Finmeccanica is targeting the South American civil and military aerospace markets through all its subsidiaries on the back of strong civil helicopter sales in the region during 2005. While individual Finmeccanica companies are active in South America, “this part of the world has not in the recent past been particularly addressed by the group”, says Giuseppe Maresca, senior vice-president marketing and commercial affairs. The new marketing drive will focus on “integrated systems” that have the potential to leverage multiple business units. Chile is a near-term priority: “We want to monitor a country that today represents a significant reality in the world of aerospace and defence, with important growth in terms of GDP and consequently an important growth of the defence budget”.
Source: Flight International