Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1188660
28.11.19 11 INTERVIEW and company on the island' Is Malta doing this? Is it making sure it remains competitive? Yes, it is. We find open ears when we show interest in investing and expand- ing in Malta. However, we must consider that the country's aviation community is expanding, and this puts pressure on all the players, not only those involved in the industry. is is why I will reiterate that we have to be careful to conserve Malta's position for Lufthansa Technik, in that the jurisdiction and labour mar- ket remain attractive going forward. How will the hangar expansion impact your current staff roster? Will you be seeking a new intake of trained staff? e new hangar will require more staff. We are continuously improving our efficiencies, so a rise in efficiency will account for a relatively reduced re- quirement for an increase in staff. But we will still require a net addition of 40 to 50 people included in the 80 people a year who we recruit on average to coun- ter for turnover. When it comes to recruitment, Lufthansa Technik places tremendous importance on upskilling its human resources. We often recruit employees at a very junior age, and, together with MCAST, invest in their skills through training. We ensure that they develop the right attitudes and recognise the precision by which Lufthansa Technik conducts all of its work. is is impor- tant for us. A lot of our employees' career pro- gression takes place within the compa- ny. Practically all leadership positions are taken up from within the company, which shows that those who start work- ing with us have very good prospects for climbing up the career ladder with us. Just the other day, we signed up 40 new junior recruits who will help make our strategy come true, and I'm looking forward to seeing many of these young workers progress within the company. Skilled labour shortages are currently a problem across most sectors in Malta. Is this a problem you experience too? We invest heavily in up-skilling our people and are also investing in tools which make the jobs of our employees easier. Apart from attracting new re- cruits, we find it just as important to re- tain experienced staff. But it is becom- ing increasingly difficult to find staff. And it's no secret that with the expan- sion in the industry and the increase in aviation companies, people have more choice, and this puts an additional pressure on employers to differentiate themselves. I would, however, be confi- dent enough to say that we remain the top brand and company on the island – and we've set a strategic target to keep our number one spot. We've touched upon your positive relationship with Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks. Do you always find the required cooperation from these entities? Communicating with the CEOs of Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks has been easy, and I have direct access to them. ey offer a lot of help with any matters or issues which we bring to the table. I'd say their support couldn't be better. Last year the company was licensed by the German Federal Aviation Office (LBA) to carry out work on Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Two out of six base maintenance lines at your facility were outfitted to accommodate the A350-900 with an investment of over €3.2 million to cover the first C checks. How important was this certification for your Maltese operations? It was very important, and I consider it the major milestone of the last three years. To be certified as one of the first movers worldwide – and certainly the first in the Lufthansa Technik group – to service the Airbus A350-900 and A350- 1000 puts Lufthansa Technik Malta in a very prominent position, not only in the network, but also in the global market. e announcement of this certification has attracted a lot of demand and curi- osity from A350 operators in the mar- ket asking when we will be in a position to maintain their aircraft, and to what extent. In fact, we've already serviced both A350 aircraft types, having worked on one A350-1000 and two of the 900s in the last weeks. We've been equipped to work on these planes since October last year, but it took a while for the market to catch-up, and to some extent we were also already sold out. It was only from this year onwards that we were able to allow an intake of this aircraft, and we're very happy to have taken them in and subsequently re-delivered them very successfully. One should consider that there's only 25 A350-1000s flying worldwide at the moment. And the A350 is the wide- body aircraft of the future, which in the mid-to-long term will replace the Air- bus A340, which will see a decline in the next five to seven years. e abili- ty to service A350s comes at the right time, just as it is about to become the successor of the A340, and in the fu- ture we will maintain a lot more A350s and less A340s. e same holds true of the A320Neo, which will replace the classic A320, albeit at a much slower pace. Evidently, we're making the right investments here as well, in terms of being equipped to service this aircraft and making Lufthansa Technik fu- ture-proof. It can't all be plain sailing. What about doing business in Malta gives you the most cause for concern? As I've mentioned, the labour shortage is probably the biggest challenge. e infrastructure is good, although there are certain dynamics at play around the airfield, just as every form of infrastructure has its own dynamics in Malta. We're curious to see how the avi- ation masterplan will develop, and we'd like to have more information and a say in it. ere are certainly possibilities for all aviation players in this regard, and I think drawing this up is an opportunity which could however present challeng- es until we get there. ere is also infra- structural work going on at the moment which limits operations and flexibility, so that is also challenging. Traffic is another issue, which to a cer- tain extent is the result of ongoing road works. But at the same time the road works will eventually improve the situ- ation. To recap, I would say people and in- frastructure constitute the major chal- lenges. How do you see the aircraft service industry growing in the next 10 to 20 years, and can Malta capitalize on that growth? All the forecasts show that the airline industry in general, and its associated services, are going to grow. Malta is well-placed as a jurisdiction and from a geographical point of view to capitalize on this growth on a number of levels, including through aircraft leasing com- panies, which link the financial services and aviation spheres. e aircraft regis- ter, which keeps expanding, is another opportunity for continue growth. I am reluctant to promote aviation ar- eas which require skilled labour, howev- er, because if finding people is becom- ing an increasing issue, Malta has to be careful not to "overheat it", so to speak. Overheating – where certain sector areas grow too fast in relation to the available labour – would only mean dis- appointing investors. It's not advisable to promise something, but then have investors encounter difficulties when finding people. Malta should ensure to continue preserving its reputation by not overheating and stressing the sec- tor. As to you personally, how happy were you to come to Malta as CEO of operations here? How do you find Malta? What do you like and dislike most? I've been in Malta for just over three years. I consider my job the most beauti- ful in the world, and it offers everything I could dream of: it has production, it offers a tangible product, it has a good workforce and everything is in one building. On top of that I have access to decision makers. I'm on the island with my family, and we like it very much. We love the posi- tive elements of the country, such as the great weather and the proximity to the sea. Regarding critical points, we've touched on the traffic already. And there's other points, for instance I think more could be done in terms of keep- ing the country clean and thinking in a greener way. But this has a mindset element to it which needs to be worked on, since it would help Malta to portray an even better image. With all the positive drive around the country, I think it's normal that these challenges related to a grow- ing economy come along.