Snecma and ITR Create CFM Service Company in Mexico

French-based Snecma Services and Mexico-based ITR last month signed an agreement to create a company dubbed Snecma America Engine Services (Sames) for CFM56 engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). The joint venture is owned 51 percent by Snecma Services and 49 percent by ITR, itself a subsidiary of Spanish engine maker ITP. Based in Querétaro, northwest Mexico, Sames is to start operation early in 2008. It will provide operators with MRO services for CFM56-5 and CFM56-7 engines in the Americas. The investment is valued at $20 million. Mexican airline Mexicana is Sames' first customer. It chose the new company to provide MRO services for its CFM56-5B turbofans over the next 20 years.