The Hamburg-based provider of staffing services in the aviation industry has unveiled plans to expand its activities abroad. By doing so “we follow our customers,” says Managing Director Lars Goepfert. Among other products, activities in logistics are a growing business field within AP’s service portfolio.
Logistics service solutions are a small but constantly growing plant within AP’s offerings to the market. According to spokesperson Sonja Lulutzki currently 190 employees out of a total of 1,300 staff are engaged in corresponding projects. For instance, enhancing the IT infrastructure at LH Cargo, a job that requires a lot of skill, she emphasizes. Others are engaged in handling or steering logistics processes. “It is not our main field of activities but we decided to tap into this business because we see clear growth perspectives and the demand of qualified personnel needed by the enterprises involved in cargo,” she says.
The more diversification, the better
“The secret of our company’s success is its diversification within the aviation industry,” explains AviationPower CEO Lars Goepfert. “We are concentrating on labor-intensive specialized areas
within the scope of coverage of certain contract peak times. This way we are able to provide our customers with complete building block solutions in various market segments such as airport
services, airline support, engineering solutions, logistics activities, and security or technical management with a clear focus on MRO.”
Pacts with specialists
To foster specialization, the sourcing firm is also increasingly cooperating with renowned firms, whose product portfolios will be complemented by AviationPower. Joining forces with security firm
CONDOR and engineering service provider PRETECH in the past few weeks were results of this strategic approach. “Collaborations such as the one just mentioned open up entirely new business areas
for us, which will benefit all partners alike,” explains Goepfert.
In addition, Aviation Power taps into foreign markets by becoming active in Switzerland. Special projects in some of the EU States and Asian countries stand on the agenda as well. “All steps to
expand our biz abroad are carried out in close cooperation with the regional offices of Lufthansa Technik and Manpower, our two parent companies,” states Maciej Mazurowicz, AP’s Director
Corporate Development. “This means that we can capitalize on appropriate skills and expertise at the respective locations.” Manpower is holding 51 percent in AP, with LH Technik possessing the
remaining 49 percent.
Job machine
Since its inception in 2005, the aviation service provider has hired more than 5,000 staff, including 985 alone in 2013. Annually, more than 30% of the Aviation Power employees are taken on by
customers. Currently, over 250 vacancies are to be filled: 130 in Hamburg, 30 in Frankfurt, 48 in Berlin, 21 in Cologne, and 30 in Munich. These vacancies are distributed across a variety of
areas: 7% are in the so-called helper business, 71% are professionals and 22% are highly qualified professionals.
Especially among professionals and highly skilled professionals customers like to utilize appropriately specialized companies, as it is very difficult and tedious to fill these vacancies
adequately, especially in times of a shortage of skilled workers.
In order to meet such customer requests, AviationPower puts special value on training. “Every year, up to ten percent of all staff continuously participate in qualifications acquisition, such as
skills training and advanced training,” says CEO Goepfert. “This benefits not only the employees in their personal development, but our customers profit from the excellent know-how of our
up-to-date qualified teams.” For 2014 AviationPower has scheduled approximately 1,000 new hires.
Heiner Siegmund