TBM turboprop to help optimize travel for Australian building company
Gold Coast Airport, Australia, 27
September
2006
EADS Socata today announced the delivery of a TBM 700B to the Australian building contractor and facility management company Colin Joss & Co Pty Ltd. This is the fifth TBM turboprop aircraft delivered in Australia.
Colin Joss & Co Pty Ltd works primarily with Government institutions such as the Health, Education and Defence Ministries in a 650km radius around Albury (New South Wales) and employs 700 people.
“Our decision to purchase an aircraft was based on several factors,” explained Colin Joss, founder and CEO of the company. “The aircraft had to be new or with only a low number of hours on the clock; we were adamant that we would not buy a much-used aircraft. Running costs then had to be considered seriously and jets were ruled out, which left either a twin piston or a turboprop. We felt that the Socata TBM 700 is an aircraft we admire and fits well with our operations, matching our current and future needs. We see a parallel between the highly-respected position of the TBM in the aircraft industry and what we believe is ours in the construction and facility management industry.”
“We are delighted to add such a highly respected company as Colin Joss & Co Pty Ltd to our growing list of owners. Their confidence is the recognition of the service our aircraft can deliver to the Australian community and we are looking forward implementing in the country the quality service they deserve,” said Nicolas Chabbert, EADS Socata’s VP Sales and Marketing.
In order to enhance support for both existing and new customers in Australia, EADS Socata has established a network of Authorized Service Centers beginning with facilities at Mt Isa, (Queensland), Gold Coast-Coolangatta (Queensland), Bankstown (New South Wales) and Essendon (Victoria) airports. EADS Socata has also opened a sales office at Gold Coast Coolangatta Airport to support sales of its TBM 700 and its new TBM 850 single-engined turboprop as well as of its TB line of piston-engined touring aircraft.
EADS Socata is one of the world’s leading general aviation manufacturers with more than 6,000 aircraft flying in 65 countries, continuing a tradition initiated by Morane-Saulnier in 1911, which includes the MS 760 ParisJet, the world’s first business jet. EADS Socata manufactures the TBM 850 high-speed turboprop and the TB GT range of piston-engined touring and training aircraft, and is an industrial partner of Airbus airliners (including the new Airbus A380), the A400M military transport and the Dassault Falcon 7X, as well as Eurocopter helicopters and Embraer regional jets.
Headquartered in Tarbes, France, EADS Socata is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2005, EADS generated revenues of €34.2 billion and employed a workforce of about 113,000. The EADS Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world's largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the international leader in missile systems. EADS is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, is the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, develops the A400M military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo.
