Highlights from MRO Americas, the Largest Aviation Services Trade Show in the World

MRO Americas is the largest trade show in the world that’s dedicated to aviation maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO). In April, 850 exhibitors and more than 15,000 people attended the three-day show in Atlanta, including airlines, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and MRO service providers like GE Aerospace, leasing companies, aviation authorities and regulators.

The show continues to be a great opportunity to show GE Aerospace’s continued focus to keep its customers’ growing engine fleets flying reliably, safely, and cost-effectively. Here are some of the highlights for GE Aerospace during the event.

 

Chief Manufacturing Engineer for MRO, Nicole Tibbetts presented during MRO Americas to a live audience about advancement in services technology.

Advancement in Services Technology
Chief Manufacturing Engineer for MRO Nicole Tibbetts highlighted how GE Aerospace is “advancing the state of the art in MRO” by innovating new ways to create service solutions for customers. GE Aerospace Commercial Engine & Service franchise is globally responsible for on-wing support, repair, used materials and overhaul of global airlines fleets. In the past five years, GE has developed and matured technologies at its service shops designed for cleaning, inspecting, and repairing engines.

Tibbetts, who presented during MRO Americas to a live audience, discussed some of these technologies including GE’s 360 Foam Wash (cleaning), OC Robotics’ BIT tool (inspecting), and advancements in additive technology (repair).

“Technology is the step change that can allow us to meet the demands our customers are expecting in terms of turn time and cost of ownership,” Tibbetts said during her presentation.

In December, GE Aerospace announced it is developing the Service Technology Acceleration Center (STAC), a new site dedicated to advancing inspection repair and overhaul technology.

“STAC is meant to provide a space to not only incubate the next generation of technology but also grow and scale it to the point where these technologies can be seamlessly introduced into production both in the GE MRO network and our partner networks,” Tibbetts said.


Recruiting and Networking
There continues to be plenty of talk about importance of recruiting and developing the next generation of aircraft maintenance technicians to address labor shortages. GE Aerospace participated in recruitment events during the show, including:

 

Digital Content Specialist, Tiara Atwater (center) posing with one of student tour groups that were organized by the Diversity Org.

The Diversity Org tours: GE Aerospace was one of five companies to host tours for local HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) students at our booth. Digital Content Specialist, Tiara Atwater, spoke to students about the business and shared her background on how she found a career path to GE Aerospace and is making the most of her opportunities.

The tours were organized by The Diversity Org, an educational organization that teaches under-resourced and minority students about how to obtain corporate and high-income careers. They partner with large companies where students learn about careers they may not have known existed, participate in professional development workshops with corporate employees, and obtain access to internships, apprenticeships, and entry-level positions.

Talent Acquisition: Each year during the show, the Aerospace Maintenance Competition takes place and features teams of five current and future maintenance professionals showcasing their technical abilities in Commercial Aviation, General Aviation, Space, Military, Education, and Repair & Manufacturing. This year, 84 teams from around the world participated in the aviation maintenance event.

GE Aerospace’s talent development team used the opportunity to recruit during the event, setting up a booth and talking to prospective GE Aerospace employees at the show.

“Overall, the event was a huge success. We spoke to several students from the competing colleges and teams. We made a lot of new connections and even got invited to 2 career fairs. I personally spoke to well over 50 candidates and gave them career site cards and showed them how to find the specific roles they’re seeking,” says Haley Million, Senior Talent Acquisition Partner.

 

GE Aerospace booth hosting the International Aviation Women’s Association (IAWA) Connect.

Networking: GE Aerospace hosted the International Aviation Women’s Association (IAWA) Connect. Founded in 1988, IAWA is an organization for women who hold positions of impact in the aviation and aerospace industry. Their events highlight women of achievement and promotes their advancement throughout the world.

Sustainability
GE Aerospace is committed to a more sustainable future by investing now in bold propulsion technologies for the future of flight. During the show, marketing leader Becky Johnson discussed with Oliver Wyman associated Dennis Santare on the various way GE is focused to hit net zero for use of sold products by 2050.