VZCZCXYZ0049
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFR #1717/01 1201447
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301447Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6832
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 6525
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEPINS/HQ BICE INTEL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS PARIS 001717 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETTC KOMC FR
SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: PRE-LICENSE END-USE CHECK ON 
APPLICATION 050038126 
 
REF: SECSTATE 43252 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  On April 12, emboffs conducted a 
pre-license check on application 050038126 for the export of 
12 filter assemblies to Sabena Technics in France via the UK. 
 Sabena Technics has a good reputation in the aircraft 
maintenance field, and post has no derogatory information 
about the company.  The company services both civilian and 
military aircraft.  On the military side, Sabena Technics 
only services NATO, French, Dutch, and Belgian military 
aircraft.  The firm has the plant necessary to perform its 
services and the office space required to provide 
administrative support.  It has strict security procedures, 
particularly in the parts of its facilities that store spare 
parts and service military aircraft.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On April 12, econoff and APP Rennes Commercial 
Specialist conducted a pre-license check on application 
050038126 for the export of CASA CN235 aircraft spare parts 
to France via the UK.  We met with Sabena Technics Quality 
Assurance Manager Olivier Lefevre, Subcontacting Department 
Head Gildas Grasland, and Executive Strategic Buyer Peter 
Woodward. 
 
Company History - From Regional Airline to Aircraft 
Maintenance Specialist 
============================================= ====== 
 
¶3. (SBU) Sabena Technics has a good reputation in the 
aircraft maintenance field, and post has no derogatory 
information about the company.  Our American Presence Post in 
Rennes had contacts within the firm, and had intended to 
provide the company with a list of suppliers before this case 
arose.  Sabena reps gave us an overview of their operations 
and their firm's history.  The company was founded in 1969 as 
Touraine Air Transport, a regional airline that also leased 
aircraft and had a maintenance arm.  This group evolved into 
the TAT group, a 600-member firm that focused primarily on 
aircraft maintenance.  TAT doubled its workforce when it 
acquired the Nimes maintenance facility of the AOM Group, a 
maintenance arm of regional airlines Minerve and Air 
Outremer.  The acquisition of AOM also allowed TAT to expand 
into the maintenance of wide-bodied aircraft.  In 2005, TAT 
Industries acquired Brussels-based firm Sabena Technics, 
adopting its name.  Sabena Technics was originally the 
maintenance arm of Belgium-based Sabena Airlines, which later 
spun it off.  This acquisition expanded the company's 
workforce to 3,300, with 1,100 working in Brussels.  The firm 
now has an annual turnover of 300 million euros (USD 390 
million) and 150,000 square meters of space for hangers and 
workshops.  It is not involved in any missile, nuclear, 
chemical, or biological programs. 
 
Broad Array of Operations 
========================= 
 
¶4. (SBU) Throughthese acquisitions, Sabena has become 
involved in a broad array of aircraft maintenance activities. 
It provides repairs, service, painting, and hydraulic 
component support services for both regional aircraft and 
wide-bodied aircraft.  The facility we visited in Dinard, the 
firm's original repair facility and the company's 
headquarters, only services regional aircraft of up to 100 
seats.  The company also offers a complete range of landing 
gear, wheels, and brakes. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Sabena Technics also modifies and upgrades military 
aircraft.  The company states that it is an authorized 
Lockheed Hercules service center since 1977, and it complies 
with NATO Allied Quality Assurance Standards.  Since 1988, 
Sabena Technics has serviced NATO's B707 AWACS training cargo 
aircraft.  It also performs maintenance operations for the 
national air forces of France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. 
Sabena Technics has established relationships with all of 
these entities.  The firm has the plant necessary to perform 
its services and the office space required to provide 
administrative support. 
 
Security 
======== 
 
¶6. (SBU) Sabena Technics understands the restrictions of U.S. 
military list articles, including its re-export provisions. 
The Dinard headquarters of Sabena Technics was located at the 
Dinard airport.  The entire facility is fenced in with one 
control point.  We, like all other visitors, had to provide 
 
an official ID (national ID card or passport) and be 
accompanied during our entire visit.  Company personnel must 
inform Security in advance of the arrival of all visitors. 
Sabena Technics has a Security Manager who has six full-time 
employees working for him.  They man the control booth, 
monitor surveillance cameras, and walk around the site. 
Someone from Security is on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a 
week.  All employees must wear their badges, which specify 
the areas to which the employees have access.  Sabena 
Technics services military aircraft in dedicated areas that 
are also fenced off.  Surveillance cameras monitor these 
areas and other zones that contain spare parts to prevent 
unauthorized access and theft.  To obtain a badge that allows 
entrance to these sensitive areas, employees undergo 
dedicated training.  After the 8 AM to 6 PM office hours, 
administrative staff no longer have access to the sensitive 
areas. 
 
Customers 
========= 
 
¶7. (SBU) Sabena Technics does not do business or have 
contacts with embargoed countries or entities.  Fifty percent 
of Sabena's clients are French.  Eighty to ninety percent of 
the aircraft the firm services is manufactured in Europe. 
Its clients also include African and Indian Subcontinent 
airlines, but Sabena Technics provides no servicing for 
military aircraft from these countries.  Its supplies come 
exclusively from Europe and North America.  The firm mainly 
sources its parts in the U.S. from OEM general brokers. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Sabena Technics placed orders for filter assemblies 
in 2005, 2006, and 2007.  However, it requested that we 
provide the order number associated with export license 
number 05-0038126 before confirming whether it had ordered a 
filter assembly associated with that particular license. 
Sabena Technics did not have the export license numbers since 
Eaton Corporation applied for the license, not Sabena. 
 
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm 
 
STAPLETON