MacroAsia Corporation, the airline logistics unit of the Lucio Tan Group, has signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Weihai Guangtai Airport Equipment Co. Ltd. which includes the supply of P120 million worth of ground support equipment.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, MacroAsia said it signed the agreement on behalf of its airline catering and groundhandling subsidiaries.
“In line with the recovery of the airline industry and the trajectory of growth in airports due to the increase in airline travel volumes, the MacroAsia Group is expanding its services capability in the various airports by investing in new ground support equipment (GSE) for catering and groundhandling,” the firm said.
As part of the Group’s capital expenditure plan for 2023, MacroAsia’s catering and groundhandling subsidiaries are initially acquiring more than P120 million worth of GSE from Guangtai.
Guangtai is also a major supplier of GSE for SATS in Singapore, the joint venture partner of MacroAsia in airline catering.
The Strategic Cooperation Agreement signed with Guangtai covers not only the supply of catering trucks and various GSE, but also the agreement that MacroAsia and Guangtai will further explore possible cooperation in various business areas beyond GSE supply.
Guangtai is studying the establishment of an after-sales office in the Philippines, in partnership with MacroAsia.
Both parties will also look at multi-sector expansion areas like airport firefighting, equipment maintenance, power and electronics, special vehicles, medical vehicles, and the like.
“The definitive documents to implement the intent of the parties in the signed Cooperation Agreement will be finalized soonest,” MacroAsia said.
MacroAsia has 21 major subsidiaries distributed into six business segments: aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), food services (airline and institutional catering), gateway services (ground handling), property development and leases (ecozone operations), water concessions/utility, and pilot school.
Weihai Guangtai is a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the People’s Republic of China.
Backed by huge production and manufacturing facilities in China, it provides a complete solution for airport-related equipment requirements. It is a major supplier of GSE for various markets worldwide.
It manufactures airport servicing equipment like airline catering high-lift truck, ground power unit, solid state converter, air start unit, aircraft tow tractor, container/pallet loader, belt loader, de-icer, passenger steps, aircraft refueller, air conditioning unit, transporter, water service truck, airport bus, airport fire-fighting vehicle and others.