FRANCE: BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: CHECK ON EURL AOG AERO-

UNCLAS PARIS 000072

SIPDIS

STATE FOR PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETTC KOMC FR
SUBJECT: FRANCE: BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: CHECK ON EURL AOG AERO-
SPARES COMPANY REGISTERED AS BROKER UNDER ITAR 129

REF: STATE 227984


1. As requested in reftel, post conducted a site visit to French
company EURL AOG Aero-Spares, to check on the bona fides of this
company as a registered broker and to verify the physical
location of the operation and the nature of the business that
the company conducts. Following paragraphs address questions
posed in reftel.


2. Can the company's address of operations be confirmed? Yes.
The company is a sole proprietorship operated by Olivier Calvez
from his home. The address is 9 rue des Mesanges, 85600
Montaigu, France, as indicated in reftel. AOG Aero-Spares also
leases a small amount of warehouse space at the Zone d'Activites
Mirville (Mirville Industrial Park),85600 Bouffere. It hopes
to lease larger warehouse space in the near future, but will
continue to operate the business from Mr. Calvez' home.


3. What type of business does the company conduct? The company
acts as a broker for the purchase and sale of parts for both the
military and commercial versions of the C-130 aircraft (aka L-
100 for the commercial version) and its T56 engine (aka 501D).
The company has four principal customers -- Wood Group
Turbopower (Florida),Rolls-Royce (Oakland, CA),SIGMA (UK),and
Aviquipo (Portugal). The company deals with both OEM and OH
parts. It does not do drop shipment transactions -- all parts
are sent to AOG Aero-Spares which looks them over before sending
them on to the end user. Aero-Spares also does not certify
parts. Instead it forwards the manufacturer's original
certification to the end user with the part.


4. Does the company have a contractual relationship with any
U.S. companies? Yes. AOG Aero-Spares acts as European sales
representative for Wood Group Turbopower, Inc., 14820 NW 60th
Avenue, Miami Lakes, Florida 33014.


5. Does the company hold proper licensing to conduct business
relating to military goods? The company deals almost
exclusively in dual-use items, as the same parts can be used on
both the military and commercial versions of the C-130 aircraft
and its engine. The company is registered with the French
Ministry of Defense. On the rare occasions when the company has
brokered transactions involving exclusively military parts, it
has obtained a license from the French government for each non-
French end user. This is true even if the end user is another
EU country. In the case of military parts obtained in the U.S.,
the manufacturer is required to obtain the necessary export
license from the State Department.

Leach