AVIATION | Solenta Group
PROVIDING FLEXIBLE
THE
SOLE
African Business Network
AV I AT I O N S O LU T I O N S
ENTA
GROUP
AVIATION | Solenta Group
Formed at the turn of the millennium, the Solenta Group is a diversified aviation company based in Johannesburg, which serves a number of various commercial sectors primarily across Africa, but also beyond the continent. Initially founded to provide aviation support for DHL’s ventures in Africa, the Solenta Group has maintained this area of its business whilst gradually expanding its fleet and capacity, which has allowed the firm to proliferate into other business opportunities across the continent. The Solenta Group’s African business has subsequently expanded into several areas including the resources sector (where it works with oil majors such as ExxonMobil), tourism, air freight and humanitarian aid, often partnering with organisations such as the United Nations, the Red Cross and the World Food Programme. “Overall, it’s been a picture of growth in numbers of aircraft, capacity and also geographical spread,” says Solenta’s business development manager Michael Adams. The business has grown from operating a modest fleet of predominantly Cessna Caravans and Beechcraft 1900s during its early years, to introducing its first jets to the fleet from the Embraer ERJ 145 family.
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AVIATION | Solenta Group Today the Solenta Group is fast approaching
For example, the Solenta Group has moved
the milestone of owning 100 aircraft.
from supporting DHL in providing ATR 42
However, along with the progressive
model aircrafts between a 4-5 tonnes payload
enhancing of its continental fleet, the firm
capacity, to ATR 72s with a payload capacity
has also expanded in terms of aircraft
between 7-8 tonnes from its own large cargo
capacity.
facility in Toulouse, France. The subsequent growth of the business has sufficiently buttressed DHL as it expands
“Overall, it’s been a picture of growth in num and also geographical spread.” Michael Adam
African Business Network into more countries on the African continent,
the operating side of the business and the
with the ongoing development of the Solenta
second, ACIA Aero Leasing being its aircraft
Group’s fleet, capacity and global presence
leasing services.
an underlying theme within the company’s recent history.
Business structure
The operating side of the business constitutes around half of the Solenta Group’s total fleet, operating across a
The Solenta Group is split into two key
number of strategic locations in Africa but
divisions, with the first, Solenta Aviation being
also all over the world including Cuba, Asia and the Middle East. “We essentially provide aircraft with flight crew, cabin crew and maintenance support,” proclaims Adams.
mbers of aircraft, capacity ms, business development manager
AVIATION | Solenta Group “Therefore, we go a lot further than simply
“One of the key facilities utilised by members
providing an aircraft or an engineer, it’s about
of our flight crew training programme is
the logistics of procurement and shipment of
a 6-base flight simulator, where we also
aircraft components to support the day-to-
communicate all of our safety procedural
day operations of our customers.”
checks.”
Training organisation
These safety measures include emergency
In addition to these core operations, Solenta
procedures training, crew resource
Aviation also operates a South African Civil
management, aviation security and several
Aviation Authority (SACAA)-approved training
other procedures which contribute towards
organisation, which is primarily based at the
Solenta Aviation’s stringent safety standards
firm’s head office in Johannesburg.
and regulations.
Solenta Aviation’s training organisation
Prospective cabin crew members are also
provides key preparatory exercises for flight
put through a similar safety regime across
crew, cabin crew and for aircraft maintenance
Solenta Aviation’s operating bases via the
engineers, which are offered to both internal employees and external clients.
Resource GlobalNetwork Network African Business firm’s own trainers, or alternatively through
“[Providing flexible aviation solutions] means
reputable external cabin crew training
listening to the customer and learning what
organisations.
their specific requirements are, especially as we’ve found ourselves getting into larger
For Solenta Aviation’s students of aircraft
aircraft and therefore leaping up the ladder
maintenance engineering, most company
in terms of the size and infrastructural
training is conducted at its head office
demands of our clients,” explains Adams.
in Johannesburg, which has a number of specialised classroom facilities.
Flexible aviation solutions
As a consequence of working with a number of different companies from multinational oil majors to humanitarian aid-focused NGOs, the Solenta Group has had to make
The Solenta Group prides itself on providing
sure it responds adequately to the differing
‘flexible aviation solutions’, an aspiration
requirements of its clients.
which has taken on more and more importance as the firm has developed its
For example, an increasing trend in recent
business towards serving several diverse
years has involved the Solenta Group’s
industries across Africa and beyond.
clients often not requiring a full ACMI service, as companies wish to utilise their own cabin crews. Sometimes firms even go a step further and provide their own flight crew along with a cabin crew, which has necessitated a subtle change in approach.
AVIATION | Solenta Group The Solenta Group’s commitment to maintaining a flexible approach to its aviation services has seen the firm transition from initially providing full ACMI services only, towards a mixture of wet lease and dry lease scenarios. In such dry lease scenarios, the Solenta Group liaises with its client to provide an aviation service to the exact specification it requires, based on the client’s request to use its own cabin or flight crew. “In these cases, it’s about being flexible, listening, understanding what the requirement is and structuring a contract to meet that specific requirement,” says Adams. The establishment of a number of operational bases across the continent, where the Solenta Group holds Air Operator Certificates (AOCs) has also strengthened the firm’s ability to provide flexible aviation solutions to its clients. The Solenta Group currently holds AOCs in eight countries across Africa from Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique in the East, Zimbabwe and South Africa in the South, Gabon and the Ivory Coast along the West coast and Algeria, (through joint venture with a local partner) in the North of the continent. These national aviation approval certificates ensure that the Solenta Group’s clients gain a smooth entry platform into these destinations. Solenta’s operational bases
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AVIATION | Solenta Group
have been particularly useful to DHL as it
In particular, the Solenta Group is looking
navigates its business across Africa.
towards expanding into full ownership of Embraer E190 aircraft models, which has
“Our operational bases mean that we
driven a recent Solenta Group shareholder
can provide DHL with a single source of
investment into AIM-listed airline, Fastjet.
aircraft over multiple countries, rather than having to deal with individual operators in
The Solenta Group acquired a 28% stake in
each separate country.
the African low-cost carrier as part of a $48 million equity deal, which was completed in
“This gives all the benefits of having single
January 2017.
points of contact for a company like DHL that requires multi-country support.”
Continuing expansion
Furthermore, the Solenta Group has also recently signed a two-year partnership with StandardAero, who will provide a range of
Looking towards the future of the Solenta
Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO)
Group, Adams reiterates the company’s
services to the Solenta Group’s growing fleet.
ambition to continue growing its fleet and capacity in order to better serve its current
With these recent developments set to
customers and partners across several
pave the way for the further expansion and
industries.
African Business Network
upgrading of the Solenta Group’s fleet, the
This is reflected in the Solenta Group’s
firm is also looking to expand its customer
rudimentary presence in countries such as
base on not only a continental level, but also
Senegal, Mali, Nigeria and DR Congo, along
a global level across several areas of business
with countries in the Middle East including
including humanitarian aid and the oil and
Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen, where the
gas industry.
Solenta Group holds strategic alliances with or has AOC’s currently in progress.
“We’re looking to secure support of more scheduled airlines, which involves providing
“Our aim is basically just to expand on
aircraft on lease to scheduled airlines around
what we are doing now into more parts of
the world.
the world, with a broader customer base, working with more oil and gas companies
“We also want to continue growing our
and with larger and newer aircraft.”
support for DHL across other regions of the world where we are negotiating with local operators to provide them with aircraft that they will then operate for DHL in their regions.”
CONTACT http://www.solenta.com +27 11 707 4000 info@solenta.com
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