KUALA LUMPUR (April 5): Automotive leather upholstery maker Pecca Group Bhd has reached a new milestone as the first and only Malaysian company to be certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The certification comes on the heels of Pecca’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Pecca Aviation Services Sdn Bhd (PASSB), receiving a Production Organisation Approval (POA) certificate from the agency.

In a statement on Wednesday (April 5), Pecca said the POA, which is valid indefinitely unless revoked, certifies that PASSB is compliant with European Union regulations.

The approved scope of work under the POA certificate are wrapping, cutting and sewing of leather or fabric for aircraft seat dress covers, headrest covers and armrest covers.

The POA certificate is expected to contribute positively to Pecca’s earnings going forward.

Chief Executive Officer of Pecca Group Foo Ken Nee said the aviation segment is one of Pecca’s key pillars and the EASA certification will certainly accelerate the segment’s revenue growth.

“The POA certificate will provide us the platform to connect and serve with all types of aircraft globally registered under the EASA principles and guidelines. The certification will enable PASSB to have a competitive edge among the POA industry players in Malaysia, ASEAN and globally."

He added this will provide further business opportunities to expand the customer portfolio of PASSB globally, in addition to the existing customer base that only serves Malaysian registered aircraft including private jets and helicopters, under the CAAM Part 145 AMO C6 rating (Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia).

With certification from the EASA, Pecca said it is poised to command  better pricing and margins for its aircraft upholstery offerings compared to the normal car seats it currently manufactures.

“In addition, given the fact that there are not many players in the aircraft upholstery manufacturing landscape, this would better position Pecca in capturing future opportunities in the market,” the company said.

The group is currently in the midst of expanding its production capacity to about 40,000 seats per month — from 20,000 to 22,000 seats — upon completion of its second manufacturing facility in Serendah.

Shares of Pecca closed unchanged at RM1.02 per share, giving the company a market capitalization of RM767.04 million.