Will Bring Development, Manufacture, Certification, And
Maintenance Under One Roof
A groundbreaking ceremony at Eurocopter’s German site in
Donauwörth Friday marked the official start of construction
work on the company’s new integrated development center, part
of the Systemhaus project. This unique high-tech platform, due to
be completed in 2012, positions the world’s leading
helicopter manufacturer squarely for the future.
With the Systemhaus project, Donauwörth will concentrate
all the resources, skills and equipment required to develop,
manufacture, certify and maintain helicopters in one location.
Development activities that currently are located at
Eurocopter’s Ottobrunn site will be integrated into the new
building complex, which will have a surface area of 30,000 square
meters and is to be situated adjacent to the plant’s existing
assembly facilities. Furthermore, it offers the opportunity to
concentrate activities that today are divided between different
locations both in Donauwörth and in Ottobrunn. Some 900
Eurocopter employees will move into this future-oriented innovative
development center.
“The Systemhaus project is an integral part of
Eurocopter’s Vision 2020 strategy and will form the basis for
a promising helicopter technology site in Germany – pooling
all the necessary key competencies to develop, manufacture and
maintain rotary-wing aircraft at one location and securing these
capabilities for the future,” said Lutz Bertling, President
& CEO of the Eurocopter Group. “This undertaking not only
brings together development and production activities, it also will
accelerate processes by making it possible to create integrated
teams. The new development center will help us to successfully
develop and manufacture innovative helicopters more quickly, and it
will make a substantial contribution towards maintaining
Eurocopter’s lead in the international rotary-wing
marketplace.”
In the future, this new integrated development center will host
development activities, along with the System Support Center which
is run in cooperation with the German Army. Research facilities,
simulators and test benches will all be located on the ground
floor, while office space on the floor above will follow a flexible
office-concept – allowing creativity and a communicative
exchange. The communication-friendly building offers an ideal
environment for linking competencies in development areas such as
aerodynamics, rotor systems, airframe design and avionics, creating
a pleasant working environment for everyone.
For Eurocopter, the prudent use of resources is not only
important in the lifecycle of a newly-developed helicopter. From
the outset, the Systemhaus project planning process emphasized
environmentally-friendly and innovative construction. Therefore the
building features geothermal heating and groundwater cooling, as
well as “green” roofs that can be walked on. There will
also be several charging stations for electric vehicles. Staff from
the existing Ottobrunn site will relocate to Donauwörth once
construction work has been completed in late 2012. Approximately
780 Ottobrunn employees are affected by the transition.
“Our goal is to accommodate all staff and skills from
Ottobrunn in Donauwörth,” said Friedrich Hormel,
Director of Human Resources and Senior Vice President of Eurocopter
Deutschland GmbH. “We currently are collaborating with the
works council, especially to support the relocation and integration
– offering future-oriented working conditions at the
Donauwörth site, and introducing the option of mobile
working.”
Systemhaus is part of Eurocopter’s SHAPE global
transformation program, which will see the company invest more than
1.3 billion euros in research and development between 2010 and
2014. These investments will be directed to new helicopter
programs, as well as the global expansion of support and service
activities. At the same time, Eurocopter will invest an additional
1 billion euros in site modernization to strengthen its market
position and extend the company’s international
footprint.
“The new Systemhaus integrated development center will
make a major contribution to our competitiveness, and it marks an
important footprint for Eurocopter’s future in
Germany,” Wolfgang Schoder, the CEO of Eurocopter Deutschland
GmbH, said. “By relocating activities from Ottobrunn to
Donauwörth, the company not only stands to reduce site costs,
it also will be able to increase overall efficiency by optimizing
processes and leveraging technical and commercial
synergies.”