RAS SAAR Grows at Saarbrücken Airport
MP Oliver Luksic Visits the Aircraft Maintenance Company – Focus on Regional Aircraft – Many New Hires Planned in Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken, February 3, 2025
Since the end of last year, the new company logo has been prominently displayed on the hangar – twice. The new logo of RAS SAAR GmbH is clearly visible from both the apron and the access road to Saarbrücken Airport. Oliver Luksic, FDP, expressed his admiration during his visit for the work being done on aircraft that are up to 40 meters long and 10 meters high, which are maintained in the hangars. The Saarland member of parliament informed himself about the company’s operations and future plans, which emerged from the merger of the previous shipyards of Aviation Technik Saar (ATS) and Contact Air Technik GmbH (CAT). Together with RAS SAAR’s two managing directors, Thomas Knäpper and Thomas von Hake, he discussed the challenges faced by RAS SAAR and many other medium-sized companies.
“We want to grow in Saarbrücken and further develop the location,” said Thomas Knäpper, who is responsible for production. RAS SAAR specializes in the maintenance of medium-sized aircraft types, known as regional jets, which are primarily used for feeder flights. The Embraer E-Jet family, with its 80 to 130 seats, now regularly finds its way to Saarbrücken Airport. Depending on the strictly regulated maintenance cycles in aviation, these aircraft may be in one of RAS SAAR’s three large hangars for either 14 days or several months.
Thomas von Hake – responsible for personnel and finance – identifies the shortage of skilled workers as the biggest challenge for growth: “In the short term, we want to hire over 50 new employees. However, the supply of aircraft mechanics is very limited. Therefore, we are focusing on transformation companies here in Saarland and hope to attract tech-savvy employees who are no longer employed by ZF or Ford.” Additionally, bureaucratic hurdles when hiring foreign skilled workers in aviation pose problems for the company. Von Hake hopes for relief from politics: “The shortage of skilled workers threatens innovation and economic growth in Germany. Like many industries, aviation suffers from lengthy and bureaucratic visa processes. We demand fast and digitized procedures and modern immigration rules. Germany must become attractive for talents instead of keeping them away through bureaucracy,” says Oliver Luksic.
Another issue is competitiveness at Germany’s location. “Competitors, especially in Southeast Europe, can offer maintenance services at significantly lower labor costs. Here we need to score points with quality and shorter turnaround times because every day on the ground costs airlines a lot of money,” Knäpper explains. To remain internationally competitive, companies in Germany need fair framework conditions, according to Luksic: “Instead of burdening locations with taxes and bureaucracy, I call for consistent relief for businesses through tax reforms, reduction of bureaucracy, and investments in modern infrastructure. Only then can we compete with countries that have an advantage due to lower labor costs.”
The medium-sized sector is the backbone of the economy, especially in Saarland. “The FDP advocates for innovation-friendly framework conditions at all levels. We demand a reduction in bureaucracy and tax relief so that more resources remain within companies to be reinvested rather than being taken by the state as tax revenue and then distributed as subsidies to a few. Only when entrepreneurs have enough room to maneuver and ‘breathing space’ can businesses develop properly,” says Oliver Luksic.
“To be able to maintain additional aircraft types like the Airbus A220 or Embraer E2-Jet in the future, we have already made significant investments in tools and staff training,” says von Hake. Investments in new technologies and tools ensure long-term success and competitiveness for companies, believes Luksic: “That’s why we want to consider special depreciation for movable assets and real estate based on previous funding area laws. For example, special depreciation could be granted on investment costs in the first year to provide companies with an immediate incentive to invest in infrastructure, production facilities or commercial properties. This could lead to a real investment boom.”
The FDP also calls for simplification and digitization of processes in export areas: “Companies must be able to focus on their core business instead of being hindered by complex regulations. A practical reform of export controls is long overdue,” says Luksic.
Renaming Last Year
In July 2023, Rheinland Air Service GmbH based in Mönchengladbach took over Aviation Technik Saar (ATS) at Saarbrücken Airport. Last year, former Contact Air Technik (CAT) was finally merged with ATS into RAS SAAR. The three halls with a total area of 3,200 square meters can accommodate up to seven E-Jet category aircraft simultaneously. The airport with its generous 2,500-meter-long runway offers optimal facilities for handling large regional jets or comparable aircraft types.