Mubadala Development-owned Strata Manufacturing, a maker of composite aero-structures, said it is gearing up for higher growth with automation and robots, having recorded a 20 per cent growth in deliveries last year.
Strata delivered 521 shipsets, consisting of more than 9,103 components, which included parts for the Airbus A330neo and A350-1000.
“In six years only, Strata has proven to the world that it is capable of contributing to Abu Dhabi vision 2030 through diversifying the economy away from oil and gas and positioning Abu Dhabi and Al Ain as a global aerospace hub,” said Ismail Ali Abdulla, the deputy chief executive of Strata.
The company, which began production in 2010, said it expects to break even next year and expects to record annual revenue of Dh1bn by 2020.
Strata launched its Strata Lab at Masdar Institute last year to focus on manufacturing and materials research in aerospace production lines.
There are five research and development projects under way, it said.
The Aerospace Research and Innovation Center, a partnership between Khalifa University and Strata, has acquired a robotic arm to develop aircraft components. The robot is installed at Khalifa University’s Abu Dhabi Campus.
At the Farnborough Airshow last July, the Al Ain-based company won orders worth US$1 billion from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus to make inboard flaps for the A350-900 and horizontal tail plane for the A320 besides a multi-year contract to manufacture the vertical fin for the Boeing 787.
Strata is making a conscious effort to employ more nationals in its workforce, with Emiratis comprising 51 per cent of its staff. The feat came during a year that witnessed graduation of 105 UAE nationals from its Aero-structures Technician Training Programme, a collaboration with UAE University in Al Ain. Strata also has 48 women as team leaders, while four out of its 11 supervisors are Emirati women.
About 56 per cent of its nearly 480 suppliers are based in the UAE, with 88 per cent of the local suppliers comprising small and medium enterprises.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The biog
Age: 30
Position: Senior lab superintendent at Emirates Global Aluminium
Education: Bachelor of science in chemical engineering, post graduate degree in light metal reduction technology
Favourite part of job: The challenge, because it is challenging
Favourite quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” Gandi
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
