US embassy cable - 05PARIS72

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