Aero show Eurocopter 50-51.qxd
2/3/2011
4:48 PM
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8TH INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION ON AEROSPACE, DEFENCE & CIVIL AVIATION
expanding economy, its size and challenging terrain, as well as the industrial potential,” says Eurocopter India CEO Marie-Agnès Veve. She added, “Eurocopter is the world's first major helicopter manufacturer to establish a subsidiary in India, which underscores our objective of being a key player in this very important marketplace.” The Eurocopter India subsidiary is part of the company's continuing investment in staff, resources and services to achieve this objective. It will address current and future operators' needs for maintenance and support by offering responsive, cost-effective solutions for spares management, technical documentation, warranty claims and training. A country-wide MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) network will be developed by the subsidiary, building on Eurocopter's existing local assets and partnerships within India. A very important pillar of Eurocopter India's plans for the Indian market is its commitment towards increasing industrial co-operation. With this as the context, Eurocopter plans to increase local sourcing as well as identify synergies for indigenous manufacturing. A planned engineering centre is also part of the plan to help Eurocopter consolidate its position in the Indian industry. While strengthening existing relationships with the public sector remains a priority, Eurocopter is also in the process of identifying opportunities for industrial partnerships with private
Indian companies in the aerospace segment. Eurocopter India also has set the goal of applying Eurocopter's culture of excellence in assisting the country's civil aviation authorities and operators to further evolve and mature the helicopter sector — with the focus on safety and infrastructure. This will build on Eurocopter's demonstrated track record in other countries, where it has successfully established a presence and worked cooperatively with helicopter operators and governments. The setting-up of Eurocopter India Pvt. Ltd. is but a natural progression on the long tradition of cooperation and business that Eurocopter has had with India. India was the first nation with which Eurocopter signed a license agreement which included technology transfer. This association began in 1962 when Eurocopter joined hands with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), through two cooperation agreements. These agreements enabled HAL to manufacture more than 600 helicopters of the Alouette III and Lama type (Cheetah/Chetak). In 1984, HAL also assisted Eurocopter in the development of the Advanced Light Helicopter equipped with twin-engine and 5tonne capacity transport helicopter. A few years later, Eurocopter began outsourcing exhaustive Ecureuil work packages to HAL for the global market. Over the years, HAL has become a first line partner for the global supply chain of Eurocopter's Ecureuil and Fennec and decisively contributes to the fact that Eurocopter's yearly production rate of all Ecureuil versions is more than twice that of its closest competitors. In the civilian space, Eurocopter has had a strong relationship with Pawan Hans Helicopter Limited, India's largest civil and the only scheduled helicopter operator. PHHL is Eurocopter's biggest customer in India, and owns a fleet of 30 Dauphin helicopters, the biggest Civil Dauphin fleet owned by a single operator in the world. “We have shared a very special relationship with Pawan Hans for the past 24 years, and are very happy to further strengthen this association. Through our association with Pawan Hans, wish to come closer to the Indian customers and serve them better. We look forward to providing even better support, service and fleet safety solutions to the Indian market in the coming years,” adds Mrs. Veve. Another key pillar of Eurocopter's association with India is the company's relationship with Indocopters. Indocopters is a key partner for Eurocopter, offering all Indian customers a Eurocopter-approved maintenance centre in its stateof-the-art base in Greater Noida near Delhi. (Cecile Arnaud is Sales & Marketing Director — South Asia, Eurocopter.)
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Eurocopter has had a strong relationship with Pawan Hans, India’s largest civil and the only scheduled helicopter operator. February 2011