EPI, the precision engineering backbone of the UAE’s aerospace and defence industry, and Strata Manufacturing (Strata), the advanced manufacturing facility wholly-owned by Mubadala Investment Company PJSC (Mubadala), have signed a framework agreement which will further boost the establishment of a sustainable aerospace industry in Abu Dhabi.
The agreement between the two UAE companies, which was signed by Christian Ziehe, CEO of EPI, and Ismail Ali Abdulla, CEO of Strata, on the side-lines of the Dubai Airshow 2021, sets terms and conditions that will govern all future cooperation between EPI and Strata for Airbus and Boeing Aircraft Programmes.
Speaking on the synergy, Ziehe said: “EPI is pleased to collaborate with Strata on this mutually beneficial framework agreement that goes a long way in enhancing indigenous manufacturing capabilities. It comes at a time when the aerospace and defence sectors are re-orienting their priorities in the post-pandemic recovery phase. EPI is already a preferred regional supplier of Airbus aircraft parts, and in September 2020, we expanded our facilities to support manufacturing for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, strengthening our extant partnership. Given the unprecedented disruptions to local supply chains that look to remain for the medium term, there is today a real opportunity for local manufacturers to step up to the plate and prove their competencies.”
Ismail said: “As a home-grown UAE manufacturer with more than a decade of experience in the aerospace manufacturing sector, Strata has established long-standing relationships with both Airbus and Boeing. In fact, in December 2020 we celebrated a key milestone of our replication of Boeing’s capabilities in Al Ain, with the shipment of the first Boeing 787 vertical fin completely assembled outside of Boeing’s facilities in the US. Through this new partnership with EPI we will leverage our position as a trusted partner across the global aerospace supply chain, and further cement the ‘Made with Pride in the UAE’ brand.”
From its facilities at Nibras Al Ain Aerospace Park, Strata manufactures advanced composite aerostructures and, within a decade of its establishment, has built a reputation as the partner of choice for the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers. Its efforts have facilitated the UAE’s international presence in aerospace manufacturing with eight per cent of the world’s global fleet now bearing the ‘Made with Pride in the UAE’ seal of quality.
EPI manufactures high-quality complex engineering components for the defence, aerospace, and oil & gas (O&G) sectors and is equipped with advanced capabilities and cutting tools to carry out manufacturing engineering, machining, surface treatment, coating, repairing, and assemblies. The company is part of the Mission Support cluster within EDGE, an advanced technology group for defence and beyond, and one of the top 25 in the world.