MARA collaborates with AMIC, Airbus to create tooling supply chain for composite repair tools

Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) has signed a development agreement with Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre (AMIC) and Airbus SAS at the Paris Airshow to set up a sustainable tooling ecosystem in Malaysia.

MARA, a Malaysian government agency for human capital and entrepreneurship, and via its MARA Aerospace and Technologies Sdn Bhd, implements its plans for the aerospace industry and oversees the revenue generation of Asia Aerospace City, the aerospace business hub that is currently being developed in Malaysia.

MARA director-general, Datuk Ibrahim Ahmad, said the move will be another big step for the agency as the prime mover for the local aerospace industry to deliver aerospace excellence by creating and building a tooling supply chain that meets the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) standards.

"We have worked with AMIC and Airbus in various other projects and we know this will be another strategic partnership that will spur industry growth not only for Malaysia, but also for the region," he said in a statement.

This project will support the competitiveness of local aerospace companies and at the same time will undertake training of talents in composite repair and composite enhancement.

Under the tripartite agreement, AMIC, which is a centre that acts to improve the commercial success of aerospace research and development projects undertaken in Malaysia, will support MARA in identifying the companies which have the capabilities to cater to the needs of the OEMs.

These companies will then receive the needed support from both MARA and AMIC in terms of training, technical support and other forms of assistance to further grow and support the tooling supply chain.

MARA and Airbus, on the converse, will collaborate in order to improve the training competencies of staff at German-Malaysian Institute, which is one of MARA's institutional subsidiaries that currently houses talents in aircraft manufacturing and assembling.

Airbus is instrumental in the training of these staff as they offer exposure to the international standards that are required in the supply chain based on their expertise and capabilities in the industry.