Merged South West/US firm lands Rolls-Royce’s aviation safety system business
An aircraft safety system developed by aerospace giant Rolls-Royce has been acquired by a firm formed 15 months ago through the merger of a South West-based specialist software developer and a major US business.
Bristol-headquartered Vistair linked up with Comply365 in January last year to create a global data intelligence technology group operating in more than 30 countries on six continents.
Vistair had been launched in the early 1990s when founder Ian Herbert saw a gap in the market for online technical manuals and document handling.
It rapidly became the leading player in the market, sealing lucrative contracts with major airlines across the world, including British Airways, Delta, easyJet, AirAsia and Emirates.
By combining with Wisconsin-headquartered Comply365, it became part of a business supplying global-leading operational content, safety and training management for the aviation, rail, defence and space industries in 120 countries worldwide.
Now, having consolidated under the Comply365 brand last summer, it has snapped up Rolls-Royce’s safety and compliance management systems (SMS) operations.
The system, described by Rolls-Royce as the most popular in the aviation sector, uses safety, quality and risk management principles to facilitate a “cycle of continuous improvement” for aircraft maintenance, safety checks and pilots’ records.
Rolls-Royce, which has its main military aircraft engine operations in Bristol, said it does this by using a variety of flexible and easy-to-use tools, including mobile apps, to support each phase of the process.
It is used by 90 operators in 45 countries, including aviation service provider AirTanker, which has deployed it on the Royal Air Force’s fleet of Voyager aircraft, including end-to-end maintenance, military and civil flying programmes, training and major aircraft upgrades.
As part of the change in ownership, the Rolls-Royce SMS solution will revert to its former name of AQD.
Comply365 said the acquisition would further strengthen its product capabilities and service offering in safety management and add a significant number of leading aviation customers to its global customer base.
It also said AQD ‘s sophisticated SMS offering would complement its existing Vistair-developed SMS product SafetyNet and one developed by ASQS, a Luxembourg-based SMS firm it acquired in January.
Comply365 CEO Ilia Kostov said the combination of these “best-in-class” SMS offerings and additional domain expertise would further position Comply365 as a trusted player in the safety management space.
“The acquisition of AQD, along with our recently announced acquisition of ASQS, reinforces our commitment to driving investment and innovation in safety management,” he added.
“These acquisitions strengthen our vision for creating a best-in-class, integrated offering that connects the essential functions of operational content management, safety management and training management.”
Pez Kooner, senior vice president at Rolls-Royce, said: “As part of our ongoing transformation, Rolls-Royce has made the decision to exit our SMS business and complete a share sale with Comply365.
“I’d like to thank the Rolls-Royce SMS team for their hard work and dedication to our customers. I know this level of professionalism will continue under the new management and I wish the team all the success at Comply365.”
Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
Rolls-Royce’s Filton plant in Bristol employs around 3,400 people making engines for key defence programmes such as the EJ200, which powers the RAF’s Eurofighter Typhoon, and the short-take off and vertical landing (STOVL) capability for the US-built F-35 combat aircraft.
