MAAS Aviation, globally renowned experts in aircraft painting and exterior coatings, celebrated the painting of the 1,000th aircraft at its custom-built facility at the Airbus Finkenwerder final assembly line (FAL) in Hamburg, Germany. The facility, capable of painting up to 144 aircraft annually, features three bays that can accommodate aircraft as large as the A321XLR. MAAS' first paint shop at this site commenced operations in December 2012, followed by a second bay in October 2016 and a third in April 2018.
The partnership between MAAS Aviation and Airbus in Hamburg has resulted in the employment of over 100 people, exclusively painting for this leading aircraft manufacturer. Tim Macdougald, Chief Business Development Officer at MAAS and part of the founding team of the Hamburg site, expressed pride in their role as a key supplier to Airbus. “The positive collaboration between our companies demonstrates what can be achieved when a large corporation supports a smaller business. It shows that size doesn't matter – it's all about capability and the desire to succeed.”
Macdougald continued, “Airbus gave us a significant vote of confidence by trusting us to design, build, and operate our first paint shop in Hamburg back in 2011. The success of this partnership led to them entrusting us with our second and third paint shops at the site, and ultimately to MAAS establishing further operations in Mobile, Alabama. We are grateful for Airbus' support and are proud that the quality of our work has enabled this relationship to flourish. I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed to this successful partnership – you all know who you are!”
The 1,000th aircraft painted by MAAS in Hamburg was an A321 delivered to Air Asia.
MAAS also operates facilities for Airbus at its U.S. manufacturing site in Mobile, Alabama, and has recently opened two additional paint bays there. They now operate a total of eight OEM bays painting exclusively for Airbus, along with five narrow-body MRO paint bays in Europe.
