UAE

Leading Gulf aircraft supplier showcases resilience of UAE industry

ABU DHABI –Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan toured Friday Strata, an Abu Dhabi-based major supplier of aircraft parts, where he met with the “young” workforce there, hailing Emirati efforts to tap into  a new generation of talent.

“During a visit to Strata, I met young and talented individuals who are contributing to global excellence in the aerospace sector,” said the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

“This pioneering UAE initiative is at the heart of our ambition to invest in a diversified, knowledge-based economy led by a highly qualified workforce,” Sheikh Mohamed added.

The UAE, one of the biggest customers of commercial planes, is seeking a bigger role as a global supplier in the aerospace chain.

During the visit, the crown prince was briefed on Strata’s products, including aircraft structures supplied by the company to major international manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus.

He also reviewed the various technologies incorporated into the company’s production methods and a latest addition, the vertical fin assembly line for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the largest and most advanced part manufactured in Strata.

In recent years, the UAE has made headways with efforts to tap into human resources available in the country while diversifying its oil-driven economy and attempting to break into high-tech manufacturing.

 

“National competence and global capabilities are the main pillars on which our country’s development and progress march forward in the present and future. I am particularly proud of the Emirati women and their role in this distinguished company. With Emirati women accounting for more than 80 percent of the workforce at Strata, this is a source of great pride and confirms their aspiration to work in all sectors without exception,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“Today’s tour reinforces my confidence in UAE national talent and their ability to lead the future of aerospace. I wish the Strata team all the best in their work, projects and plans.”

Strata, Mubadala Investment Company’s aerospace manufacturing unit, was established in 2009 through a strategic partnership with leading aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing.

“Strata’s place as a tier-one supplier to the world’s leading aerospace companies is due to its talent and expertise, both Emirati and expatriate. Its ambitious workforce, strong partnerships, and an institutional commitment to excellence make Strata unique,” said Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Group CEO and Managing Director of Mubadala Investment Company.

The company employs more than 700 staff and is playing a key role in helping young Emiratis carve out successful careers.

Strata, the Gulf’s biggest producer of aircraft parts and a key anchor of the UAE’s economic diversification efforts, currently manufactures parts on widebodies, business jets and turboprops.

It counts among its customers international aerospace giants Boeing, Airbus, Leonardo and Switzerland’s Pilatus Aircraft for billions of dollars worth of contracts.

The company makes composite parts for wings and tail fins on jets including Airbus A380s and A330s, as well as Boeing 777, 777X and 787 Dreamliners.

Last month, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm, announced a partnership with industrial company Honeywell to produce N95 face masks in the country as part of its drive to nurture the UAE’s manufacturing base and tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The production line, which commenced operations in May, was set to manufacture about 90,000 masks a day and have an annual output capacity of more than 30 million masks.

“As a responsible investor, we have been working across our global portfolio with local and international organisations to collectively respond to the Covid-19 crisis,” Khaldoon Al Mubarak, group chief executive and managing director of Mubadala, said at the time.

As a business and tourism hub that connects the east and the west, the UAE has fared much better than other countries around the world in containing the coronavirus pandemic.

However, infection cases are still recorded despite one of the highest testing rates in the world, with the Ministry of Health and Prevention reporting 410 new cases Friday, along with 304 new recoveries.

The new cases were detected through additional 49,000 tests, according to the ministry.

The number of infections in the country stands at 46,973 while total recoveries have totalled 35,469. The death toll has so far reached 310.