HiSERV Opens 650-Square-Meter Airside GSE Workshop at Copenhagen

HiSERV began operating a 650-square-meter ground support equipment workshop at Copenhagen Airport on Nov. 1, positioning maintenance capacity directly on the apron rather than off-airport. The facility sits in the airport's cargo area, with direct airside access that lets customers move equipment from their operations to the workshop without leaving the secure zone.

The property owner invested approximately DKK 3 million — roughly $430,000 — in renovating the facility, according to the company. A dedicated team of GSE maintenance specialists staffs the site. HiSERV said the operation can scale to 24-hour service if customer demand warrants it, though it has not committed to a date for that step.

Why Copenhagen, and why now?

The investment follows a year of commercial growth: HiSERV added seven customers in Copenhagen over the past twelve months. The company now supports more than 250 pieces of GSE at the airport.

Electric equipment accounts for more than 90% of that fleet — a figure that matters operationally, because electric GSE carries different maintenance requirements from diesel counterparts, particularly around batteries, chargers and high-voltage systems. A workshop co-located with the equipment it serves shortens the repair loop and reduces the time units spend out of service.

Rasmus Dyre, managing director of HiSERV Norway and Denmark, framed the opening in both practical and environmental terms. "The new workshop puts us right where our customers operate, and gives us the space to grow with them," Dyre said.

He added: "With a fleet that is already more than 90 per cent electric, we want to be the driving force behind a cleaner, quieter apron in Copenhagen." That ambition is a statement of intent; the workshop itself is a maintenance facility, not an electrification program. The two claims should be kept separate.

What the facility changes

For ground handlers at Copenhagen, the concrete benefit is proximity. Equipment that previously required transport to a remote workshop can now be serviced within the airport perimeter, with airside access from the apron. That reduces logistical friction and, in principle, turnaround time for repairs.

The scale of the operation is modest. At 650 square meters — roughly the footprint of two tennis courts — the workshop is a maintenance site, not a heavy-overhaul base. The DKK 3 million renovation figure signals an incremental investment sized to the seven new customers and 250-plus units it will serve.

The staffing model is deliberately lean: a dedicated specialist team, with expansion to round-the-clock coverage contingent on demonstrated demand. HiSERV has not disclosed headcount.

The electric context

The more than 90% electric share of HiSERV's Copenhagen fleet reflects a broader industry shift. Airports across Europe face mounting pressure, regulatory and commercial, to cut emissions on the apron, and electric pushback tractors, baggage tugs and belt loaders are the primary instruments of that change.

Maintenance capability on the ground has to follow the equipment. A fleet that is overwhelmingly electric needs technicians trained for it and workshops equipped for it, which is precisely the gap this facility addresses. HiSERV describes the Copenhagen opening as part of wider efforts to expand GSE maintenance services and support the transition to electric ground handling equipment.

Whether the 24-hour service option is activated, and how quickly the facility's capacity fills, will be the measurable tests of the investment. For now, Copenhagen's apron has one more workshop — and its electric fleet has somewhere closer to home for repairs.