18 February 2026
MarathonNorco and Etihad Engineering establish OEM Authorised Repair Station partnership
Abu Dhabi, UAE: MarathonNorco, a leading aerospace manufacturing company, announced a new partnership with Etihad Engineering, one of the world’s leading aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service providers, to authorise its Abu Dhabi facility as an OEM Authorised Repair Station for MarathonNorco-manufactured hold open rods used on commercial and cargo aircraft.
Under the planned authorisation, Etihad Engineering will be approved to perform OEM-authorised test, repair, and overhaul services for MarathonNorco-built hold open rods across a wide range of commercial and cargo aircraft platforms, including narrowbody and widebody fleets. Fully capable operations are expected to roll out ahead of summer 2026.
This partnership strengthens MarathonNorco’s global aftermarket support network by expanding approved repair capacity, improving turnaround times, and enhancing access to OEM-authorised services for operators worldwide. By adding authorised capability in the Middle East, MarathonNorco and Etihad Engineering aim to provide more responsive and geographically aligned support to airline and cargo customers.
Daniel Hoffmann, CEO of Etihad Engineering, said: “Being appointed a licensed repair station by MarathonNorco reflects our commitment to delivering OEM-standard maintenance for critical aircraft components. This agreement allows us to offer customers from across the globe consistent, certified, and dependable services while further enhancing the breadth and depth of our component maintenance capabilities.”
Kyle Kimel, Business Unit Manager at MarathonNorco, said: “Selecting Etihad Engineering as an OEM Authorised Repair Station extends MarathonNorco’s OEM-approved aftermarket capability and expands global access to high-quality, OEM-aligned support. Etihad Engineering is a proven partner with the technical depth and operational discipline required to support global fleets at scale.”
Mahmood Al Hameli, Group CEO of Abu Dhabi Aviation (ADA), stated: “This new capability is in line with our Group’s long-term commitment to organic growth through capability enhancement and development of local expertise. This not only expands our service offering but also creates greater resilience and improved responsiveness to our customers.”
The OEM Authorised Repair Station capability will support MarathonNorco-manufactured hold open rods installed across a broad range of commercial aircraft and cargo platforms, including Airbus A320, A330, A340, A350, and A380 families, as well as Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, and 787 aircraft.