Thu, Nov 27, 2008
Albacete Plant To Deliver More Than 12 Helos In 2009
Lutz Bertling, President and CEO of Eurocopter and Juan Carlos
Martinez Saiz, CEO of Eurocopter in Spain, handed over the first
EC135 manufactured in Albacete to the Ministry of Defence for the
operations of the UME (Spanish Army Response Unit) Wednesday.
This delivery is a major milestone for Eurocopter and for Spain.
It is the first time that a helicopter is manufactured, assembled
and delivered in Spain, an achievement which fully meets the goal
set at the inauguration of Eurocopter’s plant in Albacete,
southeast of Madrid.
Opened in March 2007, this plant now employs 400 people and is
scheduled to have a workforce of 700 by the end of 2010. It was
designed to incorporate the highest levels of technology with the
aim of developing a permanent helicopter industry with full
manufacturing competence in Spain.
The EC135 assembly line in Albacete is one of Eurocopter’s
two final assembly lines for this light twin-engine helicopter, the
other being in Donauworth, Germany. The EC135 is a multipurpose
helicopter renowned worldwide for emergency medical services and
law enforcement missions. More than 700 units have been delivered
to 160 clients in 40 countries. Over 40 EC135s are currently
operated in Spain.
In 2009, Eurocopter aims to deliver over a dozen EC135s from its
Spanish facility. The production of these aircraft, in addition to
the manufacturing of the fuselage rear sections of the Tiger and
the fuselage forward sections of the NH90, consolidates the role of
Albacete as Eurocopter’s third pillar. Eurocopter in Spain
also offers the following services: engineering, customization,
delivery and logistic activities, with complete responsibility for
customer support, marketing and program management.
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