aircraft modification, repair and salvage work. The company’s engineering facilities are being constantly upgraded to meet the growing demand for performance enhancements and special mission aircraft.

A visit to Hangar 275 at Bankstown on a typical day could see, for example, two Royal Thai Air Force N22 Nomads undergoing a complete internal refit with the installation of military avionics to RTAF standards. A Raisbeck-Western Mark VI conversion of a Beechcraft King Air 200 operated by NSCA being completed while another NSCA King Air is fitted with tandem scanner camera holes cut into the pressurised hull.

One of the more unusual tasks carried out by the Aviation Servicing Division in recent years was the despatch of a salvage crew 9000 feet up in the mountains of lrian Jaya to carry out temporary repairs to a Twin Otter, badly damaged in a takeoff accident. It was subsequently flown back to Bankstown for extensive repairs.

Aero-medical fits are a speciality and there are few aircraft in this area of operation in Australia which have not been fitted out by Hawker Pacific. The two Beech Super King Air B200Cs currently operated by the NSW Air Ambulance Service are among the many supplied and specially converted for aero-medical use by the company.

A special task which Barrie Hopkins, Garth Bartlett (NSW Manager) and the Servicing team at Hangar 275 Bankstown carried out with great pride was the complete rebuild of the Catalina flying boat-Frigate Bird 2-flown by Captain PG Taylor on his historic South Pacific exploratory trips. This aircraft is now suspended from the roof of the Power House Museum in Sydney.

FLIGHT CENTRE NETWORK

Reflecting the growing popularity of corporate jet aircraft in Australia and the increasing number of overseas business visitors. Hawker Pacific has been rapidly expanding its Flight Centre operations to provide a coast-to-coast network of passenger handling, maintenance and support facilities for corporate aircraft and their passengers.

A new 50,000-square-foot Flight Centre was opened at Mascot in 1986 with Cairns added to the network early last year.

Mascot Manager, Terry Punton and Prue Barlett have established an enviable reputation for the quality of service covering, on a 24 hour basis, all aspects of corporate jet operators’ needs including VIP catering. Mascot handled nearly 2000 movements in 1987 and expansion of the facility is in hand. Regular visitors include all Falcon types and the ubiquitous King Airs.

At the new $400 million Brisbane Airport, Hawker Pacific is building a $2m maintenance hangar and Flight Centre to meet the needs of the executive jet market. Queensland Manager, John Mulrone is working hard to have this new facility operational in time for the airport’s official opening this month.

Merv Church, Director responsible for the Servicing Division, indicated that with the political future of Essendon resolved, he is now closely studying options for the development of a new Flight Centre at this airport where Hawker Pacific already has two hangars. Perth (Guildford) is also important to the company, particularly as the Bond corporation will be operating two Falcon 900s and a Falcon 200 from there after March, and further proposals for expansion are in hand.

DEFENCE MARKETING

Centered in Canberra, the specialised Defence Sales team under Frank McMillan (ex RAN Capt) markets to the Department of Defence, armed services, airlines and aviation authorities the products and systems of over 30 principals including Westland, Raytheon, Cossor, Litton, E-Systems, Elektrisk Bureau, Bruggemann and Brand, Rediffusion, Ellettronica and HSDE.

Major contract successes in the aviation field have included the supply of follow-on Westland Sea Kings and spares support for the RAN, Rediffusion flight simulators and visual systems to Australia’s major domestic airlines and Qantas, parachutes to the Australian Army, E-systems Tacan equipment to the RAAF, HSDE digital fuel systems for the RAN’s Sea Kings and Global Wulfsberg Inc RT9600 VHF-FM transceivers to enhance the search and rescue capabilities of the RAAF’s P-3Cs.

A current project involves assisting Westland Helicopters with its Australian marketing programme directed to meeting the Army’s requirement for new battlefield support helicopters and the RAN’s need for helicopters to equip the latest generation of ANZAC frigates.

Following on from the handover by Cossor Electronics of Australia’s first monopulse secondary surveillance ATC system at the new Brisbane Airport in October, 1987, Hawker Pacific teamed with Cossor and AWA to bid for the forthcoming Radar Sensor Procurement Programme, (RASPP) (refer p88 Jan AA).

According to Defence Sales’ Peter Hodgson, RASPP will involve the supply and installation of 11 en route surveillance and six terminal area radars to upgrade Australia’s ATC system. The need to also update similar systems in Asia will enable the team, if it is successful in winning RASPP, to establish a centre of excellence in Australia capable of meeting regional needs.

SYSTEMS

Under Systems Division Manager, Victor Trett, Hawker Pacific has assumed a growing role in the Australian computer industry with the acquisition of the ‘Digital Centre’, a Sydney based Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) distributor and original equipment manufacturer.

The acquisition is an extension of Hawker Pacific’s appointment in October 1986 as a distributor of DEC’s new VAXmate desktop computer in the ACT, NSW and Victoria. While retaining a separate marketing identity, the ‘Digital Centre’ has been renamed ‘Hawker Digital Centre’ and merged with the Advanced Products Division, part of the Hawker Pacific Systems operation at North Ryde.

SPACE TECHNOLOGY

Astra-Pacific is a new joint venture space technology company with Ottawa-based Canadian Astronautics Ltd. Located in Canberra, and run by Ron Green (ex Group Capt, ARDU), the joint venture is currently working on a number of projects including spacecraft hardware, materials processing, search and rescue satellite earth stations and advanced remote sensing systems.

CHANGES

In the past year Hawker Pacific has disposed of its ‘Mermax’ operation which produced car seat covers and elements of its ‘Product Division’ which produced under licence a wide range of chemical products including WD-40, Armor All and a range of its own products including various glass cleaner and car-care chemicals.

The decision to divest these areas of activity were difficult as each was profitable and indeed, Mermax had achieved 50% of the car-seat cover market built up since acquisition by Hawker Pacific in 1981. The WD-40 Company had decided to do its own thing in Australia, although again, through Hawker Pacific’s marketing efforts over many years, the product is now a household name, recognised as possibly the best of its type available.

The Board’s philosophy was clearly to ‘stick to its knitting’ and meet today’s technology challenge with all the resources available.

A DECADE OF ACHIEVEMENT

In a decade Hawker Pacific has firmly established a preeminent position as Australia’s leading aerospace marketing and support organisation. In a business which is well known for its ups and downs, the company can point to a record of achievement and a reputation which extends throughout Australia and

increasingly across the world.

Both its Chairman, Bruce Price and Chris Ryland feel that its established presence in Australasia and successful moves into the US and European markets have provided strong encouragement to seek further opportunities for international expansion, particularly in the areas of engine, hydraulic and component overhaul as well as aviation spares distribution.

With the combination of products and services tailored to the needs of the aviation market, strategically located support facilities, strong management, dedicated personnel, specialised marketing skills, technical expertise, financial strength and a policy of progressive domestic and international expansion, Hawker Pacific can indeed look back on its first 1 O years with satisfaction and to the future with confidence.