Rubb Group collaboration for Turkish Airlines takes off

Turkish Airlines is celebrating the opening of a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Centre at the new $12 billion Istanbul Airport in Turkey.

The new airport in Istanbul, Turkey, is on track to be the largest in the world. It is expected to hit its 90-million capacity by 2021, with an annual 150 million passenger capacity in its last planned expansion stage by 2023, while remaining upgradable to handle its goal of 200 million annual passengers by 2028.

Rubb has been a part of this massive project, building a large MRO hangar for Turkish Airlines and maintenance support arm Turkish Technic. The 82.3m (270ft) x 87.5m (287ft) x 9.8m (32ft) AVC type structure will provide maintenance and repair facilities for the Turkish Airlines’ fleet.

Murat Sözer, Turkish Technic Mechanical Works Chief, Directorate of Construction Projects Istanbul Airport - Region A, commented: “We needed a heavy maintenance hangar featuring at least one bay, while our new MRO campus at Istanbul Airport was under construction. The Rubb hangar was most useful for us in terms of fast manufacturing. Another benefit is that when our new MRO facility is finished, we will be able to dismantle this hangar and evaluate and use it at another airport. The main needs that the hangar has helped us meet are lower costs, fast construction and the need for a flexible location. The Rubb hangar is ideal for cases where we work in a single bay: e.g. paint hangars or single bay large body aircraft storage hangars. The Rubb team were very hardworking and fast. Instead of complaints and excuses, they tried to produce continuous solutions.”

The hangar is equipped with 50mm Rubb Thermohall® insulated cladding. Rubb produced 12,000m² of Thermohall® cladding for the project, utilising 32,000m² of Precontraint 412 and Precontraint 832 fabric from Serge Ferrari. This specialist architectural PVC deflects light and heat and is ideal for the climate in Turkey. The Thermohall® cladding effectively insulates the structure, resulting in a facility that can be easily climate controlled, depending on usage and operations.

This MRO building includes a 71.9m (236ft) x 19.8m (65ft) Megadoor entry system. This type of door offers flexibility in accommodating different aircraft that could be stored in the hangar. Other unique attributes include faster opening and closing times, excellent air tightness and wind resistance, longer lifetime and lower operating cost, safer working thanks to patented safety arrestors and advanced and robust PLC based control systems. The MRO facility also features an LED lighting system and a full HVAC system.

States Rubb USA President Dave Nickerson: “This has truly been an internationally cooperative project for Rubb: Rubb UK was involved in the early sales process and securing the contract after first meeting the client at MRO Europe. Rubb USA engineered and oversaw the project, while Rubb Poland produced the Thermohall® and Rubb Norway provided the advanced Tekla® program modelling. Our partners at Hallmaker Group (Rubb parent company) helped with installation and the steel was produced in Turkey by Modul Celik, with cooperation and oversight from Rubb USA.” 

Group CEO Rune Martini added: “This type of collaborative enterprise demonstrates the Rubb Group’s capability to take on complex projects globally. All of us at Rubb hope this high profile project will further enhance Rubb’s reputation as a world leader in the aviation hangar and cargo warehouse market.”

Visitors at Dubai Airshow can explore the Rubb Difference and how Rubb Building Systems can support your aircraft hangar requirements and MRO goals at Stand 1613b, UK Pavilion.