Read our interview with Andy Mackay, GTSMRO
Company profile
GTSMRO specialises in the repair of electrical harnesses for the aircraft industry. Founded in 2009 by component MRO expert Brian Stevenson, the company now has a global customer base across all continents. Dealing only in OEM parts, they support airlines, MRO, aircraft MRO, engine MRO, stockists and PBH providers.
Andy Mackay, Director of Sales and Support
Tell us about your route to GTSMRO.
Planes have always been a huge part of my life. I spent nine years with the Royal Air Force before joining BAE Systems. Here I qualified to become a Licence Engineer, which meant I could sign off aircraft as fit for flight. I then took on a Customer Support role, flying around the world to demonstrate the Jetstream 41. After periods spent in South Africa and Toulouse, I returned to Prestwick as a Key Account Manager. I later moved into consultancy which led to my involvement with GTSMRO, helping them to manage their customers. After they were awarded EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) approval in 2012, I joined the staff team .
What impressed you about GTSMRO that made you want to be part of the business on a full-time basis?
Well to start with, as a consultant I could see the foundations were absolutely solid – here was a company set up by one of the most knowledgeable component MRO experts in the industry, which had a fantastic customer care ethos and was already developing a superb reputation for quality and service. But I could also see opportunities and was excited at the prospect of helping to explore these. So that’s what we’ve been doing and we now have an unrivalled offering for our customers.
In a nutshell, what is GTSMRO’s offering?
A high quality harness repair service, with a unique two year warranty, matched by tight turnarounds and competitive prices. In the last five years we’ve repaired 3,130 harnesses with a 0.38% warranty return (12) which we believe is industry leading. Our average turn around time in 2018 was 3.78 to quote and 17.26 working days in house. For 2019 we’re running at 3.34 days to quote and 13.12 average days in house.
As a company, what is GTSMRO most proud of?
Probably our reputation. In almost 10 years of trading, we’ve never lost a single customer. We work incredibly hard to deliver the very best service and our customers recognise that. Our ethos is to be dependable, to be better and to be fun, and we live and breathe that daily. As a result we enjoy excellent relationships with our customers, repeat business and regular referrals.
We also like that we’re doing our bit to promote a circular economy. We often joke that we’re saving the planet one harness at a time, but there’s actually a bit of truth in that! There was a time when faulty or broken harnesses were automatically discarded. However our motto is ‘Excellence Flies Longer’ and by providing a top quality, reliable repair service, parts are staying on an aircraft for longer.
Where do you see the future lying for GTSMRO?
Well, we’ve already come a long way over the past 10 years, from two staff and 10 customers, to over 950 repairs annually and a team of 13 people. But we’re absolutely determined to keep on growing and improving. We’re currently expanding our premises in Irvine as we’ve outgrown what we have. We’re also looking at taking on more staff and continuing to develop younger team members. What we do is very niche, so it’s essential we invest time in our people so they have the level of specialist skills we require. An Apprenticeship Programme is something we’ll consider for the future to help nurture home grown talent.