Auckland firm flying high with airport contract

System Controls from Avondale is to help Santiago's international airport with a $10 million revamp of its baggage operations.

An Auckland firm has won a major contract to help install baggage systems at Chile's Santiago International Airport.

System Controls, an industrial automation and electrical design and build company, has won a contract worth about $1.5 million as part of a $10 million revamp of the airport's baggage system.

The Avondale company has been working in Australasia during the past few years, including at larger Australian regional airports where hold baggage screening demands required the installation of new equipment.

However, opportunities in this region were dwindling, with Qantas cutting back on capital spending at its terminals in Australia, said sales director Phil Bates.

"In the foreseeable future we don't see there's going to be a lot more investment in those areas, hence the strategic move to be a little more far-reaching and look further afield.

"Despite the downturn there is still a lot of opportunity in the Americas. That's why we've tried to position ourselves closer to the US-based companies because there's better visibility," Bates said.

Systems Control used to subcontract for Glidepath, a larger baggage handling systems firm in Auckland, but was forming stronger alliances with overseas companies.

The Santiago job would provide a significant boost for the company, which employs 45 workers and has annual turnover of around $10 million.