Korean Air Aims to Become Number One Aerospace Company in Asia

[HD video below] Korean Air has unveiled plans to become the number one aerospace company in Asia.

With Aerospace Vision 2020, Korean Air will restructure its aerospace business by focusing on cutting-edge technologies and aims to become one of the major companies that participate in the international joint development of civil aircraft; to grow as the number one MRO supplier in Asia; and to position itself as Asia’s strongest exporter of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

By expanding the aircraft manufacturing capacity at the Tech Centre and increasing its support of partner companies, Korean Air expects to accomplish its goal to achieve over three trillion KRW in Operating Revenue by 2020.

As part of the plan, Korean Air has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the city of Busan to build its second Tech Centre in a 230,000-square-meter area near Busan Gimhae International Airport.

Korean Air will expand the current Tech Centre in a 710,000-square-meter area to a 940,000-square-meter aerospace industrial park near Busan, where state-of-the art facilities such as an aircraft assembly plant, a composite component manufacturing plant, a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre, a centre for the international joint development of civil aircraft and an automatic logistics centre will be installed.

The aircraft assembly plant is a facility which will become a major manufacture line for mass production and exportation of strategic unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Korean Air will develop strategic UAVs, divisional UAVs, miniature UAVs, unmanned 500MDs and tilt-rotor UAVs. This facility will also serve as a final assembly line for wing and fuselage parts of large aircraft and the production line of UAVs.

The composite component manufacturing plant will produce large composite structures for civil aircraft and UAVs. This plan will see the manufacture of fuselages and wings of UAVs, composite wings of B737s as well as composite structures of B787s and A320s.

The maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre will conduct operational performance improvements and life expansion programs for military aircraft and provide MRO services for new aircraft such as the A380 and the B787. The MRO centre will be equipped with cutting-edge facilities which can carry out an unmanned 500MD development and upgrade program.

The automatic logistics centre will help Korean Air establish a one-stop distribution system. All the distribution processes such as the storage of raw materials, their examination and release will be handled in this logistics centre.

Busan City’s Social Development

Korean Air plans to focus on developing a ‘Cooperation Community area’ in the aerospace industry cluster that Busan city is planning to develop near Korean Air’s Busan Tech Centre.

Busan city is planning to move in about fifty enterprises in the ‘Cooperation Community area’ including a venture business hall, an aerospace service centre, a composite component manufacturing plant, aircraft parts maintenance plant, high-precision machinery manufacturing plants and many others.

Korean Air will significantly increase the quantity of partner suppliers moving into the ‘Cooperation Community area’ and will support technology and funds so that these partners can develop as an international aircraft part supplier and manufacturer.

Korean Air also plans to turn the aerospace industry into the core industry of Busan city. At its heart, it will develop technology intensive small businesses and enhance its competitiveness. This will draw increased production and export demand which will lead to an increase in employment and a re-vitalization of Busan city’s local economy.

Three Trillion KRW in Operating Revenue by 2020

Korean Air anticipates that its Operating Revenue will dramatically increase in line with the expansion of Korean Air’s Tech Centre.

Korean Air expects that the supply of composite component structures for B787s, A320s and A350s, which are currently in process, will increase. Also, as the remodeling performance project for maritime patrol aircraft, UAVs and helicopters are planned to be added, Korean Air Aerospace Business Division’s Operating Revenue of 600 billion KRW in 2012 will increase to three trillion KRW by 2020.

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