Together with numerous figures from the aeronautical and defense world, Eurocopter Executive Vice-President Bert Stegkemper was at the La Courneuve Plant on 11 October 2006 to inaugurate the new Blade Finishing Workshop (AFP), which will perform finishing operations on helicopter main rotor blades.
The Blade Finishing Workshop boasts high-performance facilities, including booths for painting, sealing and sanding, and ovens. Designed with built-in growth potential for new workloads, the Workshop can quickly build up its production rate to meet the challenges posed by the NH90 and Super Puma programs.
In the last few years, the strong upswing in our sales, coupled with the industrialization of new helicopters, has spawned a series of far-reaching industrial developments on the La Courneuve site. For better adaptability, these developments first concentrated on the upstream phases of the process, notably with the inauguration on 11 May 2005 of the Large Blade Workshop (AGP) for molding operations. The developments are now logically focusing on the finishing activities, such as blade painting and blade balancing. Following several pre-project and profitability studies, Eurocopter top management decided in November 2004 to move forward with this strategic 3.1 M investment.
Covering 1500 sq. meters, the new Blade Finishing Workshop marks a major industrial advance and confirms the position of the La Courneuve site as a world leader in the manufacture of blades and the application of high tech composites.
The La Courneuve site, which leads its field both technically and technologically, has concentrated in a single location a wide variety of products and high-performance materials, including new resins and novel composites. Improvements have been made not only in the industrial processes all the subassemblies are now integrated right from the start of molding operations but also by developing innovating, structurally-integrated products and subassemblies the NH90 deicing system was an in-house development.
About Eurocopter
Established in 1992, the Franco-German-Spanish Eurocopter Group is a Division of EADS, a world leader in aerospace, defense and related services. The Eurocopter Group employs approx. 13,000 people. In 2005, Eurocopter confirmed its position as the world’s No. 1 helicopter manufacturer with a turnover of 3.2 billion euros, orders for 401 new helicopters, and a 52 percent market share in the civil and parapublic sectors. Overall, the Group’s products account for 30 percent of the total world helicopter fleet. Its strong worldwide presence is ensured by its 16 subsidiaries on five continents, along with a dense network of distributors, certified agents and maintenance centers. More than 9,500 Eurocopter helicopters are currently in service with over 2,500 customers in 139 countries. Eurocopter offers the largest civil and military helicopter range in the world.
