BRAZILIAN aircraft manufacturer Embraer and Swiss-based logistics provider, Kuehne + Nagel, plan to extend their partnership to include the establishment of a logistics hub for the Middle East and Africa in Dubai.

    Kuehne + Nagel said the deal was announced at the Dubai Airshow and the new hub will be located in the company's logistics centre in Dubai Logistics City (DLC), offering spare parts logistics for the Embraer commercial aviation fleet.

    Located near the new Al Maktoum International Airport, the facility supplies spare parts for the expanding Embraer commercial aviation fleet in the Middle East, as well as support for customers in Africa. The two companies have been working together in different countries for several years and the spare parts logistics support out of Dubai is a further step in the partnership between the companies.

    Storage capacity at the state-of-the-art warehouse at Dubai Logistics City will be extended and is scheduled to be operational in the second half of 2012. Embraer will benefit from the unique logistics platform and K+N's industry expertise in aviation logistics.

    "To support the growing fleet of E-Jets in the Middle East, local partnerships have already been announced with Egyptair, as an Embraer authorised service centre. By opening this new support base to customers, we will bring spare parts inventories close to them, improving our level of service," said Mathieu Duquesnoy, Embraer vice president commercial aviation, Middle East and Africa.

    "The Dubai distribution centre will allow us to improve parts and components availability, as well as the delivery process to customers in this growing region, as we were committed during the Embraer Operator Conference, which took place in Amman, Jordan, on last October."

    "We are delighted that Embraer decided to extend the global relationship by entrusting us with their spare parts logistics in the DLC facility," explained Werner Kleymann, regional manager of Kuehne + Nagel Middle East, central Asia and Turkey. "This is an important development for our aerospace logistics business in the region."

(Source:shippingazette)