Malaysia’s aircraft servicing sector is taking off, but can it move up the value chain?

[KUALA LUMPUR] When the aviation industry virtually shut down during Covid-19, Asia Digital Engineering (ADE) chief executive Mahesh Kumar chose an unconventional path by expanding operational capacity rather than retreating.

Kumar, then head of fleet and technical asset management at AirAsia, was among those behind the formation of ADE in 2020. The maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) arm of Capital A (formerly AirAsia Group), started with a single maintenance line in what Kumar jokingly called a reban ayam, or “chicken coop”.

Six years later, it has 16 lines, more than 2,200 employees and plans to expand to 40 lines within five years, he told The Business Times.