Eurocopter Delivers EC145s Ordered by Kazakhstan

Eurocopter delivered the first of six EC145s ordered to date by the Kazakh Ministries of Defense and Emergencies. A total of 45 of the helicopters are to be purchased, and will be assembled by the new joint venture Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering, in which Eurocopter and Kazakhstan Engineering have a 50/50 share. This initial delivery comes on the heels of the industrial cooperation and distribution contract signed last June by Eurocopter CEO Lutz Bertling and President of Kazakhstan Engineering Bolat Smagulov, in the presence of the French and Kazakh prime ministers François Fillon and Karim Massimov, respectively. The new joint venture, Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering, will be assembling and customizing EC145s at its facilities near the Astana International Airport in Kazakhstan. The company will also enable Eurocopter to provide its customers in Kazakhstan and Central Asia with better local services for helicopter maintenance as well as training for pilots and technicians. In addition, Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering will be pursuing sales activities throughout the region. Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering is scheduled to deliver the initial six EC145s to the Kazakh Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Emergencies before the end of the year for search and rescue and medical evacuation missions. The remaining helicopters are to be delivered by the end of 2016. “The delivery of this first EC145 is very symbolic, as it marks the beginning of operations as part of our cooperation with Kazakhstan Engineering,” said Olivier Michalon, Global Business & Services Vice President for Europe and Central Asia. “We are very proud to be part of the Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering joint venture, as it will enable us to deploy major industrial capacities in the Kazakh aviation industry and lay the groundwork for the development of a new, highly specialized sector in the country. We are also convinced that the new joint venture will place Eurocopter in an excellent position for future development locally, as we are poised to provide operators with helicopters that are particularly well suited for the oil & gas industry and parapublic missions, including emergency medical services, homeland security and patrol, military, corporate and VIP.”