Parker Aerospace, sharpening its aftermarket focus, has launched a new, 'round-the-clock support initiative that includes opening a second global customer response center (CRC), and expanding its MRO-support license with Ruag Australia.

The new CRC will open in Singapore in late 2017. It will provide operators and MRO providers with a single point of contact in the region for material, logistic, and technical support for aircraft on the ground (AOG); spare part quotations; order execution and delivery; and management of Parker’s worldwide parts pooling network, the company said. 

Parker’s existing CRC opened in Irvine, California, in 2015. Adding the Singapore facility means Parker customers will have more issues resolved in real-time by local staff who are most familiar with customer- and regional-support needs.

“The center in Singapore is the next phase of our strategy to support our aftermarket customers within their regions,” said David Sawdey, director of global services for Parker’s Customer Support Operations division. "We want our customers to have their inquiries addressed and resolved quickly during their workday, no matter where they are located in the world.”

The facility is part of the company’s new Parker360 initiative, which is "our promise to provide comprehensive support around the clock and around the globe,” said Austin Major, Parker’s v-p of customer support.

Separately, Parker said it is extending its component maintenance, repair, overhaul, and upgrade (MRO&U) license with Ruag Australia.

The license supports Ruag’s award of the Multi-Aircraft Hydraulic and Undercarriage Systems Support contract from the Australian Department of Defense. The expanded agreement will support Ruag’s Parker hydraulic and flight control systems work on Australia's Boeing F/A-18A/B, CH-47, Lockheed AP-3C, and Sikorsky S-70B fleets. 

Further expansion, including to the F-35, is likely. Ruag Australia is a U.S. government F-35 Joint Program Office's source of repair. Parker F-35 component MRO will be created at multiple locations in Australia.

Parker (Hall 5 Stand C210) says it also is working with Ruag to create aftermarket support offerings for other Royal Australian Air Force fleets as well as some commercial aircraft.