CO TYRONE engineering firm Mallaghan has announced a multimillion-dollar deal with one of the world’s biggest airlines, Delta.
The Dungannon company, which specialises in airport ground support equipment, was contracted by the north American carrier to build and supply maintenance platform lifts at airports across the United States.
Mallaghan manufactures the parts at its headquarters near Edendork. The lifts are then assembled at its operation in Atlanta, Georgia.
The deal has created ten jobs for the manufacturer in the US, bringing its total workforce to over 450.
It comes less than three months after Mallaghan secured a multimillion-pound contract to build a fleet of airport buses for Ryanair.
Originally established as a civil engineering contractor in the 1960s by Terry Mallaghan, the firm branched into products for the ground support sector in the 1990s.
Its clients now include Aer Lingus, British Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Qantas and China Eastern Airlines.
Mallaghan’s commercial manager Joe Griffith said the Delta contract marked the next stage of the firm’s US expansion plan.
“Innovation within the aviation and ground handling industries is at the core of our business and we have worked very closely with Delta throughout the design and manufacturing process.
“As a result, our talented teams have created truly bespoke equipment which successfully caters to the needs of Delta Air Lines’ tech-ops aircraft maintenance technicians.”
Three models of the lift have been developed,available as electric, gasoline, or diesel options.
“Our Maintenance Platform Lifts ensure that maintenance teams can position themselves safely by the aircraft and are suitable for use across a wide range of aircraft, including wide body jets,” said Mr Griffith.
“We look forward to continuing to invest in and develop our product offering as well as our people. Since the opening of our 50,000 sq ft Atlanta site in 2018 we have demonstrated a clear commitment to the local area, and we hope to carry on driving local economic growth well into the future.
“We are proud that the maintenance platform lifts ordered by Delta Air Lines will be used at airports across the US, and we hope to continue to maintain and develop close working relationships with airlines and airports globally in order to provide innovative equipment to suit the needs of a changing industry.”
Joe Santos, director of Delta’s TechOps maintenance division said: “Mallaghan Engineering has demonstrated a clear understanding of our business needs and have provided us with industry leading equipment with a range of bespoke features including better manoeuvrability, decreased size and side mounted engine hydraulics/mechanics.
“Delta Air Lines employs over 80,000 people globally with 30,000 in Atlanta alone. We are very pleased that our recent contract with Mallaghan as it has allowed Delta to further support our TechOps Maintenance division and therefore our customers.
“We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with Mallaghan Engineering on future projects.”
