Summer 2022

DENGE celebrates 40 years of success

DENGE celebrates 40 years of success

Istanbul, Turkey-based GSE supplier DENGE Airport Equipment has developed a lightweight, towable transfer platform that can be used by passengers – including passengers with reduced mobility (PRM) in wheelchairs – to board and leave regional aircraft. It is the latest development in the portfolio of a company that is celebrating 40 years in the GSE business

The transfer platform has a telescopic design and can be easily moved around by just one handler. The service height can be adjusted from 1m up to 1.5m; it features stainless steel guard rails flanking the walkway and the front end is fitted with bumper protection.
It has four hydraulically controlled stabiliser legs, ensuring that it stands firmly on the ground. Solar panel-supported lighting facilitates night operations (it comes with an onboard 220V battery).
The platform requires little maintenance, being made of hot-dip galvanised metal.
Murat Denge, managing director of DENGE Airport Equipment, explains that the transfer platform was launched in March this year, with final approval for the design having been reached in January. It was specifically produced to meet a customer’s demands and, in fact, that customer was involved in its design phase.
The first unit has been delivered to this customer, Murat Denge confirms.
The unit was designed for smaller (lower) aircraft like ATRs and CRJs, where the customer can combine regular passenger and PRM boarding at the same time, even if the aircraft has its own stair. Using the transfer platform, a handler can minimise ground time turnaround by having all passengers board from the platform.
The transfer platform adds to DENGE GSE’s growing portfolio, where offering environmentally friendly GSE is one focus. Stairs are already available in an electric version, while a DENGE electric ambulift version is also expected to be ready for sale later this year. Other cost-effective products that ease operational efforts are “on the way”, Murat Denge informs.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of DENGE Airport Equipment. “Because every year of the company is valuable in a different way, we are not having a specific celebration for the 40th anniversary,” says Murat Denge. However, a small in-house celebration was held in the form of a short after-work event.
Murat Denge has experienced 25 years of those 40 years, and, he says, “We are improving and expanding every year.”
The biggest ‘low’ has been the aviation business’ crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, he observes, “But together with the industry we were able to overcome.”
Today, DENGE is well positioned to benefit from the ongoing recovery in the GSE market. “As always, we try to offer the best in the quality at a very reasonable cost,” says Murat Denge. “We have never manufactured cheap products, but neither have we ever had any customer dissatisfaction.
“Our aim has been to be a well-known worldwide player [in GSE manufacturing] and, in this regard, we see ourselves as next to the industry’s leaders.”
What about the next 40 years? What do they hold in store? “I expect the industry will change: there will be more private air transportation, rather than public, like it is now; however, the need for GSE will still be there.
“Moreover, there will be more autonomy in terms of GSE, especially in relation to the docking processes.
“Above all, we wish for good health and a ‘virus-less’ 40 years. We lost my father and the company’s founder in early January, who was always an important guide and influence for us; we once more realised that a healthy future is always a priority,” Murat Denge concludes.

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