SOUTH AFRICAN manufacturer Denel has merged its Simera and Atlas Aviation operations to form one aerospace division, to be called Denel Aviation.
Kobus Eksteen, Denel's director of Aerospace Strategy and Alliances, says that the restructure follows the "dramatic shifts in the world's power balance and the international aviation market". He adds that the revision of the aviation group's marketing strategy and corporate image will provide a more focused approach in the international market.
"Our strategy is to develop a division with a single corporate identity that is dynamic enough to prosper in the highly competitive and ever-changing aviation market," he says.
Denel Aviation will consist of four business units: Aircraft Manufacturing, Tactical Aircraft Support (for military aircraft); Transport Aircraft Support; and Airmotive, which will handle aero-engine and transmission manufacturing. The restructure comes at a time when the South African Government is trying to attract foreign investment in the country's manufacturing base as part of its reconstruction and development programme.
The restructure is also, seen by some observers as the first stage in a plan, to privatise the company.
Source: Flight International