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| The CFM56-7B is the exclusive engine for the Boeing Next-Generation Single-aisle airliner: 737-600/-700/-800/-900. Thrust ranges from 18,500 to 27,300 lbs. Over 4,000 CFM56-7B engines are in service as part of the most popular engine/aircraft team in commercial aviation. The –7, with it’s swept fan and advanced compressor is among the most modern, efficient and reliable turbofans ever. More than 500 airlines fly CFM56-7B-powered 737s and, since entering service in the mid-90s, they have accumlated over 50 Million flight hours. All CFM56-7B engines delivered beginning in mid 2007 will be compliant with future CAEP/6 environmental requirements. CFM is not an acronym, so it doesn’t stand for anything. The company (CFM), and product line (CFM56), got their names by a combination of the two parent companies’ commercial engine designations: GE’s CF6 and Snecma’s M56. |
On Tuesday, Finfacts reported on the planned Genesis Lease IPO on the New York Stock Exchange that will raise $737 million for the currently 2-person commercial aircraft leasing operation that is based in Limerick.
The company which will operate in tandem with the General Electric (GE) leasing business at the nearby Shannon Airport. Genesis will outsource most of its services and the attractive Irish corporate tax regime is the basis for its location in Ireland.
Another GE linked leasing operation based at Shannon, Shannon Engine Support (SES), is reported to have made profits of $46.7 million (€35.5 million) last year.
The company, which employed 16 people in 2005, paid no tax as a result of capital allowances. According to accounts filed with the Irish Companies Office, SES's net profit grew by 30 per cent last year. The accounts show that the company's potential tax bill of $4.67 million in 2005 was offset by €4.68 million of capital allowances.
SES now has accumulated profits of $185 million. Turnover increased by 16 per cent from $86 million in 2004 to $100 million.
Guinness Peat Aviation
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| Dr. Tony Ryan |
Leasing of commercial aircraft has been big business at Shannon since the heyday of Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA), which was established by Tony Ryan, founder of Europe's biggest low fares airline Ryanair, in 1975.
At its peak, GPA had 280 aircraft on lease to 83 airlines and was valued at $4 billion. The company had net profits in 1990 to $242 million and got global attention in that year by placing a $17 billion order for 700 new aircraft over the following decade. A new company, GPA Helicopters Ltd., was set up in June 1990 as a joint venture with CHC Helicopter to acquire, own and lease helicopters worldwide.
Following a 1992 floatation that bombed, during an aviation industry slump in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, GPA was unable to raise the capital it needed and with some $10 billion in debts, was bought out by rival GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS).
SES, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CFM International (CFM). CFM is a 50/50 joint company between Snecma Moteurs of France and General Electric of the United States and produces the world's best-selling commercial engine product line, the CFM56 family.
SES was originally formed in 1988 as a joint venture between aircraft leasing company GPA and CFM. At the time it served as a workable solution to a potentially big problem. GPA had a large fleet of CFM56-powered 737s and it had targeted small and start-up airlines as its market. However, these airlines were not in a position to purchase their own support equipment. Since the CFM56-3 had only been in service for about four years, no other third-party support was available. Consequently, airlines were looking at older 737s because a support structure was already in place. SES would fill that void. The company would manage a lease pool for member airlines that guaranteed spare engine availability.
In 1996, CFM purchased GPA's shares of the company, making SES a wholly-owned subsidiary.
GE in Ireland
GE employs some 2,200 people across 19 businesses located throughout Ireland. Between them, GE says that its businesses in Ireland contribute over €120 million annually to the Irish economy, while serving some 200,000 customers worldwide from this base.
GE businesses are located throughout the country, but its main centres of employment are located in Dublin, Cork and Shannon. Financial service organisations GE Consumer Finance Europe and GE Money are significant employers in the Dublin region, while GECAS (aviation financing), together with GE Financial Insurance and GE Consumer Finance are three major employers in the Shannon area. GE Healthcare, the former Amersham business, is a significant employer in Cork.
GE businesses in Ireland cover the full spectrum of products and services from the production of wind turbines, products for the health sector, aviation financing, security systems, power generation, water treatment and consumer lending.
The European Headquarters of one of GE's three largest companies, GE Consumer Finance is based in Dublin. Some 21 companies across Europe countries report into this Dublin Headquarters, signifying GE's commitment to Ireland as a major regional centre.
GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) has its largest facility in Shannon, which also serves as the lead for European marketing. Technical operations based there, oversee the movement of the GECAS fleet of 1,300 aircraft. All of GECAS's non U.S. based lease business is managed from Shannon.
GE's Heathcare business, produces 73% of all GE Healthcare Contrast media production for the global market, supporting ca. $730 million dollars of end customer sales.
