The process of transforming Airbus Industrie into a fully fledged company is back on track, with a joint statement from the four consortium partners that they now plan to see the new structure in place by the start of 1999.
The partners confirm that they will work towards the creation of a Single Corporate Entity (SCE) integrating "all activities needed to define, develop and produce" Airbus aircraft, apparently ending disagreements over the extent of the merger which have dogged the talks since the arrival of a new French Government this year.
The beginnings of a new management structure are also becoming clear, with an announcement from Edzard Reuter, who has overseen the restructuring talks as chairman of the supervisory board, that he will step down a year early, by the beginning of 1998 "at the latest". The new chairman will be selected from among the Airbus partner presidents in a move that the partners say is designed to give them tighter control of the board.
Leadership of the executive board is also due for change, when president Jean Pierson steps down at the end of his contract around April 1998.
The two top jobs are again widely expected to be divided between France and Germany. Daimler-Benz Aerospace president Manfred Bischoff is tipped as the next chairman, while potential candidates for the president's job include Louis Gallois, a former Aerospatiale boss now at state-owned railway company SNCF, and Gérard Blanc, who heads the French group's Airbus operations.
Rumours in Germany have also linked the president's job with Helmut Medhorn, former head of Dasa's aircraft division.
The changes come as the Airbus partners appear to be preparing to accelerate the timetable for creating the SCE. Previous statements have mentioned 1999 as a broad target date, but that is now firmed up. "The partners want to incorporate the SCE at the beginning of 1999," says the statement.
Although the partners officially committed themselves to creating a fully integrated company in the memorandum of understanding signed in January, arguments have dragged on over the SCE's impact on Aerospatiale, which has around 40% of its business tied up in Airbus work.
Further hold-ups came as France's new government grappled with the long-delayed restructuring of its national aerospace industry.
A change of heart appears to have been provoked in France by the mounting political pressure in Europe to speed up aerospace restructuring in the wake of Boeing's acquisition of McDonnell Douglas.
Key details of the agreement have still to be worked out, including whether the SCE legally owns as well as manages the production plants. Latest proposals from industry and the European Commission have suggested looser "clusters" retaining nationally recognised entities, similar to the Anglo-Dutch Unilever or Royal Dutch Shell structures.
Sources within the partner companies point out, that despite the political delays, teams have continued to work on the merger and progress towards establishing asset valuations is said to be well advanced.
Source: Flight International
