Expanded Space Could Eventually Contain A Helicopter Final Assembly Line

AgustaWestland's Brazilian subsidiary AgustaWestland Do Brasil is to undergo a major expansion with the building of a new facility in Sao Paulo which will include maintenance hangars with space that could accommodate a helicopter final assembly line, training center, bonded warehouse, workshops and other supporting services including a dedicated heliport. Construction of the new facility is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2014.

Announcing the plan at LABACE in Sao Paulo, Daniele Romiti, CEO of AgustaWestland, said Brazil is a very important and growing market for AgustaWestland. "So it gives me great pleasure to be able to announce this plan today as we continue to grow our business not only in Brazil but throughout Latin America. This new larger facility will enable us to grow our industrial presence and to potentially assemble helicopters in Brazil, demonstrating our long term commitment to the region and our customers,” he said.

The new facility is designed to cope with the expected introduction of significant numbers of new AW189 and AW169 helicopters into the Brazilian market. The AW169 is aimed at the corporate/private  transport and parapublic markets and the AW189 for the offshore oil and gas market. The AW189 has now entered production in Italy, whilst production of the AW169 will start next year. These two helicopters along with the AW139 form the “AgustaWestland Family” of helicopters, a unique concept in the rotorcraft industry, with all three types possessing the same high performance flight characteristics, safety features, common cockpit layout, design philosophy and maintenance concepts, to  deliver real cost savings in areas such as training, maintenance and support.

AgustaWestland Do Brasil’s new maintenance hangars will be able to accommodate helicopters up to AW101 size with maintenance bays for 10 helicopters and additional space to potentially establish a helicopter final assembly line. The new facility will also include a state of the art training center with space for two full flight simulators and three flight training devices, as well as a maintenance simulator, classrooms, briefing and debriefing rooms for pilots undergoing training. A bonded warehouse with a greater number of spares and part numbers will also form a key part of the new facility giving customers in South America quicker access to spare parts.

Finally the facility will have its own dedicated heliport for helicopters up to the size of an AW101, with five landing spots and a Final Approach and Take-off (FATO) area.

(Image provided by AgustaWestland)

FMI: www.agustawestland.com