TURBOMECA French president Nicolas Sarkozy opened the helicopter engine maker's new plant in Bordes, near Pau in south-west France. The 42,000m² (452,000ft2) factory, named after company founder Joseph Szydlowski, houses 1,300 employees, including 500 in workshops and 800 in offices, mainly in the design department. The plant features designed to simplify workflows to cut production cycles by more than half over the next three years.
Source: Flight International
MD Helicopters has promoted Ryan Weeks to the role of president, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the rotorcraft manufacturer.
Leonardo Helicopters has revealed the successful conclusion of an initial phase of ship-landing trials for its AW609 tiltrotor as part of a project with the Italian military.
UK-headquartered 2Excel Aviation has set up an Irish subsidiary as it prepares to begin supplying fixed-wing support services to search and rescue provider Bristow Ireland on the latter’s contract with the country’s coastguard.
