the book here

50 YEARS WITH SATAIR
Laith Abbas · Jens Holbech ·
Anette Achiam · Martin Adnoff · Esmail Aghal ·
Rikke Kristiansen · Üstündag Harc · Tina Jane Andersen ·
Tina Lili Andersen · Martin Andreasen · Per Arnbo · Claus Bang ·
Mette Backhausen · Henrik Bakmann · Mikkel Bardram · Ejner Barnholdt ·
Nicolai James Besa · Christian Bjergfelt · Mikker Ann Bjerregaard · Henrik Bjørnø ·
David Blythner · Kitt Boldinger · Gert Bolvig · Grith Borg · Hans Borgen · Steen Bruhn ·
Michael Buchwald · Marco Caldana · Lisette Bjørn Cappai · Lene Carlos · Yumin Chen ·
Mikael Willum Christensen · Rosamaria Gutierrez Christensen · Tom Christensen · Claus Bugge
Christiansen · Lykke Christiansen · Jens Hornung Christoffersen · Carsten Cruz · Irene Cruz ·
Ulla Dahlin · Döndü Deveci · Sidse Djurø · Torben Due · Dorte Sonne Ekner · Thomas Elkjær · Thomas
Ellemo · Lotte Enevoldsen · Caroline Engelsborg · Erik Juel Eriksen · Claus Kjær Fischer · Jack Frandsen ·
riere · Allan Wiggins
· Susan Fuglsang · Connie Gjevnø · Rikke Heilmann · Ingelis Gretlund · Claus Gaarskær · Anette Hagelsten ·
rdegaard · Sarah Graffner ·
Jakob Suhr Henriksen · Nicolai Hertz · Merethe Bøjtrup Hofflund · Helle Wriedt Hollænder · Flemming Holm ·
arina Jaenicke · Michael Møller Jakobsen ·
Helen James · Anne-Lise Bai Jensen · Henrik Jensen · Steen Karsbo · Arne Svenningsen · Külli Schjønning-Larsen ·
nnessen · Gitte Juhl-Hansen · Lars Juncker · Juergen Badura · Majbrit Jørgensen · Lars Kampf · Christina Michelsen · Nils Bruse Karlsen · Dorte Kassebeer · Kim Bai Jensen ·
Kristoffersen · Henning Søgaard Larsen · Lene Krag Larsen · Helle Skou Laursen · Ghita Marie le Fevre · Per Lindberg · Anders Lindqvist · Henrik Madsen · Lisa Dobbs ·
r · Jørgen Møller · Tina Naldahl · Charlotte Nielsen · Gitte Nielsen · Hans-Jørgen Nielsen · Lasse Nielsen · Lisbeth Nielsen · Niels Halberg Nielsen · Hans Pedersen ·
n · Lone Nørregaard · Maja Olsen · Martin Søgaard Olsen · Morten Olsen · Kenneth Hemmingsen Ophus · Amancio Reino Pampin · Jens Peder Pedersen ·
e Kildegaard Perlt · Hjørdis Petersen · Lone Petersen · Solveig Petersen · Ulla Poulsen · Mads Rahbek · Allan Rasmussen · Lars Sverre Rasmussen ·
Pål Rikter-Svendsen · Hanne Lynggaard Rosenkrands · Søren Sabroe · Thomas Bielefeldt Sander · Lis Schielstrup · Eva Schjøtt · Jeanett Schmidt ·
sslebrook · Camilla Schuricht · Mikael Serritzlew · Karina Siering · Henrik Skifte · Kamilla Duvander Jensen · John Stær · Flemming Stelling
lla Stokholm Larsen · Agneta Strøbæk · Raymond Coleman · Mohammad Usman · Louise Hoby Sorrentino · Maria Lumbantobing ·
øren Viltsborg Thomsen · Nina Holdrup Søager · Anette Juel Sørensen · Lesley Etherington · Dennis Tanderup · Anders Thomassen ·
Thomsen · Philippe Tuyls · Choon Hoe Lim · Libby Hannelle · James Bower · Sarah Addley · Jane Amura · Sam Baldwin · Corrine Ball ·
· Chris Barrett · Wayne Barrett · Barbara Barron · Peter Barrow · Angela Beck · Paul Bethell · Gary Callaghan · Glenys Bruce ·
urton · Mick Butcher · Billy Brew · Keith Campan · Steve Cannell · Jody Carter · Alan Chadwick · Kevin Chandler · Abbie Chase ·
Cole · Charlotte Sunke · Lloyd Cooper · Dragos Cracium · Brian Crane · Mary Cremer · Stuart Curl · James David · Kevin Dean ·
ovan · Jason Dunford · Peter Durose · Kaspars Ekis · John Grimwood · Leon Sørensen · Mary Faulkner · Shelia Fordham ·
Carl Gay · Michelle Gay · David Goddard · Angela Goldberg · Helen Ellis · Per Voigt · Tom Hansen · Sally Harvey ·
· Shirley Henderson · Peter Hepplewhite · Tony Hickson · Steven Hill · Clair Hoare · Aimee Hodgson · Graeme Holland ·
athan Hunt · Donald Hydes · Bobby Jarrett · Christopher Jemson · Russell Jenks · George Jobson · Paul Jobson ·
· Jon Kentish · Chloe Kenyon · Cliff Lamb · Pam Lay · Sorcha Lee · Majbrit Karlsdotter · Shane Lock · Susan Lowes ·
onald · Emma McKenzie · John McLaughlin · Jonathan Medhurst · Hannah Mepham · Sue Miklosovits · Richard Molyneux ·
· Susanne Svej · Evelyn Lim · Jenny Lim · Kai Leng Lim · Nicholas Lo · Wai Poon Loh ·
l Van Der Mark · Simon Varney
Shun Chiew Loo · Victorino Lores · Timothy Low · Kate Svinth · Peter Lundberg ·
Wheeler ·
Mohamad Amin Bin Masagoes Zainuddin · Mohamed Ali Bin Meesta · Julia Mockett ·
n·
Abdullah Shatari Bin Mohamed Buhari · Jacky Neo · Eileen Ng · Kristy Ng · Anton
Nöffke · Muhamad Nur Iman Bin Hashim · Timothy O’Hara · Esther Pang ·
Saril Bin Peai · Tommy Peh · Xiu Er Pek · Desmond Phua · Jean Quah ·
Mihammad Rizal Bin Samat · Gina Sim · Sin Toon Phua · Jerome Sng ·
Yeow Koon Soh · Alvin Tan · Charlene Tan · Dennis Tan · Kevin
Tan · Khuan Thiam Tan · Kimberley Tan · Wolfgang Tatzer ·
Eng Kai Tay · Martin Teo · Wei Jie Toh · Mary Wi · Yin Leng
Wong · Benny Yeo · Julie Yeo · Khian Leong Yeo · Meng
Peow Yeo · Roxanne Yeo · Delen Yeong · Christina Yong ·
Joo Eng Tan · Gina Sim · Said Bin Amin · Nina Jenkins ·
Larri Brown · Tomekia Brown · Lisa Browne · Bruce Brzoska ·
Victor Castrillon · Joanne Davis · Brenda Drayne · Dick Edwards ·
Rick Edwards · Akilah Faulkner · Robert Finley · Tina Fitzpatrick ·
Detra Fullard · Larry Gordon · Tad Green · Tony Green · Eileen
Griffin · Mike Gronniger · Brian Hvid · Stacy Ireland · Chris
Jackson · Sandra Jenkins · Christopher Jones · Troy Jones ·
Gordon Keene · Bob Lanford · Kim McBurnett ·
Bruce Lowe · Mark Lutz · Cheryl Madero ·
Carol Lillian · Jean Moore · Don Nelles ·
Jeanette Olsen · Mark O’Shaughnessy ·
Leslie Parsons · Lan Pham · Danielle Pitts
· Evva Pitts · Todd Pomeroy · Cortney
Robinson · John Ridings · Jermaine
Powell · Welkind Saint Jean ·
Richard Rutledge · Doris Sims
· Debra Scopelletti · Renard
Slaughter · Michelle Thonen
· Brian Webster · Melvin
Vargas · Rick Tonney ·
Leandro Wartelski ·
Donnell Word III ·
Desondra White ·
Helen Waldrep ·
Elliott Wells ·
Jim Wright ·
Al Wigert
CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THE BOOK:
Satair’s archives, Airliners.net, arj21.org,
Eurocopter, SPH - The Business Times,
Amager Bladet, Reimar Juul, Bill Armstrong, Bill Hann, Boeing, Craig Murray,
Ivan Rodriguez, Jan-Kåre Folstad,
Linze Folkeringa, Juha Klemettinen,
Juhani Sipilä, Manuel Marin, Mariusz
Adamski, Mel Lawrence, Michael Hall,
North West Pilot, Peter De Jong, Peter
M. Garwood, Radek Oneksiak, Rhys
Dudley, Sam Chui, SAS Group, Serge
Bailleul, Shawn Miller, Simon Willson,
Stil, Swissair, Ted Oliveira, Thomas Klein
and Tim de Groot.
3
NOSE FOR BUSINESS
4
CHAPTER 1: SATAIR PREPARES FOR TAKE-OFF
From 11 enthusiasts in a Copenhagen apartment to a dynamic
international trading company reaching for the skies.
18
CHAPTER 2: A NEW ERA
International influences and new markets – as the world changes, Satair
gets ready to tackle the new millennium.
27
CHAPTER 3: SATAIR TODAY
From Copenhagen to the Far East – Satair has become the world’s largest independent
distributor of spares and components for the aviation industry. And the future is wide open.
38
SATAIR OVER THE YEARS
Final copy date: April 2, 2008
Editorial committee: Louise Hoby Sorrentino, Camilla Schuricht, Steen Karsbo and Anette Hagelsten
Research, text and editing: Henrik Kristensen and Michala Paulli, GCI Mannov
Design and print: EYE-D Gramstrup ApS
Cover: Satair’s employees, May 2008
Nose for busi ness
On December 23, 1957, a group of capable businessmen keenly dedicated to the aviation
industry founded a new organisation: Scandinavian Air Trading Co. A/S. They invested their
personal savings in a good idea – laying the foundations of the international company we
have become today.
Denmark, UK, France, USA, the Middle East, Singapore and China – over the years we
have become a genuinely global outfit, developing within our company structure a unique
combination of know‑how, skills and presence. We know our business. We move when we
identify an opportunity. And we’re not afraid of change. On the contrary.
When the world around us changes, we adjust to suit the circumstances. We’re oppor‑
tunistic in the most positive sense of the word – quick to spot an opportunity and identify
new, profitable business areas. New markets, new products, new service concepts – our
strength lies in staying ahead of the pack.
It was sound commercial thinking and a nose for business that got Satair off the ground
50 years ago – and these are still the company’s strong points today. The simplest idea,
option or solution is often the best, and that’s something we recognise at Satair. We don’t
do things we don’t understand – we act when it’s necessary – and we’re a company of
doers. That’s the feeling we get on our way round the company.
We’ve had our bumps on the way – but the road ahead’s looking good for Satair. We’ve
done well in crisis situations because we’ve stood shoulder to shoulder, adapted to new
circumstances – and identified business opportunities where others have seen obstacles.
Satair has become a leading global distributor, thanks to our skilled workforce. More
than 500 employees worldwide make up the backbone of the Satair family, and that’s
something to be proud of.
The success of our business depends on relations with customers, suppliers and partners,
and every day our skilled and committed employees throughout the world step into the
front line, cultivating the personal relations and contacts on which we base our entire business
concept. Without them there would be no Satair. We are determined to be the first choice
of our customers and suppliers when the search is on for a sound commercial transaction or
an attractive deal. If there is one thing we’re expert at, it’s keeping our customers’ aircraft
flying – and our own corporate feet firmly on the ground.
It’s with more than just a little pride that we take the opportunity with this anniversary
publication to congratulate everyone on this special birthday. We’ve done it together, and we
look forward to making a start to the next 50 years so that we can lift Satair to new heights.
John Staer
Executive Board 2008:
John Staer, CEO
Morten Olsen, COO
Michael Hoejgaard, CFO
-5
1957-1958
Satair prepares for take‑off
From 11 enthusiasts in a Copen‑
hagen apartment to a dynamic
international trading company
reaching for the skies.
It’s Monday evening. 11 people are gathered in a small apartment at Fiolstraede 24 in the
centre of Copenhagen. They’re planning the work schedule for the coming week. DC‑3
spares for the USA, Lycoming engine parts from the US destined for Egypt. It’s 1960. The
fledgling company – Scandinavian Air Trading Co. A/S – has just hired its first real employee:
a secretary who’ll spend her time handling mail and answering the telephone during
the day. The 10 company founders handle all other work. On a voluntary basis ... in the evenings ... because they know they’re on to a good idea.
The adventure begins three years earlier – in 1957 – in the technical sales depart‑
ment at Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). In those days the department carried out
aircraft maintenance work for various airlines, including other companies from the
Middle East and southern Europe which did not have their own facilities for serv‑
icing a fleet of aircraft. But as SAS grew, its focus on servicing aircraft for others
gradually diminished, and in the mid 1950s SAS began to wind down its external
maintenance service in order to concentrate completely on its own aircraft.
Parts with potential
A small group of enthusiasts in and around SAS realise the situation offers a
business opportunity. Those airlines which had previously had their aircraft
serviced by SAS now needed to have the work done elsewhere. There was a
need for spares – and spares had to be tracked down, purchased and resold.
Satair started life on
December 23, 1957.
And there was enough equipment on the market. It was shortly after World War
II – and there were numerous stores of spare parts for aircraft and all kinds of
other equipment scattered throughout Europe.
A company takes to the air
In December 1957 Blicher Jensen, an SAS engineer, and nine other
colleagues from the aviation industry seize the opportunity to go into
business. The group includes five employees from SAS’ technical sales
department, and together they set up a new company: Scandinavian
Air Trading Co. A/S (SAT). Pooling their personal resources and
borrowings, they manage to put up share capital of DKK 50,000
distributed more or less equally among the 11 shareholders.
The first shares are issued on December 23, 1957, and the
foun­dations are laid for the global company known today
as Satair.
There’s a push to register the new company before the
Christmas holidays because it is already in the process of
buying a consignment of Pratt & Whitney R‑985 engine
parts in England. The purchase is negotiated – and the
parts arrive in Copenhagen early in the new year.
Pratt & Whitney R-985 engine.
SAT’s first shareholders
Buyer Bergthor Brock
Manufacturer Jens Frederik Rasmussen
Civil Engineer Helge W. Hansen
Mrs. Birgit Krogh (withdrew after a few months)
Manufacturer H.C. Henriksen
Mrs. Gudrun Blicher Jensen
Capt. Janssen
Mrs. Rigmor Soerensen
Mrs. Gunvor Christensen
Photographer H. Aue
Mrs. Poulsen
In 1956 personnel from
SAS’ technical depart‑
ment visited Ethiopia in
connection with a DC-3
and C-47 deal with the
Ethiopian Air Force.
-7
1958-1960
In its early years the new company is based at the home address of its chairman, Helge W.
Hansen, in Virum, north of Copenhagen. And from the outset it’s full steam ahead. The little
group of corporate hopefuls is driven by a pioneering spirit in its early days. Its members
tend their respective day jobs and duties – and spend their evenings and weekends build‑
ing up their new trading company. All aspects of buying and selling are handled by the 10
shareholders themselves – Helge W. Hansen’s wife does the books.
Expanding distributor
DC-3
The DC‑3 was one of
the most widely used
aircraft in the post‑war
years.
Several of the company’s founders still work for SAS, and the company doesn’t want to
compete with SAS’ maintenance work on the large DC‑3, DC‑4, DC‑6 and DC‑6B aircraft.
So SAT concentrates primarily on engine components and propellers for smaller aircraft.
Initially, the growing trading company acts chiefly as a distributor for US suppliers, and in
1958 it begins a profitable partnership with Lycoming, the American aircraft manufacturer.
A relationship that has lasted up to the present, and which means that SAT is entrusted with
the sale and distribution of spares for Lycoming’s aircraft engines.
The little company’s business goes well. Sales in 1958 totalled DKK 141,033, the follow‑
ing year they reached DKK 860,131. Trade is brisk across Europe’s borders – in 1959, for
example, the company buys two DC‑3 aircraft from SAS and sells them on to the French air
force. And in the same period a shipment of Pratt & Whitney R‑985 engines offered for sale
by the Dutch air force changes hands when SAT steps in to buy it – and resells it to a French
company.
SAT continues to expand. In 1960 it needs a real office and employees. The company
moves from the Virum home of its chairman into a private, borrowed apartment in Fiol‑
straede, Copenhagen, where it welcomes its first employee – Tove Jeppesen, a secretary.
In May of that year Knud Soerensen is appointed General Manager and will head SAT until
1987 and from 1992 to 1994. Now things are really looking up. The following year – 1961
– the bustling company is again in the market for premises, moving this time to a 40‑m²
rented office in Hangar A at Copenhagen Airport.
The DC‑4 carries 86
­passengers and has a
range of 6,800 km.
When Sterling Airways
became airborne
SAT’s early years coincided with the first years of
the jet age, when ordinary families began flying off
on charter holidays. When legendary Danish travel
boss, Pastor Eilif Kroager, founded his Tjaereborg
travel company in 1962, the new upwardly mobile air‑
craft broker was ready to lend a hand. Oskar Thomsen,
who has been a SAT shareholder since 1958, says:
”
One day Pastor Kroager strolls into the technical sales
department, wanting to buy a couple of aircraft. He chats
with Blicher Jensen and eventually asks: “How many passengers
can a DC‑3 carry?” Blicher Jensen phones me in the engineering
department and asks me to come over. I can tell the pastor that
the SAS version of the DC‑3 carries 21 passengers but that it can be
modified to carry 28. “Oh, that’s not nearly enough,” the pastor says,
“it’ll need to take at least 100!” I tell him that what he needs in that
case is a DC‑6B. “Do you have any of them for sale?” We have to admit
that we don’t. On the way out the good pastor asks me to let him know
when we can help him out with a couple of DC‑6Bs.
Six months later I learn that Swissair has two DC‑6Bs for sale. Even in those
early days we were on good terms with Swissair – so we were able to arrange
for the pastor to buy the two Swiss aircraft. And that was the start of Sterling
Airways!
”
A
B
A: One of Swissair’s DC‑6Bs
before it was sold to Sterling
Airways.
B: Same aircraft after the sale
to Sterling Airways.
-9
1960-1965
Close to the customer
When it moves into premises at Copenhagen Airport, SAT is also getting much closer to its
customers and partners. Flying is no longer a mode of travel reserved for the affluent, and
in the early 1960s charter flights to holiday destinations in southern Europe are becoming
very popular. Hog‑roast parties, swimming pools and long white beaches tempted people
to visit exotic places like Spanish Mallorca, Costa Brava and Costa del Sol. Many of the
flights were aboard popular DC aircraft, and the new travel companies needed assistance in
buying, maintaining and servicing the many aircraft that carried sun‑worshipping holiday‑
makers to warmer climes.
How to succeed in the aerospace business
The bulk of the company’s business now comprises purchase and sale of parts for DC‑3,
DC‑4, DC‑6 and Convair aircraft combined with parts from Lycoming for which SAT has
obtained the distribution rights. The industrious SAT traders have their hands full and have
been conscious from the outset of the importance of striking quickly when a good business
opportunity arises.
DC-6
The DC‑6B could seat up to 102 passen‑
gers and became one of the first aircraft
to be used to send hundreds of tourists on
charter holidays to popular destinations.
• In 1960 SAT buys from the Czechoslovakian airline, CSA, its stock of DC‑3 spares including
25 Pratt & Whitney engines. The whole consignment is resold to the US.
• In 1961 the company again does a deal with CSA. This time for a DC‑3 aircraft.
• In 1962 Iranair sells its stock of DC‑4 spares to SAT.
• A DC‑4 from Portugal is sold to the Icelandic Coast Guard.
• In 1963 the company buys Swissair’s entire stock of DC‑6B spares.
• SAT buys a C‑47 in Jordan in 1963 and sells it to the US.
When an airline divests itself of a particular type of aircraft, it no longer requires its stock of
spares – and that’s when SAT stands ready to do a deal. The trader acquires the stock at a
reasonable price, splits it up and sells the parts on to other airlines. Even in the 1960s SAT
was regularly dealing with companies in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the USA.
In September 1961 Finn Ytting joins the company as assistant to
Knud Soerensen, and a couple of months later Arne Joergensen
arrives as warehouse manager. SAT now has four people on its pay‑
roll. Other additions are Svend Jespersen (1963) and Per Lindberg
(1968) who become part of the group of pioneers who drive Satair
forward as a dynamic, international player. By the end of the year
the company has 24 employees.
Within the past few years Finn Ytting and Per Lindberg have each
celebrated 40 years with the company.
1965-1970
Wanted: Extra legroom
In 1966 sales top DKK 10m, SAT is negotiating an increasing number of distributorships, the
company is bursting at the seams again – and needs extra legroom in Copenhagen. SAT is
now distributor for French Morane‑Saulnier, for Beechcraft and for Wilpac – and later for
Goodyear tyres and Exide batteries. The new distributorships involve many new part num‑
bers – and more warehouse space is at the top of the company’s wishlist.
In 1966 SAT signs a 75‑year lease for a four‑acre site just west of the airport. The address
is Amager Landevej 147 – where Satair now has its head office. At the same time Sterling
Airways takes over SAT’s former airport premises. A couple of years later – in 1970 – SAT
invests in the adjacent site, Amager Landevej 149‑151, securing the essential space for
many years’ expansion.
Good neighbours
In the 1960s maintenance becomes an increasingly important part of the business. The work
is done in collaboration with a neighbouring company, Scanaviation, which specialises in the
repair and maintenance of aircraft and aircraft components. This is where Jens Frederik Ras‑
mussen and H.C. Henriksen – shareholders in SAT right from the beginning – are employed.
Over the years, SAT has established many good contacts abroad. These are now cultivated
to obtain maintenance and repair contracts – for example, in Germany and the Netherlands.
SAT supplies the spare parts, while Scanaviation performs the actual repair work.
New premises on the way
A new 1,300‑m² warehouse is ready in
March 1967, and a 300‑m² suite of offices
two months later. The warehouse quickly
fills with components for DC‑3, DC‑4,
DC‑6 and Convair 240/340/440 aircraft.
Exchange programme
There’s no shortage of inventiveness on Amager Landevej. During this period SAT also
sets up an exchange programme for parts for DC‑3, DC‑4 and DC‑6 aircraft – customers
can simply hand in their own unserviceable component and get an overhauled part home
with them. This is the case, for example, with DC‑6 engines. SAT has the unserviceable
engine repaired by Braathens in Norway so that it is ready to be given in exchange to the
next ­customer. This innovative business model means a better, faster turnaround for the
customer – and a significant increase in business for SAT.
The American connection
From the very beginning SAT has had good connections in the USA. In the early 1960s
a close relationship is developed with California Propeller, a company specialising in
propeller maintenance – a partnership that lasts for more than 40 years, with SAT acting
as California Propeller’s representative in Europe.
Convair 440
In the 1960s SAT also buys and sells com‑
ponents for the characteristic Convair 240,
340 and 440 aircraft, easily recognisable
by their distinctive tail. These aircraft car‑
ried 44 passengers. Production of Convair
passenger aircraft ceased in 1965.
1 0- 1 1
1970-1975
Shelves stacked with 68,000 part numbers are quite a problem to manage but in the 1970s
technological help is on its way. In 1974 SAT buys its first computer. It is a state‑of‑the‑art
machine from the UK – an ICL 2903 – with Danish software, and represents a massive
investment for the company. The technological wonder will take over the huge job of man‑
aging the constantly growing number of different aircraft parts. But before it can do that,
someone has to key the existing 68,000 parts into the system. It’s a job that takes about six
months – working days and evenings.
Inventory control
An F27 aircraft from the ALL
­NIPPON fleet.
Although SAT acts increasingly as a dealer
and distributor, in 1973 the company nev‑
ertheless buys up the Japanese airline, ALL
NIPPON’s, entire stock of F27 spares. This
is an enormous quantity of 100 tons repre‑
senting 8,000 parts. Four giant containers
are shipped by Trans‑Siberian Railway and
arrive in Copenhagen in 1974. As the com‑
ponents are unpacked, it is quickly evident
that warehouse space will run out – so the
company temporarily rents an inflatable
building for the many spare parts.
The computer has become essential. In the 1950s and early 1960s employees, customers
and partners all knew each other. Agreements were verbal, and everyone knew which part
was stored where. But with 40 employees, a growing portfolio approaching 100,000 part
numbers, and sales topping DKK 31m there is an urgent need for an efficient computer
system to ease the task of inventory control.
In 1974 even a top‑of‑the‑range computer’s memory is fairly limited – and that becomes
obvious. With only 24 kilobytes of storage space, keyboard work has to halt several times
a day to make backups and clean up data in order to progress with the next lot. All data
is stored on large magnetic tapes. Fortunately the system can be expanded – which it is in
1978, when SAT upgrades to the larger model, the ICL 2904.
Dealer and distributor
At the threshold of the 1970s the distribution side of the business is gradually beginning to
gain more significance than buying and selling spares. The drawback in buying up complete
inventories of spares is all the parts the market doesn’t ask for. These simply lie on the shelf,
taking up space. It makes more logical sense with the other parts – the ones that sell – to
purchase them specifically and distribute them to a targeted market.
In 1972 and 1973 spare parts for older generations of aircraft nearing retirement – such
as the DC‑3, DC‑4 and DC‑6 – occupy a lot of space on warehouse shelves. The new and
upcoming aircraft are the DC‑8 and DC‑9, Boeing 707 and 720, and Fokker F27.
Satair’s new computer system was fully integrated and up‑to‑date – for the
1970s. The ICL 2903 controlled the inventory, showing the status of each
component at any given time. And it interfaced with the accounts depart‑
ment – for example, printing out customer invoices. Anne-Lise Bai Jensen
was a member of the office staff when the new computer systems were
introduced ­– and is still employed at head office in Kastrup in 2008.
1975-1980
In 1972 the new offices
at Amager Landevej were
opened.
Across the Atlantic
The distribution business is growing. American manufacturers in particular discover that it
can be difficult matching payments and logistics across the Atlantic – and this is where SAT
conveniently comes into the picture, as the link to airlines in Europe. Reflecting its grow‑
ing role as a distributor for American corporations, the Danish company applies in 1976
for admission to the American trade organisation, Aviation Distributors and Manufacturers
Association (ADMA). The application proves to be a thorny issue because some members
of the organisation are just a little sceptical at the thought of making room for a European
company in what is otherwise an exclusively US/Canadian body. But after a week’s negotia‑
tion and personal campaigning, SAT – as the first company outside the US and Canada – is
given the green light to join ADMA. Membership, which the company continues to enjoy,
means that SAT will have contact with a very wide circle of suppliers.
Growth and expansion
The airline industry expands – and SAT grows along with it. In 1975 the company has 41
employees and sales of approx. DKK 40m. By 1979 the workforce has grown to 59 employ‑
ees and sales have reached approx. DKK 50m.
During the 1970s it again becomes necessary to expand facilities at the company’s
Amager Landevej address to provide room for more growth. In 1972 SAT builds new of‑
fice facilities, which are opened with flourish and fanfare, and in 1977 it is the turn of the
warehouse to add more space to its capacity. In 1978 another office block is added, and
in 1979 Management decides to build a brand‑new warehouse and office building on the
neighbouring site, Amager Landevej 151.
SAT publishes catalogue
In a new move in 1977, SAT begins publishing catalogues
for its customers to describe its stock items, spares and
tools from various manufacturers for whom SAT acted as
distributor in the late 1970s.
From SAT to Satair
From the mid 1970s the
company begins increasingly
to use the name Satair. Vari‑
ous people – including some
customers – don’t think the
name SAT has a distinctive
ring to it. Something has to
be done. The ending “air”
is added to signal that the
company works in the airline
business. In conjunction
with a reorganisation of the
company in 1978 the name
is changed to Scandinavian
Air Trading Invest A/S, and
a sister company is formed.
While the original company
chiefly occupies itself with
the company premises, the
new company, entitled Satair
– Scandinavian Air Trading
Co. A/S, becomes the primary
operating company. In a new
development, employees have
the opportunity to buy shares
in the company.
1 2- 1 3
Back in the 1970s
In the new office premises inaugurated in 1972 staff sit in open plan office landscapes.
Computers haven’t yet appeared on desks. This won’t happen for another couple of years.
Instead, offices still have large filing cabinets containing thousands and thousands of data
cards. The warehouse is stocked with everything from flaps and propellers to fuel hoses,
filters and rivets.
Knud Soerensen
General Manager of Satair, 1960-88 and 1992-94
Although it was not until May 1960 that Knud Soerensen became General Manager of the
newly formed company, he was one of the original group in the Fiolstraede apartment back
in the 1950s – and one of the main driving forces behind the development of Satair as we
know it today. Like so many of the other founders, Knud Soerensen was still working for
SAS when the seeds were sown to set up Satair, and at the very outset it was in fact Knud
Soerensen’s wife, Rigmor, who was registered as a company shareholder.
Knud Soerensen was a businessman and a skilled merchant. He trained in retail grocery
in Aarhus in northern Jutland, and during World War II he worked further north in Skagen,
where he was active in the Danish Resistance as a member of the “Joekke” Group.
After the war, Knud Soerensen joined SAS as a sales rep in Technical Sales. In the decade
he worked at SAS he accumulated a wealth of international expertise on the aviation
industry and an in depth insight into the market for purchase and sale of aircraft and spares.
This know-how, combined with his wonderful talent for trade, formed the basis of Knud
Soerensen’s many years of dedicated work at Satair. Under his skilled leadership, Satair grew
from being a small, dynamic trading company into an international and reputable organisa‑
tion with entities in many countries and customers all over the world.
In Satair’s 50 year history only three people have led the company. Knud Soerensen was
its first General Manager from 1960 to 1988. From 1988 Claus Schreiber was the man in
charge – until Knud Soerensen resumed the reins in 1992 for a short period. In 1994 John
Staer was appointed CEO.
Knud Soerensen
Soerensen took charge of
”When
something, things just clicked into
place. There were no problems.
He had a way with people and
could please everybody.
isn’t something you give ­
”Discount
– it’s something you get.
”
Knud Soerensen, General Manager of Satair, 1960-88 and 1992-94.
”
Oskar Thomsen, Knud Soerensen’s former
SAS colleague and a co‑founder of Satair.
14-1 5
1980-1986
The fire
The
fire was
front‑page
news in
Denmark.
The headlines:
Major fire at
Kastrup. Aircraft
parts worth DKK
30m lost in blaze.
A Satair Beechcraft 1900
was used for a time for
Red Cross flights within
Afghanistan.
Disaster strikes just before Christmas. In the early, dark hours of December
22, 1981, fire breaks out in the old 1967 warehouse. It spreads rapidly,­
out of control, and quickly envelopes the entire building. The fire
causes several explosions, and nearby residents have to be evacuated
from their beds into the winter night. Firefighters battle to subdue
the flames, and after an intense two‑hour struggle the fire is finally
brought under control. But the damage is done.
As the sun rises on December 22, a tragic sight awaits shocked employees.
The entire warehouse is totally destroyed. The entire contents of the warehouse are
also destroyed – at an estimated loss of DKK 30m. Fortunately, no one is injured.
As the office section had been salvaged, it and the computer system are up and running
again within a couple of days. As luck would have it, construction of the new warehouse
and office building on the neighbouring site is virtually complete so it can be brought into
use while the old warehouse is being rebuilt. The many components lost in the blaze have
to be replaced. It takes a huge effort and investment to refill the warehouse as quickly as
possible.
The cause of the fire is never identified – but there is some speculation that it could have
been a lit Christmas candle that had been forgotten.
Satair flies to the rescue
When an aircraft has an error which hault further flight operation, the aircraft is kept
on ground until the faulty component has been replaced. It’s a situation known as
AOG – Aircraft on Ground. AOG stoppages are massively expensive in lost flying
time – and are an airline’s worst nightmare. Especially when it’s a long way to the
nearest supply of spares. Satair thinks creatively and commercially of ways to help
its customers – and in 1980 buys its own company aircraft, a light twin‑engined
Beechcraft Baron with seating for six passengers. With its own aircraft, Satair can
now much more easily service customers at smaller European airports.
New times, new business
From 1985 Satair is again thinking big, thinking new. And over the next few years Man‑
agement makes a number of organisational changes to coincide with an expansion of the
company’s business activities. Satair A/S changes its name to Satair Holding A/S, and a new
Satair A/S is formed to handle all trading activities. A second new company is established
under the name Satfly A/S to invest in and lease out aircraft. The Group also acquires
Avi‑Advisors A/S, a company specialising in assessing air accidents and aircraft claims on
behalf of insurers.
From Kastrup to Bangladesh
Buying and selling used aircraft bring Knud Soerensen and his Satair colleagues to
all corners of the earth. The biggest single aircraft deal hitherto negotiated by the
company is with Biman Bangladesh Airlines. In 1990 Satair buys three Fokker
F27‑600 aircraft and a complete stock of associated spares – a deal worth
the eye‑watering sum of USD 6m. The aircraft are transferred to Cologne,
Germany, where they are resold for USD 7m. Finn Ytting, who was on the
Bangladesh trip, relates:
“Three of us went to Bangladesh to inspect everything. All the spares
were included in the deal so everything had to be packed and loaded
aboard the aircraft. We had also hired four pilots to fly the three F27s
to Europe. Inside the Biman warehouse, where all the spares were
kept, the store manager was crying his eyes out. I remember he
sported a big beard. He was sobbing because these were all the
spares that he’d worked with ... now they were disappearing ...
and he’d been so pleased with them. I’ll never forget that. I can
still see him sitting in his office, tears running down his cheeks
– as all his spares disappeared out the door ...”
Whole aircraft
on the shelf
In the 1980s Satair broadens its busi‑
ness activities to include the trading
and leasing of aircraft. In many cases,
the company purchases second‑hand air‑
craft cheaply, refurbishes them and either
sells them or leases them out.
In 1990 Satfly A/S and Avi‑Advisors A/S are
merged to form Sataircraft A/S, which will now
handle Satair’s leasing, purchase and sale of
aircraft.
In 1982 Satair bought its first consignment of Fokker F28 parts.
Growth continues into the early 1980s.
• In the 1979/80 fiscal year the company has 59 employees and sales of
just over DKK 71m.
• In fiscal 1985/86 it has 94 employees and sales of nearly DKK 282m.
• But during the second half of the decade growth slows somewhat, partly
on account of a weak US dollar. The 1980s conclude with 135 employees
and sales of just over DKK 348m.
16-1 7
A: Satair already has customers
throughout the world in the 1980s,
and at the major airshows the company
goes to great lengths to emphasise the
fact that it comes from Denmark. The
red‑and‑white national colours at the
Satair stand in Hannover in 1982 speak
their proud message.
B: The Far East economy is develop‑
ing healthily throughout the 1980s
– which means more customers for
Satair. Among them Malaysian Airlines
and the Indonesian Air Force. In China
the economy is starting to boom, and
Satair is among the exhibitors at the
Beijing Airshow in 1987.
Twin Otter
One of the aircraft Satair begins servicing in the 1980s is the de Havilland Canada Twin Otter.
The aircraft’s landing gear is extremely stable and can be delivered with wheels, floats or skis
for landing on water or flat ice and snow.
Airshows – the industry’s travelling showroom
C: Paris 1993. As Satair becomes more
international, with subsidiaries world‑
wide, it softens its Danish pedigree.
D: Hamburg Airshow in 2008. The
national red‑and‑white colours remain
Satair’s corporate colours to this day.
The airline industry has grown enormously since Satair began business in 1957. The number
of airlines and other potential customers increases steadily, and it’s important to raise your
profile and get people to notice you. Because there are many companies competing over the
juiciest deals. The major airshows have gradually become the industry’s meeting place and
showroom, and in 1982 Satair takes part in its first front‑line show in Hannover. It will prove
to be the first of many years’ enthusiastic participation in airshows all over the world.
A
Hannover 1982
B
Beijing 1987
C
Paris 1993
1986-1990
Closer to the world
In 1986 Satair takes a giant leap to support its many strong links with the USA: the expanding
company opens its first office in North America. The US subsidiary locates in Connecticut
– but within three years has moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1991 Tom Whitehead, Satair’s American sales manager, in an interview with a Danish
newspaper, says of the move:
“In our business you have to be fast, reliable and able to deliver the goods. We discov‑
ered quite simply that there were other much more appropriate places to locate a company
like ours. When an aircraft is grounded because it’s short of a spare part, from our present
location near Hartsfield, Atlanta, we can normally deliver the component within about five
hours. We think we have an optimum location for living up to our own objectives.”
Two years after opening in the USA, Satair – in 1988 – takes its next great step. This
time all the way to the Far East. A new company, Satair Far East – today, Satair Pte. Ltd.
– takes its place in the local market, opening its doors in Singapore. In 1990 the office
moves to the Loyang District, near the airport, and builds a 1,000‑m² warehouse facility.
With its own warehouse and 11 employees in Singapore, Satair can now service its Far East
customers almost on a local basis.
In 1988 Satair opens a subsidiary in Singapore.
D
Hamburg 2008
747 jumbojet
Boeing’s largest aircraft – the 747, also
known as the Jumbojet – has for many
years been the world’s largest passenger
aircraft. The first 747s took to the skies in
the early 1970s and are recognised by their
characteristic “hump”. Satair began sup‑
plying parts for the Jumbojet in the 1980s.
18-1 9
1990-1994
A n ew era
International influences and new
markets – as the world changes,
Satair gets ready to tackle the
new millennium.
Aircraft on
the shelves
At the end of 1990 Satair
owned 11 aircraft:
4 Fokker F27-600
4 de Havilland C6 Twin Otter
1 Beechcraft 1900
2 Beechcraft Baron
The first major crisis
The new decade gets off to a violent start. On August 2, 1990, the Iraqi army invades
Kuwait. The world community cannot sanction the invasion, and led by the USA it mounts
an international force to fight the Iraqi army. This is the start of the First Gulf War – also
called Operation Desert Storm. At first, Satair thinks it unlikely that the war will influence its
business – but reality will soon put a different complexion on the situation.
The Gulf War hits both the industry and Satair hard. The state of international uncertain‑
ty that follows in the wake of the war causes air traffic to stagnate. The aviation industry
as a whole reacts by putting its purchases on hold, drawing instead upon its own stocks of
parts. The state of caution lasts several years, and the consequences are grave. Satair sales
drop 6% in fiscal 1991/92, and for the first time in its history Satair must cut its workforce
on account of external factors. The company sheds 23 jobs – a massive 17% of its total
staff.
Sataircraft – distribution and purchase/sale of aircraft
During the period 1989-90 Satair concentrates all its activities on the leasing and purchase/
sale of aircraft through its subsidiary Sataircraft. Many of the aircraft bought by Sataircraft
are sold to such African countries as Kenya, Congo and Gabon; others go to Nepal. Trans‑
actions mostly involve the de Havilland Twin Otter, while other aircraft are primarily leased
on long‑term contracts to Business Flight Scandinavia and other customers. But buying,
selling and leasing aircraft is not the profitable business it once was, so during the period
1991‑93 all aircraft are sold again – including Satair’s own company aircraft.
In 1990 Satair wins a
contract to supply aircraft
parts to the Polish manu‑
facturer PZL Mielec – who
will be building 20 of the
Piper M‑20 Mewa.
Sataircraft is sold – and stripped of its assets
Satair is in crisis. The Gulf War has seriously knocked sales – and buy‑
ing, selling and leasing aircraft through Sataircraft A/S is no longer a
very profitable business. In fiscal 1991/92 Satair – for the first
time in its history – has to report a deficit. It has lost about DKK
9m for the year.
In early 1992 a Danish businessman presents himself as a
buyer for Sataircraft (which no longer owns any aircraft).
He offers DKK 10m for the subsidiary, and the offer is seen as
a welcome opportunity to improve the Group’s liquidity. Satair
snaps up to the chance.
It becomes clear that the purchaser of Sataircraft has a hidden
agenda with his new acquisition. He quickly strips the company of its assets and
lets it go bankrupt – without paying the company’s debt of DKK 13m to the
Danish tax authorities. The purchaser then vanishes and moves abroad.
Case comes to court
The sale of Sataircraft becomes a calamity for Satair, and many years are
to pass before the casebook can finally be closed. As the case unfolds,
there seems to be some initial doubt as to whether the Sataircraft buyer
has in fact done anything wrong. This is by no means the first time companies have
been purchased, asset‑stripped and declared bankrupt. But although these kinds of
transactions have cost the Danish tax authorities billions of kroner over the years, no
case has ever been taken to court in Denmark.
In early 1994 the tax minister of the day decides to bring Satair to court to
investigate whether Satair has acted fraudulently in connection with the sale of
Sataircraft. The court action will drag on for the next three years. In the first instance,
Satair is found by the High Court of Denmark to have acted negligently in its sale of
Sataircraft. According to the court, Satair should have foreseen that the purchaser of
Sataircraft did not have a genuine motive. Satair appeals the ruling to the Supreme
Court – but at the same time immediately pays off the tax debt of DKK 13m plus
interest and legal costs. The Supreme Court upholds the ruling in 1997.
No consequence for the business
The asset‑stripper case is exclusively a matter between Satair and the Danish tax
authorities, and the case has no direct consequence for Satair’s business. But because
the case establishes a principle and is the first of 1,600 similar cases that follow im‑
mediately afterwards, it receives a good deal of attention in the Danish media. In the
end, however, Satair receives media praise for its professional handling of the matter.
The case was widely
­covered in the Danish
media.
2 0- 2 1
1994-1997
New man at the top
In the early 1990s
Satair appoints a new
management team:
CEO John Staer (left)
and Chairman N.E.
Nielsen.
On October 1, 1994, John Staer is appointed Satair’s new CEO.
He takes over from Knud Soerensen, who temporarily returned to
the post when Claus Schreiber left the company in 1992. John
Staer faces two major tasks. First of all, to navigate Satair safely
through the asset‑stripping case to minimise the negative effect
on the company. Secondly, the time has come to attract new
shareholders to replace the first generation – and one of the
courses of action in this respect is for Satair to go public.
The new CEO comes to Satair from a position as Chief
Financial Officer with Ambu International A/S, a manu‑
facturer of equipment for the health sector. At Ambu,
John Staer’s responsibilities have included overseeing that
company’s international subsidiaries. He also brings with
him crucial experience from converting Ambu from a
family‑owned company to a successful listed company.
The plan is that he should do the same with Satair.
From the very beginning Satair’s corporate make‑up has reflected the
fact that its shareholders are a group of families. In the early 1990s, however, the company
changes course, and the appointment of a new CEO signals a major modernisation process
designed to streamline Satair. A process that will also bring early changes in its board of
directors. Shortly after John Staer’s appointment, the board gets a new chairman. A leading
Danish attorney and experienced corporate chairman, N.E. Nielsen, joins the Satair board
– an indication of new times ahead.
Satair distributes not only
aircraft parts but also
– in the 1990s – parts for
helicopter manufacturers.
For example, Eurocopter.
New business horizons
Led by John Staer and N.E. Nielsen, Satair finally turns its back on its original business
model of buying and selling consignments of aircraft parts; it has become an increasingly
difficult sector to operate in.
New certification requirements in the aviation industry are designed to ensure that only
original parts, meeting all standards, are used in aircraft production – and there is also a
growing demand for all aircraft parts to be completely traceable. There must be no doubt
about the origin of individual components.
Under the new policy, it is a much better business to focus on becoming a regular
distributor – and that is the course on which Satair management embarks up through the
1990s. But metre upon endless metre of warehouse storage shelves are still piled high with
old spare parts and components for which there is no longer a demand – so Satair holds a
gigantic warehouse sale. It manages to sell 70% of its stock – and reduces the remainder to
about 30,000 part numbers.
Brisk sales in the Far East
In the 1990s activities in Singapore are doing very well. The business expands rapidly, and
in March 1994 Satair sets up another Far East subsidiary. This time in Malaysia. The new
company, Satair Malaysia SDN BHD, is a joint venture with a local company, Seri Aero Jaya
SDN BHD, with whom Satair has cooperated for many years. Customers prefer dealing with
local companies, and a local office is welcome.
A year later – in May 1995 – a China sales office is opened in Beijing. It is a subdivision
of Satair Asia in Singapore. In connection with the opening of the Beijing office John Staer
gives a Danish media interview. In it he says: “China is an attractive market of which we’re
expecting a great deal in the years ahead. Many affluent provinces are setting up their own
airlines and have the funds to pay for them – so we believe our China office has a healthy
future.”
Markets in the 1990s
In fiscal 1995/96 Satair has sales of DKK 424m. The Far East is showing
signs of being a good market – but the company’s biggest market is Ger‑
many, followed by the UK. The USA holds third place. Another of Satair’s
old‑established and stable markets is the air forces of several countries
within and outside of NATO. That sector represents 10% of company sales
during the period 1995‑96. But it is the major airlines that account for the
bulk of Satair sales – as much as 51%.
The office in Beijing is
laid out in a way that
welcomes every member
of the Satair family.
2 2- 2 3
1997-2000
OEM build‑up
In the mid 1990s Satair management realises that one area of business has been neglected
for too long: sale of products such as rivets and fasteners directly to aircraft manufacturers
– of both fixed‑wing and rotary‑wing aircraft – and their suppliers. These customers are
known under the heading of Original Equipment Manufacturer or simply OEM. The OEM
market is potentially substantial and one that Satair has not yet cultivated to the full. That
situation is due to change. Satair launches on a programme of buying up existing compa‑
nies and deliberately picks out markets in which a major player like Airbus has its produc‑
tion.
Satair starts by acquiring the French company Tecnimatic Aéronautique SA in 1998
– which is the start of Satair France SA. The purchase consolidates Satair relations with
Airbus in France, to whom Tecnimatic Aéronautique SA is a supplier.
Satair Hardware UK Ltd.,
Shoreham.
Alliance with C.J. Fox & Sons Ltd., UK
Until this point Satair had never really had a foothold in the British market, which tradition‑
ally supports a thriving aviation industry. This changes in 2001, when Satair merges its OEM
division with the old‑established English company – and former competitor – C.J. Fox &
Sons Ltd. The two companies jointly establish a new OEM subsidiary under the name Satair
Hardware Group Ltd. It will handle the distribution of hardware – bolts, rivets, nuts and
tools – to customers. Satair’s holding in Satair France is also transferred to Satair Hardware
Group Ltd. Satair’s holding is 56%, giving the company undisputed access to the British
market – where Airbus builds its aircraft wings. There are thousands of rivets in a wing
– and Satair Hardware Group Ltd. is very happy to supply them.
Quick visit to Switzerland
In 1999 Satair acquires a Swiss company, Control Products AG, a specialist distributor of
electrical products. After a year, and according to plan, Control Products AG suspends
operations and moves all its activities to Copenhagen.
Satair goes public
Ever since John Staer was appointed CEO in 1994, taking Satair public on
the Copenhagen Stock Exchange has been on the agenda. The stock‑market
flotation occurs on June 3, 1997, with 31% of Satair shares being offered
for sale. The shares are sold by existing shareholders, and Satair receives
no funds from the float. Going public proves immensely successful, and
all shares are sold on the first day. At the time of the float, John Staer an‑
nounces that Satair is ready to expand and that growth will consist mainly
of acquisitions.
Double in Five
As the old millennium fades to a close, Satair is once more on firm ground and makes great
strides in the late 1990s. In fiscal 1996/97 turnover rises by DKK 87m to DKK 511m, and
in March 2000 the company raises its profits forecast for the year. The Far East economy,
which had undergone a crisis in the late 1990s, is back on track. At the same time, air‑pas‑
senger traffic is picking up nicely in Europe. All in line with Satair’s own strategy: “Double
in Five”, launched in 1999. The strategic objective is to double sales within five years. This
will mean an average annual growth rate of 15% – based on a bigger customer portfolio,
a bigger product portfolio, more agreements with manufacturers, and more acquisitions.
And to round off the positive scene, Satair is looking to develop new sales and distribution
concepts – making it even more attractive for customers and suppliers to do business with
the energetic company.
Creativity and new business
Innovative thinking is a Satair specialty. Large companies like Airbus and Lufthansa are
finding it more and more difficult to deal with an undergrowth of small suppliers – who are
often unable to deliver the service and conclude the deals the major buyers are looking for.
At Satair this situation has all the hallmarks of a new area of business. Although still sticking
primarily to a handful of permanent distribution agreements for particular components,
Satair is inspired by the situation to think innovatively – and comes up with IPP®,
Integrated Purchasing Program, the first of its kind in the world. IPP is a single
procurement channel drawing together a network of many small suppliers whose
products are of particular interest to Airbus. By offering to manage this channel,
Satair can guarantee that customers get the service and products they need –
even from small suppliers.
The industry welcomes IPP. It’s the right solution at the right time – when
general trends are otherwise moving in the direction of rationalisation and
­optimisation of logistics and purchases. One‑Stop‑Shop is an emerging
concept­ – and the industry likes it.
Germany
and Australia
In late 2000 Satair – via
its OEM division – ac‑
quires a German company,
AeroPro, which acts as agent
for American manufacturers
of aircraft parts. The acquisition
is intended to strengthen Satair’s
hand in relations with German
manufacturers of aircraft and heli‑
copters. Earlier in the new year Satair
also sets up a “warehouse hotel” in
Australia – in conjunction with a number
of customers in that country.
24-2 5
2001-2008
On premises with the customer
Satair develops a Direct Line Feed concept
primarily to its OEM customers. DLF per‑
mits Satair to station an employee on the
customer’s premises. The purpose is to en‑
sure that the manufacturer never runs out
of parts distributed by Satair. Satair’s Nick
Stephenson is pictured here as On‑Site
Representative with Aircelle in the UK. 9/11 – Satair has learned its lesson
The Gulf War and the period that followed took Satair by surprise – but when terrorists­
attack the World Trade Center and The Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Satair has
learned a lesson. The whole company is on crisis alert from Day One. As it happens, Satair’s
management team is assembled in Copenhagen on that fateful Tuesday and immediately
sets up a crisis‑management team. Satair management expects that the effect of 9/11 will
hit the Aftermarket hardest, to a lesser extent the OEM market – but the opposite is to turn
out to be the case. Not only do people fly less after 9/11 but fewer new aircraft are ordered
and built. Aircraft manufacturers downsize and cut their workforces. The whole sector is
under pressure.
Although faced with a crisis situation, Satair rejects any policy of mass redundancies.
Management assesses that reducing the workforce would be detrimental to the company
in the long term and is determined to get by with the staff the company currently employs.
It is generally expected that market conditions will slowly revert to normal – and they do
more or less after a year or so. But the terror attack whips the rug from under the “Double
in Five” strategy – ambitions must be adjusted to bring them into line with market conditions,
and the same applies to expectations for sales and earnings in the years ahead. Satair does,
however, very well to emerge from the crisis without incurring a deficit.
Just‑in‑time service with Boeing
In April 2006 Satair becomes part of Boeing’s Integrated Materials Management (IMM)
initiative. With IMM, Boeing – in collaboration with Satair and a group of other partners­
– ­is able to manage stocks of parts that airlines hold for aircraft maintenance. When an
airline joins the programme, Boeing, Satair and other IMM partners can deliver the required
spares exactly when the airline needs them. It minimises the airline’s need for an extensive
stock of parts – and reduces AOG costs. All in all, big savings.
In 2003 Satair acquires two companies, Lentern Aircraft Ltd. and
Lentern International Inc., formerly competitors to Satair Hardware in
the UK. Lentern is an old‑established company, founded during World
War II. After the purchase, Lentern production facilities are transferred
to a new address in Southend. The ribbon is cut at the new address on
March 16, 2004. Lentern is merged with Satair Hardware UK, securing
a much stronger position in the market.
SARS‑free cabin ventilation
Early in the new millennium cabin ventilation aboard aircraft achieves notoriety on the
international agenda. In 2002 there is an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) in China, and it spreads quickly to many parts of the world. The virus is spread by
people travelling to and from an infected area, and there is widespread anxiety that there
may be a risk of infection with SARS and similar airborne diseases via ventilation systems
aboard aircraft.
If the cabin air supply is correctly filtered, bacteria and vira are removed – and with
them the risk of infection. In the post‑2002 period large numbers of new air filters are
fitted. They are known as HEPA filters, and are a type distributed by Satair.
New acquisitions in the Far East
Satair already has offices in Singapore and China but if the company is to become
one of the main players in the global market, it needs more growth ... in the Far
East. So Satair is looking east again.
At the beginning of 2006 Satair expands its activities in Singapore by buying a company
called TPA Pte. Ltd. TPA is a highly esteemed supplier of equipment and spares for the
aviation industry, bought mainly from German suppliers. TPA also has a department which
repairs components, which gives Satair the opportunity to offer customers in the region a
source for faster repairs. And the TPA acquisition gives Satair local sales staff in Korea, Japan
and Dubai, where the company has not hitherto been represented.
China – key market
Satair has all Chinese commercial operators and a number of local manufacturers of aircraft
and helicopters as customers and regards the Chinese market as key to its future. In 2008
Satair acquired a 49% holding in the Chinese company, Sichuan Ruibo Hydraulic Compo‑
nent Service, which specialises in repairing hydraulic products for the aviation industry. In
conjunction with the purchase of TPA, the Ruibo acquisition means that Satair has definitely
begun to realise part of its strategy for the new millennium: to become a fully developed
service company increasingly able to offer its customers an one‑stop‑shop service.
Satair takes part in the
launch of the Chinese air‑
liner ARJ21, which seats
around 80 passengers.
The aircraft is designed to
serve the Chinese regions.
Working with
Pall Corporation
One of the leading manu‑
facturers of filters for use in
aircraft is the American Pall
Corporation. Satair has been
a ­distributor of Pall products in
Europe and the Far East since 1991,
and Pall became a large stockholder in
Satair at the 1997 IPO. In 2005 Satair
took over PAS, which is Pall’s distribution
activities in the commercial Aftermarket in
North and South America.
As a supplier to Airbus,
Satair delivers thousands of
rivets and other components
to the giant Airbus A380.
26-2 7
Tom Hansen, Corporate
Customer Development
Manager, Satair employee
since June 1, 1984.
A trim tab – and a helping hand
“It was the day after Christmas, back in the 1980s. I was on AOG duty and suddenly
received a call from an aircraft mechanic employed by one of our Fokker F27 customers.
He had a problem. One of the customer’s F27s was due to fly a group of journalists to the
Paris‑Dakar rally but she was on the ground at Kastrup Airport and needed a particular
spare part in order to take off – a trim tab, a structural part of the wing, about two metres
long. The mechanic was looking for such a part and wanted to know if Satair could help
– because at the time we were one of the main distributors of F27 products. Naturally we
could.
I myself took the spare part out to the mechanic at the airport, where it turned out he
was working all alone because it was Christmas. I offered to give him a hand – and sud‑
denly I found myself up a ladder, holding the trim tab while the mechanic screwed it into
place. At one point, there was something that didn’t quite fit – and the mechanic knocked
the component in position with a rubber hammer.
The picture of me up a ladder as he knocked the tab into place with a rubber hammer is
an image I shall never forget. It isn’t so often we get right up close to the finished job with
the parts we supply – and it was quite an experience making the difference out there at the
aircraft. Feeling quite literally that we were helping to keep the aircraft in the sky.”
been working here since 1984. Over the years Satair has become a big
”I’ve
part of my life, and I have had many of those good experiences that say
something about our corporate culture. There have been changes, and Satair
has altered over time, but there has always been something special, some‑
thing that’s never changed. And that’s the genuine desire of our employees
to help each other and our customers and suppliers. We always take our
work seriously – but it’s often a bit of humour that gets the job done.
Tom Hansen
”
Satair today
Copenhagen – right next door
When you’re the world’s biggest independent distributor of components and spares for the
aviation industry, there’s a lot of sense in having your headquarters on Amager, right next
door to Copenhagen Airport in Kastrup. North America, the Middle East, the Far East – Satair
has the whole world as its home market. And Copenhagen is centrally located and in the
right time zone when you’re represented all over the globe and busy every day servicing the
world’s airlines and manufacturers of aircraft and aircraft parts. Satair has its headquarters at
Amager Landevej on the island of Amager. It’s where you’ll find Corporate Management and
Satair’s administrative units – for example, Corporate HR and IT – and it’s where the network
of threads is gathered from across the world. From the outset, Satair has had its warehouse
on Amager – and things are still that way.
Bolts and screws in the air
An ordinary airliner is built from as many as three million different parts, many of them
replaceable. Bolts and screws, oxygen masks and coffee‑makers, hoses and lamps – Satair’s
core service is the distribution of more than 100,000 consumables. While Satair’s OEM Divi‑
sion services manufacturers of aircraft and helicopters, Aftermarket Division looks after the
maintenance and repair market.
Satair’s OEM Division looks after distribution and sale of components directly to compa‑
nies which build aircraft and helicopters. Whereas Aftermarket bases its work on many large
distributorship agreements, OEM operates differently. This division has a handful of major
distributorships with suppliers, and focuses instead on having contracts with customers for
the supply of production components. Satair OEM generates much of its business through
long‑standing outsourcing contracts under which Satair is responsible for a very wide range
of goods.
From Amager to the Far East
– Satair has become the world’s
largest independent distributor
of spares and components for the
aviation industry. And the future
is wide open.
Aftermarket and OEM
Satair’s Aftermarket Division handles the
daily sales and distribution of many thou‑
sands of different parts and components
for a wide range of commercial airlines,
workshops and other customers worldwide.
The bulk of Aftermarket sales stems from
major distribution agreements – several of
which Satair holds on an exclusive basis.
In 2008 Aftermarket represents about 400
manufacturers of aircraft components,
and services more than 1,000 Aftermarket
customers throughout the world. Aftermar‑
ket accounts for more than two‑thirds of
Satair’s total activities.
28-2 9
From merchant to distributor
Satair today is different from – and more than – the Danish trading company set up 50 years
ago based on a good idea, a bunch of enthusiasts, and a lot of hard work. The company
– once a trader and merchant – has become an international and strong distributor and a
dynamic service company. Satair operates at the centre of a complex and ever‑changing
aviation industry and forms a link between manufacturers of aircraft and aircraft parts and
operators. Operators need to keep their planes flying, aircraft manufacturers have to be
serviced, and the whole thing must be based on a strong network of suppliers and manu‑
facturers – which must be carefully maintained.
Many countries, one company
If an aircraft needs a spare part in order to take to the skies, then that part has to be fitted
– irrespective where in the world the aircraft may be. It takes delivery reliability, a sense of
timing – and, not least, the ability to be in the right place at the right time. Up through the
1990s Satair has become a truly international player, and through a series of acquisitions and
mergers now covers the globe. By the beginning of 2008, Satair was represented at many
different points throughout the world.
Liew Kah Meng tests
a control box in the
repair shop in Singapore
– where Satair has been
represented since 1988.
The Far East – the future market
The Far East represents a growing strategic market for Satair and being in a position to
service such OEMs as Airbus and Boeing locally within the Far East is of immense commercial
value to Satair. The company has made a series of acquisitions over the years and set up
offices in Japan, Singapore, China and elsewhere. Examples of this are the acquisition of the
distribution company TPA in Singapore in 2006, and a 49% holding in the Chinese repair
company Sichuan Ruibo in 2008.
The combination of stable spare‑part supplies and local aircraft‑repair skills is proving a
winning commercial formula. Suppliers need to be able to offer the major OEMs local Far
East solutions, and at the same time Chinese airlines, for example, need to have ready, local
access to the right spares.
One‑stop‑shop
The acquisition of repair companies such as Ruibo in China serves at the
same time to illustrate another significant development trend. Whereas
the people who drove Satair in the early years were fundamentally traders
and masters of buying and selling, the company facing the new century
has gradually become a full‑blown service provider. Manufacturers and
operators are trimming their businesses and processes and are increasingly
looking for fewer and more efficient relations and partners to whom they
can delegate an ever‑increasing share of procurement, warehousing, logis‑
tics and other support functions – while they themselves are better able to
concentrate on their core business.
A deal is a deal
Satair has always based its business dealings on relationships, close contacts with cus‑
tomers and suppliers, and the principle that a deal is a deal – and that will continue in
future. But from selling hoses, filters, screws and bolts directly from mile‑long shelves to
the waiting customer, the business is changing ... in future, core products will be more
in the way of service concepts, with Satair taking more or less total responsibility for
warehousing and repairs. The bedrock of this business comprises employee know‑how,
a global presence, the right components on all shelves, and the ability to offer overview,
control and process optimisation in place of simple part numbers. So the strategy at the
­beginning of the 21 century points in the direction of full‑service business models, with
Satair acting increasingly as a one‑stop‑shop in repair and maintenance.
A joint business, a common platform
Satair has branches all over the world, more than 500 employees
and several thousand part numbers to manage every day for cus‑
tomers and suppliers. That takes overview and very solid founda‑
tions – especially when, more and more, you offer to take over and
manage all warehouse functions for your customers. Employees,
customers and suppliers must be able to communicate seamlessly,
and in 2008 Satair has installed a new IT solution which covers all
parts of the company – another important stone has been added to
an already strong foundation.
3 0- 3 1
Satair on the map
Satair has grown to become a global enterprise and is today
represented all over the world.
Sales and warehouse
Warehouse
Sales representation
Repair Center
Satair A/S,
Kastrup/Copenhagen
Denmark
Headquarters
Aftermarket & OEM
160+ employees
Satair Pte. Ltd.,
Singapore
Aftermarket
70+ employees
Satair USA Inc.,
Atlanta, Wichita &
Ft. Lauderdale
USA
Aftermarket & OEM
50+ employees
Satair China,
Beijing & Chengdu
Kina
Aftermarket & OEM
35+ employees
Satair Hardware UK Ltd.,
Shoreham & Southend
UK
OEM
160+ employees
Satair Hardware SAS,
Senlis/Paris
France
OEM
40+ employees
3 2- 3 3
Satair and its board of directors
Satair started off life as a family‑run company, and despite changes in the Board over the
years, the original family ties are still strong. In 2008 there are still two representatives of
the founding families on the Board – Finn Rasmussen, a descendant of Manufacturer Jens
Frederik Rasmussen, and Carsten Soerensen, son of Rigmor and Knud Soerensen.
International tone
John Staer and the Satair
Board of Directors in
1996 with N.E. Nielsen,
Chairman. Left to right:
Finn Rasmussen, Carsten
L.­ Soerensen, Gert
Christoffersen, Gunnar
Christensen, N.E. Nielsen,
Mads Rahbek, Joergen
Hoey and Holger Elbek.
One member, Lisbeth
Nielsen, was absent when
the photograph was
taken.
When N.E. Nielsen takes over as Chairman of the Board in 1994, it’s a signal that changes
are about to occur and that an international outlook is on the cards. To succeed with inter‑
national expansion requires knowledge of local conditions in other parts of the world both
within and outside your particular industrial sector – and Satair achieves this by welcoming
international members to its board.
In 1998 a representative of a leading French shareholder became a board member, and
in 2000 the Board welcomed a very experienced American, with links to Satair’s main sup‑
plier. This was followed in 2006 with the election of the CEO of the company that had sold
TPA in Singapore. In Anniversary Year 2008 the Board of Directors comprises six members
elected by the General Meeting (three from Denmark, one from the USA, one from Belgium
and one from Singapore) and three Danish employee representatives.
In 2008 Satair has one of the most internationally representative boards of any Danish
public company – which affords the Board of Directors a unique background awareness of
what it takes to operate a worldwide business enterprise. International insight is a sound
footing on which to act quickly, professionally and knowledgeably when the time comes for
strategic decisions.
Love of business, love of flying
“Sound commercial principles are still a key to Satair’s way of doing business.
Satair has its roots in Denmark – but as a modern, international company it
embraces the world. If there’s anything the company has done well, it has
been taking the down‑to‑earth Danish approach to commercial thinking and
transferring it to its actions and transactions in the wider world.
Satair is a business enterprise staffed by good, modern‑minded busi‑
ness people who know a healthy deal when they see one. Every day you’ll
find well‑qualified, talented and competent employees behind all the many
agreements and deals that make Satair one of the world’s leaders in its field.
From Singapore to Atlanta – it’s our employees that are the foundation of
our company. They are the ones who can see, grasp and take advantage of
the many opportunities we come across in our everyday dealings – and negotiate transac‑
tions big and small. With its network of employees all over the world, Satair possesses a
great inner strength that lends the company an outward unity – even though it reaches
halfway across the globe. It has a corporate culture that not only encourages plans – but
also encourages you to put your plans into action.
Company employees have always played a key role on the Board. During one of Satair’s
worst crises – before I arrived at the company – employee representatives demonstrated an
astonishing composure and strength, which helped bring Satair through a difficult period.
Today they bring a detailed knowledge of agreements and markets to the boardroom, af‑
fording an extra dimension to its work. At the same time, they are good representatives of
the strong culture and spirit that binds Satair together. A spirit which continues to permeate
all parts of the company and which helps make Satair a dynamic and exciting company to
manage.
At Satair we share a passion for negotiating the best possible deal and developing a
strong and sustainable business across geographical and cultural boundaries. But we also
share something else. We share a fascination for what it’s all about. Seeing an A380 gliding
across the sky in all its majesty, and thinking that you’ve done your bit by delivering the
nuts and bolts that hold the giant together up there in the air – and you’d be excused for
feeling just a bit sentimental!”
an A380 gliding across the sky in all its
”Seeing
majesty, and thinking that you’ve done your
bit by delivering the nuts and bolts that hold
the giant together up there in the air – and
you’d be excused for feeling just a bit senti‑
mental!
”
N.E. Nielsen, Satair’s
Board Chairman since
1994
34-3 5
Ambitioner og fælles mål: Delivering 500+
I Satair handler det om at flytte andet og mere end partnumre. Hvis man vil være de
bedste i en voksende branche fuld af muligheder for forretning, så kræver det et højt
ambitionsniveau. Målet er en omsætning på over 500 mio. dollars inden 2010 og en
øget indtjening. Det mål skal nås gennem nytænkning, godt samarbejde, øget vækst
og styrkelse
Ambitions
af de gode relationer
and shared
både interntobjectives:
og eksternt.
Delivering 500+
• Growth
At Satair
is to move
more
than just
partkonstant.
numbers.Fordi
To be
theforstår
leader at
in
Lige siden
denthe
23.job
december
1957
er Satair
vokset
man
se dearigtige
growing
muligheder
industry full
på de
of business
rigtige tidspunkter,
potential takes
og fordi
a high
man
level
sletof
ikke
ambition.
kan lade
være.The
I dag
company’s
distribuerer
objective
Satair til
is to
mere
reach
endsales
100of
lande
moreogthan
har USD
over 500m
2.000 by
aktive
2010
kunder.
and to improve its profitability. To achieve that objective will require in‑
novation, close cooperation, increased growth, and a consolidation of good
•Relationships
both internally
andgode
externally.
Hele relations
Satairs forretning
hviler på
relationer mellem mennesker. Både internt
i virksomheden på tværs af kultur og geografi og eksternt i forhold til Satairs
mange
ofte mangeårige relationer til kunder og leverandører.
• og
Growth
• Innovation
Satair has been growing continuously since December 23, 1957. Because
company
identified
right possibilities
at store
the right
time – and
I Satair vilthe
man
hellere has
gå foran
end the
se andre
løbe med de
forretningsmu‑
ligheder. because
Det kræver
it can’t
nytænkning
help growing.
og innovation
Today Satair
i driften
distributes
af forretningen.
to more than
Satair
100
countries
andskal
has udvikles
more than
2,000
activesupply
customers.
skal gå foran,
når der
nye
effektive
chain-løsninger til virk‑
somhedens
mange kunder og partnere.
•Relationships
• People
Satair bases its entire business on having good interpersonal relation‑
ships. Both internally
within
the company
different
cultures
and
Det er medarbejderne,
der udgør
rygraden
i Satair, across
og sådan
har det
været fra
dag ét. Men
geography
hvor detand
engang
externally
var en
in gruppe
relationnøglepersoner,
to Satair’s many
der
and
tegnede
often dec‑
virksom‑
heden, erades‑long
det i dag relations
en hel organisation
with customers
af engagerede
and suppliers.
mennesker, der trækker i
fællesskab.
• Innovation
At Satair we would rather lead the way than see others run off with the
prime business opportunities. Running a business requires innovation
and fresh thinking. Satair must take the lead in developing new, efficient
supply chain solutions for the company’s many customers and partners.
• People
It’s people that give Satair its backbone, and it’s been that way since Day
One. But whereas it was once a group of key individuals who represented
the company, today an entire organisation of committed people are pull‑
ing a willing load.
Close‑up of the Chinese market
The number 10 has positive symbolic significance in Chinese culture – so when Satair’s China
office celebrated its 10 anniversary in 2005, it was a special day in more ways than one.
Satair has been operating in Singapore since 1988 – but in 1995 the moment had come to
join the rapidly expanding market in China. And with its office in Beijing, Satair became the
first foreign distributor of its kind to set up in that country.
The aviation industry market in China in 2008 is the fastest‑growing aviation market
in the world. Since 1995 air traffic in the country has increased by 14% a year, and the
number of aircraft has risen from only about 100 to around 1,000. The aviation industry
is booming, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) expects that by 2010
­several thousand new aircraft will be required – simply to meet the needs of air traffic
within China’s own boundaries.
What began as an outfit with two employees has grown today into a well‑founded sales
and service business employing many people. Satair’s Chinese employees service a growing
number of both local and international manufacturers and operators – in conjunction with
the office in Singapore and the rest of the Satair team.
A global player – at local level
In China personal relationships are the key to negotiating a good deal, which is why a local
presence is so important. Because in China you need to know the culture and the language
– and realise how important personal trust is. And you have to take the time it takes to
build up a good relationship to local customers and partners.
Satair today is one of the leading players in China when it comes to helping aircraft into
the air and keeping them there safely. The company has great ambitions, and Satair will
devote much effort over the next many years to increasing and consolidating its presence
in this mighty country. It’s an ambition well founded in the fact that Satair already has a
good local brand image – Satair China and its employees are recognised for their integrity,
transparency, good service and stable support.
business we place
”IngreatChinese
emphasis on personal rela‑
tionships. People are prepared to
do business if they’re with good
friends and feel secure – other‑
wise, no. It’s highly professional
– and simply another way of
­running a business.
”
Hu Yongdong, General Manager, Satair China.
In Beijing Satair China shares premises
with CASC/Airbus Customer Support
­Centre. This is also where the company
has its warehouse – integrated with Airbus’
local warehouse.
3636-3 7
We are committed to serving our customers and our suppliers
We succeed through knowledge and competence
We demonstrate initiative and commitment
We will conduct business professionally, ethically and respectfully
”
To me Satair is a growing family of
diverse members and cultures.
Bruce Lowe, USA
e
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nce has
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a
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p
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iness in
s
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”
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ler, Eng
Chand
”
My bes
t experi
hagen
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for SAP
going to
training
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there a
. It was
nd I ha
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with co
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eryone
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re
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To m
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ll
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n
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th pe
rowth bo
”
g
Mike Gronnige
r, USA
”
The culture at Satair is professional
but friendly – hardworking but relaxed.
Reece Walker, England
”
To me Satair is an organization that is worth
to stay with till retirement.
Nicholas Lo Ming Chung, Singapore
”
Taking part as an Employee Representa‑
tive in the work of the Satair Board has
been and is a thrilling experience – it has
been especially interesting to be involved
in the acquisition of new companies. For
example, I have had a hand in the purchase
of Lentern, TPA, PAS and Ruibo.
Dorte Sonne Ekner, Denmark
art
ing p
ce be mber in
n
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r
pe
ve
at ex
in No
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v
a
have
SA
”
rd, U
Bob
Lanfo
”
I once received a Request for Quota‑
tion, and in order to be able to answer it
I needed to know the type of aircraft. It
turned out it was for a submarine, not an
aircraft! But I gave a quote anyway – and
got the order. It’s always fun to tackle a
deal with a difference!
Lone Petersen, Denmark
”
To me Satair is an adventure, which is
worthwhile in itself.
Since starting up the IMM program with
Boeing, I have had the time of my life at
Satair. There has not been a dull moment
trying to manage this diverse program.
Bruce P. Brzoska, USA
Brian N. Hvid, USA
”
”
My
visitin best expe
rienc
g No
e
rt
chan
ce to hwest Air with Sata
ir
lines,
see b
logis
o
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tics s
e I ha
ide o th sales a
DeSond
f our
spect
da
ra W
s and
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ess.
the
, USA
”
To m
e
perf
orm Satair
is a
anc
imp
e
v
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nce compa ery hig
Chr
h
ny w
to t
iste
h
lle
hich
Lebeaupin e hu
man
at
, Fr
valu tach
ance
es.
”
Satair is a purposeful, go‑ahead,
adaptable company in which the individual
employee can take on responsibility – and
see Satair not as an employer but as a
solid marriage!
Lotte Kathrine Enevoldsen, Denmark
”
cellent
is integrity, ex
To me, Satair
n.
tio
ice and innova
customer serv
”
ance
x, Fr
Valerie Moreau
”
As a former employee of the Lentern
Group, my best experience has been the
transition to the Satair family and the global
support that we feel has made a significant
difference in our success in Ft. Lauderdale
since the acquisition.
Dick Edwards, USA
I believe our company is very strong,
because we are a Danish company. Our
shared work ethic seems to have spread
across the world – and I’m sure it will
continue.
Kim McBurnett, USA
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an
A
avi
din
Sca
n
38-3 9
Satair over the years
1967
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1981
1984
Satair becomes a
distributor for Cherry
Rivet, Precision Rivet
and Wilson & Telex.
It buys its first ship‑
ments of F27 parts
from KLM, Swissair/
Balair and All Nippon
Airways
Satair becomes a
Champion distributor,
and purchases a large
consignment of DC‑3
and DC‑4 aircraft parts
in Zaïre. Satair acquires
an aircraft for its own
use: a Beechcraft Baron
E55
1985
1988
Sat
2001
2003
2005
2006
2007
7
Sat
air
1999
200
Sat
air
m
1998
su
set
te.
sT
PA
P
buy
es P
AS
. in
Ltd
he
in t
gap
Sin
A
US
td.
he
in t
and
Inte
rna
K
Son
s, U
Len
tern
. Fo
x&
C.J
UK
ith
nw
lan
d
zer
wit
in S
isio
Div
cts
ft L
ircr
a
M
OE
nte
rn A
ires
Le
sh
ani
sD
es i
t
pur
cha
s
acq
u
erg
ce
ran
in F
ont
rol
Pro
du
es C
atic
s
pen
cni
m
lic
ires
Te
pub
pur
cha
s
oes
go
pS
ore
ata
Sat
ir P
air
te.
Ltd
rep acqu
. in
air
com ires a
the
Far
pan 49%
Eas
y, S
h
t
ich oldin
uan
g in
Rui
t
h
eC
bo
hin
ese
Sat
air
Sat
air
air
Sat
air
1997
198
2
7
195
Sat
air
acq
u
1995
eijin
in B
old
is s
Sat
air
g
ce
aft
Sat
airc
r
Offi
1992
2008
Satair employees from 1957 to 2007
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
SA
nc.
in t
he
U
tion
al I
Abu Monnan ·
Mar
Andy Moores · Jamie
Anja Siiger Hansen · Ebbe Hansen · Lene Hansen · Ove Hansen · Christin
Morgan · Christopher
Casper Holm-Pedersen · Henrik Hvass · Michael Højgaard · Per Iversen · Søren Iverse
Moss-Clarke · Paul Mott ·
Kim Grøn Jensen · Kim Rene Jensen · Maja Christina Jensen · Tina Egede Jensen · Lisbeth Gjøl
Jens Nell · Ashley Nicklin ·
· Anette Knudsen · Anja Kongsted · Henning Kongsted · Anne Lise Lagerstrøm · H
Bruce O’Connor · Allan
Asger Mikkelsen · Richard Mikkelsen · Søren Munk · Grete Kleiv M
Orman · Martin Osborne ·
Ole Nielsen · Rene Sune Nielsen · Troels Algot N
Ryan Parsons · Gaynor Owens ·
Majken Gernskov Pedersen · An
Kelly Palmer · Emma Parker ·
Roland Rasmus
Lisa Overington · David Perkins ·
Richar
Ian Powell · Susan Richards · Bob
Schramm · Mary Prowse · Rob Purnell
· Frankie Randall · Kim Ransley · Luke
I
Remsbery · Jean Richards · Michael
John Bar
Poland · Nick Roberts · Emma Rudge ·
Alison Bunker ·
Graham Russell · Patrick Ryan · Alan
Amanda Clements · Jere
Sargent · Charlotte Sawyer · Samuel
Stuart Deary · Kevin Little · Bill
Pearmain · Lisa Shaddick · Danny Simmons ·
Jim Forsberg · Jessica Frost · Lauren Fu
Stephen Simmons · Arnie Sivertsen · Harold
Dean Hayward · Yvonne Hearn · Peter HeeneySmith · Garry Snow · Malcolm Spooner · Nick
Glenn Hooper · Keith Hopkins · Christopher Hughes ·
Stephenson · Charlotte Stevens · Ray Stevens ·
David Johnson · Christine Kay · Marcia Kay · Jacqueline Kenn
Nathan Stewart · Glenn Stokes · Barry Stone ·
Ken Maclennan · Julia Madhani · Victoria Martin · Paul Maynard · Bill
Robin Strickland · Stephen Sumner · Martin Swinney ·
Megan Tannenbaum · Beverley Tanner · Mark Tanner · Natalie Taylor · Paul Taylor · Laura Thomas · Nigel Thomas · Mark Thoms · Frankie Turnbull · D
· Roy Venn · Tina Verlo · Sandy Wainwright · Doreen Walker · Reece Walker · Bobby Walker · Mark Warwick · Chris Webbon · Richard Wellham · T
Kathy Wiggins · Chris Williams · John Williams · Stuart Wilson · Cedric Aymonin · Olivier Bertrand · Pascal Birck · Olivier Bourgine · Francoise Bouthors-Bernard · Sébastien Boutrouille · Meddy
Jean-Michel Brothier · Laurence Candellier · Yann Caro · Karine Cerceau · Antoine Chetelat · Marie Clair · Laurent Clerget · Laure Decroix · Myriam Defreitas · Sylvie Duhamel · Manuella Fleury ·
Jean Michel Fontaine · Fabrice Fusarelli · Grégory Gonzalez · Sébastien Guingouin · Martine Hen · Anne Karczewski · Annie Claude Koehler · Arnaud Lavisse ·
Murielle Lemen · Christelle Lebeaupin · Jérome Lucien · Sylvie Mandon · Audrey Mansart · Emmanuel Mathiot · Valérie Moreaux · Ariane Neuville
· Louis Nicolas · Carole Piorowicz · Daniel Poiret · Sylvie Rantz · Fabienne Raynaud · Emmanuelle Ricaud · Nathalie Sinna ·
Sébastien Thomas · Tiphaine Trouvé · Didier Uldry · Nathalie Wowk · Ton Eichelsheim · Wenying Chen ·
Ying Hou · Yongdong Hu · Jin Fei Qin · Jun De Pan · Hai Lin · Yu Qing Ma
· Xiao Zheng Sun · Laura Wang · Meng Wu · Emily Ye · Yuan Zhang
· Xiao Li Zhao · Chunliu Zhong · Siti Musfirah Bite Abdul Rahim ·
Mohammad Naharuddin Bin Ali · Hamdan Bin Amran · Norfadzlina
Binte Abdul Rahim · Roszita Mohd Isa · Vincent Chan · Loreen Cheo ·
Laura Cheong ·
Augusto Cobarrubia · David Corish ·
Gracie Dan ·
Sharon Fan · Rene Frandsen ·
Sunny Goh · Siti Zulfarae’za
Binte Jumat · Kimitomo
Kikuchi · Jeffrey Koh ·
Siok Imm Koh · Soon
Ting Koo · Stephane
Lecolley · Junn Lee
· Jenny Li · Kah
Meng Liew