Shannon Aviation Cluster continues to expand as Dublin-based company plans to open new office

THE Shannon cluster of aviation businesses has just gotten bigger with the announcement by AerAdvise that  it is to establish a new office at Shannon employing seven people. 

The Dublin-based company confirmed its expansion plans at the prestigious Shannon International Leasing Conference which is taking place this Thursday.

Hildegarde Naughton, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, who officially opened the SILC conference at the Limerick Strand Hotel has welcomed the announcement.

“With over 90 aviation companies employing over 3,000 people having now made Shannon their home base, the Shannon aviation cluster is growing from strength to strength. As an island nation, we rely on aviation to maintain our connections with families, friends, and business, wherever they may be. Aviation is at the forefront in providing access to our island and plays a pivotal role in maintaining and growing our economic, political, and cultural connections with the rest of the world. Aviation also plays a central role in supporting our tourism industry, which is fundamental in providing employment on a regionally distributed basis, such as here in the Mid-West Region," she said.

Commenting on the announcement by AerAdvise, an independent technical consulting and asset management company serving high value aircraft leasing clients around the world, the company's CTO John Whitty said: “As AerAdvise is entering a new chapter, we are expanding our presence in Ireland beyond our headquarters in Dublin (Santry) and adding the Shannon office on the Irish map. The Shannon Cluster of aviation companies has always been an important centre of aviation in Ireland and internationally, so we are delighted to have a team available to our customers on-site in Shannon to cover their needs.”  

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Keith Butler, Managing Director of CAE, which employs 95 people in Shannon, was in attendance at SILC, where the company presented Minister Naughton with a plaque to commemorate her opening the conference this year, and to celebrate employing 27 people in the CAMO division, up from four in 2019.

"Our focus is the local talent pool, with new employees coming from UL, TUS and local aviation apprenticeship programmes, based here in the Mid-West of Ireland.” UL, TUS and MRO training facilitators were in attendance on the day as well.

^{Founder of SILC Samantha Harding, John Whitty CTO of AerAdvise, Minister-of-State Hildegarde Naughton, Margareta Vrablova, Sales and Marketing Manager at AerAdvise, and Mike Byrt CCO AerAdvise}

Speaking about the SILC conference, now in its 7th year, its founder Samantha Harding said: “With over 50% of the world’s leased fleet managed through Ireland, one of the primary goals of SILC is to create cohesion in the aviation community in Ireland, and principally in the Shannon area. SILC was created from the collective interests of Shannon and Irish aviation companies, working together to provide a range of skilled services and cost-efficient solutions to both airlines and the leasing companies.”

The conference, she added, provides an opportunity for technical representatives from the industry to meet and discuss up-to-date trends, listen to leading figures' opinions on the future of the industry, and engage in an open networking forum with their peers.

Sponsored by the Shannon Airport Group and over 25 Shannon based aviation service companies, some 300 delegates, a combination of operating lessors, finance lessors, aircraft and engine technical support, MRO and a wide range of executives from the aerospace supply chain and aviation services sectors, attended from across Ireland, the UK and Europe.