An EPI employee performs surface treatment at the company's facility that opened at Tawazun Industrial Park last year. Image courtesy of EPI.
An EPI employee performs surface treatment at the company's facility that opened at Tawazun Industrial Park last year. Image courtesy of EPI.
An EPI employee performs surface treatment at the company's facility that opened at Tawazun Industrial Park last year. Image courtesy of EPI.
An EPI employee performs surface treatment at the company's facility that opened at Tawazun Industrial Park last year. Image courtesy of EPI.

UAE's Edge unit expands facility to manufacture Boeing 787 metallic parts locally


Deena Kamel
  • English
  • Arabic

EPI, the precision engineering unit of Abu Dhabi's defence company Edge, will make metallic parts on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner in the UAE in a move to expand its commercial aviation business.

EPI will make aluminium trailing edge ribs, a component on the vertical fin of the plane, for the wide-body aircraft, EPI said on Monday on the sidelines of the Global Aerospace Summit hosted virtually by Abu Dhabi.

The serial assembly lines will be an extension to EPI's Abu Dhabi facility, with the processed parts also going through EPI’s surface treatment plant that was launched last year.

"Today’s announcement expanding EPI’s manufacturing capabilities is an encouraging indicator for the region’s aerospace and defence industries and we look forward to exploring similar opportunities in the coming years," Khalid Al Breiki, president of Edge's Mission Support cluster, said.

The Dreamliner is the backbone of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways' fleet. The UAE capital has been expanding its domestic manufacturing industries and developing high-tech capabilities as part of a push to diversify its economy away from oil.

The deal between EPI and Boeing was facilitated by the Tawazun Economic Council (Tawazun), a government body tasked with tasked with developing a homegrown defence industry.

EPI's surface treatment plant, established in April 2019, is part of an industrial collaboration agreement between Tawazun Economic Council, Boeing's Defence, Space & Security arm and EPI. The aim was to build a chemical processing plant that would ramp up its existing production capabilities and move beyond machining into aircraft assembly for aerospace manufacturers.

“This contract with EPI will expand the capability and capacity of Boeing’s global supply chain while supporting further development of the UAE’s aerospace industry,” Bernard Dunn, president of Boeing Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, said. “Adding EPI as a new supplier for the 787 Dreamliner is a prime example of our mutually beneficial approach to engagement in the UAE.”

EPI is part of the Mission Support cluster at Edge. The unit, which joined Edge in 2019, specialises in precision machining and engineering services for aerospace, defence and oil and gas industries, according to Edge's website. The company’s capabilities span engineering, production, surface and heat treatment, machining, coating, repairing and tooling.

EPI was established in 2007 under the name TPI (Tawazun Precision Industries). Earlier this year, the company became a regional manufacturer of aircraft parts for Tolouse-based Airbus.

Boeing is currently weighing up a decision to build the 787 Dreamliner at a single site, most likely its South Carolina factory, and close a second final assembly line in Everett, Washington, according to Bloomberg. A decision is expected to be announced as soon next month, it said, citing sources.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a blow to the long-haul, international travel market, in which twin-aisle jets like the 787s are used.

'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap​​​​​​​
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal​​​​​​​
Rating: 3.5/5

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If you go

The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.

The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).

When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.

Indoor Cricket World Cup

Venue Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23

UAE squad Saqib Nazir (captain), Aaqib Malik, Fahad Al Hashmi, Isuru Umesh, Nadir Hussain, Sachin Talwar, Nashwan Nasir, Prashath Kumara, Ramveer Rai, Sameer Nayyak, Umar Shah, Vikrant Shetty

Normcore explained

Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.

Ammar 808:
Maghreb United

Sofyann Ben Youssef
Glitterbeat 

Turkish Ladies

Various artists, Sony Music Turkey 

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Torque: 230Nm

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Torque: 985Nm

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ruwais timeline

1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established

1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants

1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed

1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.  

1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex

2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea

2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd

2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens

2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies

2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export

2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.

2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery 

2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital

2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13

Source: The National

Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final

Esperance de Tunis 0
Al Ain 3
(Ahmed 02’, El Shahat 17’, Al Ahbabi 60’)

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Brief scores:

Manchester City 2

Gundogan 27', De Bruyne 85'

Crystal Palace 3

Schlupp 33', Townsend 35', Milivojevic 51' (pen)

Man of the Match: Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace)

Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule

1st Test July 26-30 in Galle

2nd Test August 3-7 in Colombo

3rd Test August 12-16 in Pallekele

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Match info

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Liverpool v Porto, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)

Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports

The biog

Place of birth: Kalba

Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren

Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken

Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah

Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”

The biog

Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns

Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins

Food of choice: Sushi  

Favourite colour: Orange

Abu Dhabi race card

5pm Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige Dh110,000 1,400m

5.30pm Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige Dh110,000 1,400m

6pm Abu Dhabi Championship Listed Dh180,000 1,600m

6.30pm Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m

7pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap Dh80,000 1,400m

7.30pm Handicap (TB) |Dh100,000 2,400m