APOC Component Repair Shop B.V. (APOC-CRS), Europe’s newest component repair shop, has secured EASA Part 145 approval for Airbus and Boeing narrow-body NiCd battery MRO. Located between Schiphol and Rotterdam airports, APOC-CRS is part of the APOC Aviation group of companies. As an approved repair facility for SAFT NiCd Batteries, APOC-CRS has the potential to quickly expand to other battery types including those in wide-bodies like the A330 and particularly Embraer batteries for regional aircraft operators servicing larger airport hubs in Europe.
The Part 145 process has taken a short 18 months to achieve – from the creation of the Maintenance Organisation Exposition (MOE) – to investment in tooling, equipment and MRO software. The recruitment and training of repair technicians has been crucial to APOC-CRS’ ambitious ramp-up and according to Danny Goergen, Workshop Manager, enthusiastic and multi-skilled people with a hands-on approach symbolise the work ethic and set the standards moving forward. “We occupy modern facilities with ample room for expansion, storage and ancillary services such as training,” says Goergen. “We have consciously built a replicable blueprint from scratch that we can ultimately emulate in other markets, such as the U.S.”
APOC-CRS is the perfect complement to APOC Aviation’s core business of trading and leasing of modern narrow-body aircraft parts. All processes encompassing recovery, inspection, disassembly, repair, testing and re-certification will be streamlined to avoid commonplace pitfalls. “With years of experience sourcing, auditing and managing repair shop relationships we wanted to explore and set-up a separate MRO capability that engineered out the issues we face on a daily-basis regarding quality and timely repairs” starting with battery capability, explains Max Lutje Wooldrik, Accountable Manager for APOC-CRS and CEO of APOC Aviation.