Aircraft Recycling International acquires UAM

Aircraft Recycling International Ltd. (ARI), Hong Kong, a member company of China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Ltd. (CALC), has acquired a 100% equity interest in Universal Asset Management Inc. (UAM), a Tennessee-based global aviation services provider.

UAM has nearly 30 years of commercial and technical experience managing customers' aviation assets, disassembling aircraft and supplying after-market components to the commercial aviation industry. UAM is now a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of ARI and is responsible for ARI's aircraft recycling business overseas and a part of its global disassembly and distribution platform. Together, the two companies say they will form global solutions for aging aircraft, further consolidating CALC's status as a full value-chain aircraft solutions provider.

Christina Ng, deputy CEO and chief operating officer of ARI, has been appointed chairwoman of UAM, while Keri Wright and Shawn Kling will continue to lead UAM's operations as CEO and president, respectively. UAM will retain its brand name and continue to operate in the same manner with the same management team, while all staff will remain in place across all its business units. While ARI will leverage UAM's global brand and track record of serving more than 1,000 customers in 150 countries to expand into overseas markets, UAM will leverage ARI's growth capital and draw upon CALC's network and resources to advance changes in the aviation industry through the delivery of technological solutions and the further growth of its portfolio, the companies say.

ARI is a downstream extension of CALC's aviation value chain and is mainly engaged in asset management and total aircraft solutions relating to aging aircraft. It is currently constructing an aircraft recycling facility in Harbin, China, which will be the largest in scale throughout Asia and the world. The recycling facility, which will be 300 square meters, is expected to be complete by the middle of 2017 and will be able to disassembly up to 50 units per year.