News
Major expansion for AgustaWestland Do Brasil
August 19, 2013 By Carey Fredericks
Aug. 19, 2013, Sao Paulo, Brazil - AgustaWestland has announced its Brazilian subsidiary, AgustaWestland Do Brasil, is to undergo a major expansion with the building of a new facility in Sao Paulo which will include maintenance hangars with space that could accommodate a helicopter final assembly line, training centre, bonded warehouse, workshops and other supporting services including a dedicated heliport. Construction of the new facility is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2014.
Daniele Romiti, CEO of AgustaWestland, announced the plan at LABACE in Sao Paulo. “Brazil is a very important and growing market for AgustaWestland, so it gives me great pleasure to be able to announce this plan today as we continue to grow our business not only in Brazil but throughout Latin America," he said. "This new larger facility will enable us to grow our industrial presence and to potentially assemble helicopters in Brazil, demonstrating our long term commitment to the region and our customers.”
The new facility is designed to cope with the expected introduction of significant numbers of new AW189 and AW169 helicopters into the Brazilian market. The AW169 is aimed at the corporate/private transport and parapublic markets and the AW189 for the offshore oil and gas market. The AW189 has now entered production in Italy, whilst production of the AW169 will start next year. These two helicopters along with the AW139 form the “AgustaWestland Family” of helicopters, a unique concept in the rotorcraft industry, with all three types possessing the same high performance flight characteristics, safety features, common cockpit layout, design philosophy and maintenance concepts, to deliver real cost savings in areas such as training, maintenance and support. AgustaWestland Do Brasil’s new maintenance hangars will be able to accommodate helicopters up to AW101 size with maintenance bays for 10 helicopters and additional space to potentially establish a helicopter final assembly line.
AgustaWestland do Brasil’s new facility will also include a state-of-the-art training centre with space for two full flight simulators and three flight training devices, as well as a maintenance simulator, classrooms, briefing and debriefing rooms for pilots undergoing training. A bonded warehouse with a greater number of spares and part numbers will also form a key part of the new facility giving customers in South America quicker access to spare parts. Finally the facility will have its own dedicated heliport for helicopters up to the size of an AW101, with five landing spots and a Final Approach and Take-off (FATO) area.
AgustaWestland Do Brasil, with its headquarters in Sao Paulo, is AgustaWestland’s regional support centre providing customer support services to the growing fleet of AgustaWestland l helicopters in Brazil and other South American countries. Services provided include spares, maintenance, product support, engineering services and training for the AW119, AW109 series, Grand, GrandNew and AW139 helicopters and in the near future for the AW189 and AW169.
