BBA Aviation plc is a British multinational aviation services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
BBA Aviation is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The company was founded by William Fenton and Walter Cobbett in 1879 as a manufacturer of textile belting for machinery named W. Wilson Cobbett Ltd.
In 1911 it was renamed Scandinavia Belting and in 1925 it became British Belting & Asbestos and then in 1967 BBA Group. In 1986 it acquired APPH, a business specialising in landing gear. It formed Signature Flight Support in 1992 and in 1996 purchased Trinity Aerospace Engineering. Then in March 1998 it acquired H+S Aviation from Vector Industries and in December 1998 it acquired UNC Airwork Corp, a unit of UNC Inc in the US.
A major divestment came in 2000 when it sold its Mintex brake-pad division for £389m. It also diversified into flight training in 2000 buying Oxford Aviation. The following year it bought Aircraft Service International Group of the US, doubling the group's presence in the commercial ground handling market.
In 2006 BBA demerged its materials technology division, which developed and manufactured nonwoven materials used in the hygiene and medical markets and in numerous industrial applications, and friction materials for train brakes: the demerged business was named Fiberweb plc. It sold Oxford Aviation the following year and BBA Group's name was changed to BBA Aviation in 2007 to mark its transformation to a focused aviation group.
In 2008 it bought the assets of Hawker Beechcraft Services Inc's Line Service Operations for £65.4 million. Then in 2011 it bought GE Aviation's fuel measurement business for £38.3m and a new services base at Bozeman in Montana, United States for $10.5m. In 2012 it purchased Dryden Air Services and PLH Aviation in Canada. This allowed entry into the Canadian market.
Operations
BBA Aviation employs around 15,000 people at over 300 locations worldwide. BBA Aviation is headquartered in London and has significant operations in the USA. In recent years, the company has significantly expanded its operations in Europe and extended its operations to Asia, South America and Africa. BBA Aviation is organised into two main business groupings: Flight Support and Aftermarket Services and Systems. Signature Flight Support offers fixed-base operator (FBO) services, including aircraft handling, refuelling, and passenger amenities for business and general aviation, at many locations.
References
External links
- BBA Aviation Corporate Website
- BBA Aviation Yahoo Financial Profile
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