Flightcare is the number one Spanish operator in the European Union.
Europe and the Near East will be the new company's top priority markets.
Flightcare was presented today by Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas as the company's new brand for operations in the handling sector.
This project is included within the expansion and internationalization policy taken on by FCC Group in services, confirming yet again the zeal of the company for providing their current and future clients with efficient, high-quality assistance.
The creation of a unique brand and an exclusive company which consolidates all of FCC's handling activities will allow the company to work more closely on the development strategy of its services, together with Construcción y Cemento, one of the strategic pillars of the Group.
In the words of Marcelino Oreja, President of FCC: ''Flightcare will reflect the primary characteristics of the Group: a dynamic business and rapid consolidation in the market due to the quality of service and a sustained rhythm of growth - combined to make us an important global operator in Spain and throughout Europe''.
The new company is established with a social capital of 25 million Euros and assets totaling 48 million Euros. They currently provide services to more than 100 airline companies throughout the world, with a total staff of 3500 employees serving close to 36 million passengers per year. During the year 2002, Flightcare will serve more than 160,000 weighted flights.
In 2003, Flightcare estimates an annual turnover in excess of 200 million Euros.
Flightcare holds an important position in freight services as well, and foresees a total of more than 200,000 tons for the year 2002.
Flightcare is the leading ground services provider in the Belgian market - one of the European markets with the highest potential. Located in Brussels, FCC has been the sole operator since October 2002 under the name Belgian Group Services (BGS). In the Brussels airport, Flightcare serves 16 million passengers and has a staff of some 1500 employees.
With these figures, Flightcare is the number one Spanish operator of handling services within the European Union.
The contract in Brussels also serves as a launch platform for the company in the rest of Europe, as well as for all those interesting opportunities which may arise in emerging markets.
As proof of this commitment, Flightcare has signed a strategic alliance with the Turkish operator Çelebi, through which both companies will exchange staff members for training and improvement, cooperate in quality control, environmental management and the prevention of occupational hazards, as well as carry out joint actions with dealers and suppliers.
Rafael Montes, vice president of the Group and person responsible for the services area on which Flightcare relies, added that, ''it is the intention of FCC to participate in new tenders organized in Spain and in those new international projects which may arise in the future through the brand Flightcare''.
A company with authority.
FCC began providing ground care services to airlines in 1994 after obtaining a license to operate in the Las Palmas airport in the Canary Islands. Since then, FCC has operated through an alliance with Air Europa under the brand names Eurohandling and Iberhandling.
Flightcare will continue to work together with Eurohandling until the completion of the 9 concessions which are currently in force: Barcelona, Bilbao, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Málaga, Santiago, Seville and Valencia.
FCC has developed an intense activity in freight services through the acquisition in 2001 of the Aldeasa-Ogden shares of the Madrid and Barcelona airports.
FCC is the number one public service management group in Spain. In the first nine months of 2002, the Group's turnover reached 4.037 billion Euros, an increase of 6.3% as compared to the same period of the previous year. The company's net profits grew during this period by 14.4% over those of 2001, reaching a total of 201.4 million Euros. In September, FCC employed a total of 55,275 people.
