SANTIAGO, Chile--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merex, A Dubin Clark Company, has developed proprietary tooling, fixtures and engineering processes and techniques to cost effectively replace the wing skins on the Northrop F-5 aircraft. A pilot program is underway with ENAER of Chile to address sustainment of their F-5 Fleet. The international fleet of the F-5 aircraft has accumulated significant flight hours and many aircraft require sustainment solutions to meet the training and defense needs of the future.
The fixtures, accessories and processes developed by Merex are designed specifically for addressing required wing repair, refurbishment and upgrade programs. Virtually any degradation issue with the wing can be successfully addressed using this system. The company has a U.S. Patent Pending on tooling and processes developed to support this work.
Merex Project Manager, Chris Garville reports, “Our customers needed a solution that they could afford. The Merex Wing Fixture saves over four (4) times the costs of a new wing and shortens the delivery time by a factor of five to one.” Merex’s first wing skin program is with the Chilean Air Force and the disassembly and reassembly will be performed under a Teaming Agreement with ENAER, the leading Chilean Aerospace company located in Santiago, Chile. Merex , a world leader in F-5 support, is marketing this Wing Repair and Refurbishment capability to all of its customers in over 25 countries.
Jorge Flores Blake, Jefe de Marketing y Nuevos Negocios (Director of Marketing), states, “We are very pleased that Merex has selected ENAER as their Team Member for this exciting program. We look forward to hosting FIDAE attendees to our facilities to see our F-5 Work Cell where the wing program will be performed.” Merex is incorporating leading edge technologies on this program.
“We are using a laser tracker system to accurately locate and identify each fastener on the wing assembly, which is saving a significant amount of time and cost for the disassembly and reassembly processes. In addition, we are using EDM (electronic discharge) technology to speed the removal of the rivets. Removal rates go from 2 minutes using a manual drill to under 15 seconds using the EDM solution,” Garville says. Unique to the F-5 is the ability to remove the entire wing assembly and ship it worldwide. Merex is providing ‘pick-up and re-delivery’ services to all its customers around the globe including special shipping containers, export compliance documentation, and freight forwarding services.
Merex will be featuring the wing repair and other sustainment solutions at their exhibit during the Feria Internacional Del Aire Y Del Espacio (FIDAE) show in Santiago, Chile; March 25th through 28th. Special VIP visits to ENAER’s facilities in Santiago are being arranged so that potential customers can visit the F-5 Work Cell where the work will be performed.
About Merex Group:
The Merex Group is a global provider of comprehensive support for U.S. manufactured legacy defense platforms including aircraft, helicopters and their respective engines. Supporting more than 35 armed forces worldwide that operate legacy defense platforms, Merex’s “Total Support“ approach of providing strategic distribution, repair/overhaul management, manufacturing and engineering solutions and overall program management has been instrumental in the company’s success in this growing market. The Merex Group is headquartered in Camarillo, California and includes Merex Inc, Commerce Overseas and ALCO Services. The Merex Group is a Dubin Clark Portfolio Company. Further information is available at www.merexinc.com.
About Dubin Clark & Company:
Dubin Clark & Company is a private equity investment firm founded in 1984 exclusively on purchasing and cultivating businesses into profitable enterprises, all the time working alongside the businesses' preexisting management. The organization has a philosophy of "Maintaining each company's values, independence and culture; our goal is to build on what has already been achieved." Further information is available at www.dubinclark.com.