Eurocopter is set to unveil an extended agreement with Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) that would establish a Japanese assembly line for the EC135 helicopter to supply the domestic market, Eurocopter president Fabrice Bregier said at the show.
The move would further strengthen the European manufacturer's industrial base in the Far East, which already includes teaming agreements in China.
Bregier says under-developed helicopter markets such as those in Korea and China will form the bedrock of growth for Eurocopter, but that growth will be through partnership: "We want to expand in these markets and that cannot happen from our European base. We must transfer industrial value to these countries as part of any agreement."
Consolidate
Bregier said Eurocopter expected to record a 10% rise in turnover for 2005, passing the $3 billion mark. "To sustain this we need to consolidate the work we are doing on customer satisfaction, maintain our technological edge and cross-fertilise technologies between our programmes."
Eurocopter is one of the key contenders to supply South Korea with a new 6,800kg (15,000lb) utility helicopter and will make a technical offer to Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to meet the requirement, which has a 2011 in-service date.
Source: Flight Daily News
