With the unbundling of the former RUAG Group, it has become clear that the MRO business with certain civil helicopters does not offer significant synergies with military helicopters, and thus is no longer compatible with the new ownership strategy.
During the search for interested parties to take over the business, RUAG insisted that the new owner must take over the business as a whole and in particular retain the employees’ jobs so as to continue the operation of the MRO base. RUAG has now found the right purchaser in the form of Centaurium Aviation MRO Ltd. Operations will be transferred on July 1 2024. Both the existing customers and the jobs of the four employees will be taken over. "In Centaurium Aviation MRO, I am very pleased to have found a purchaser that will retain our employees in their jobs, that already has expertise in this business and that intends to expand it", says Thomas Kipfer, Head of the AIR Business Area at RUAG.
Centaurium Aviation MRO is a subsidiary of Centaurium Aviation, a company based in Grenchen, Solothurn, which has been operating since 2011 as an independent provider of helicopter services. Centaurium Aviation is a business partner of the US company Bell Helicopters. Its primary activity is a dealer and leasing agent for new and pre-owned helicopters. With its ten employees, Centaurium Aviation MRO currently operates an avionics shop in La-Chaux-de-Fonds and a composite repair shop in Belp. Centaurium Aviation MRO has recently taken over a maintenance hangar in Bern-Belp as part of its expansion of its MRO business. The acquisition from RUAG of the MRO base for civil helicopters in Sion represents a further step along this road.