The Aviation Factory (Antwerp) acquires Dutch tour operator TradeFairs

The Antwerp aviation company The Aviation Factory has taken over the activities of the Dutch niche tour operator TradeFairs. Both companies have been working together for more than 10 years and ensure that business travellers can visit trade fairs in an easy and efficient way.

“I am very pleased that The Aviation Factory continues my life’s work“, says TradeFairs director Rob Maurits. “The activities of TradeFairs are housed in the new company Tribus.aero. Tribus, or tribe, reflects our purpose because we fly people from the same ‘tribe’ to a certain destination. For more than 20 years, TradeFairs has brought business people from specific sectors to trade fairs such as the IT trade fair Cebit in Hanover or the biennial offshore trade fair ONS in Stavanger, Norway. Tribus now wants to apply this gained knowledge and experience to other ‘tribes’. Just think of football fans who want to attend a match abroad, Harley Davidson fans who want to visit a motorcycle event or fans of old cars going to an old-timer fair.”

“The Aviation Factory is not only the market leader in the Benelux for the organisation of customised air transport but also a laboratory for creative initiatives. Our group includes, for example, Vizion Air, the first Belgian boutique airline, Vintage Flights that rents warbirds such as the legendary P51 Mustang, and Zeus.aero that organizes cargo flights,” said Carl Legein, CEO of The Aviation Factory. “As a niche tour operator, TradeFairs has built a solid reputation and has often used Vizion Air’s aircraft and services in the past. The takeover of the TradeFairs activities is, therefore, a nice addition to our existing offer.”

Rob Maurits will continue his work at TradeFairs. Thomas Van Meerbeeck, a partner at The Aviation Factory and head of the private jets department, will strengthen the TradeFairs team. The TradeFairs operational centre moves to Antwerp Airport.

Antwerp, 31 July 2018