Airbus to Build Helicopter Plant in Romania

Airbus has announced it intends to build helicopters at a new plant at Ghimbav, close to the central Romanian city of Brasov, in an investment worth about 40 million euro.

The plant is to be built on a 27,000-square-metre plot offered by IAR Ghimbav, a company controlled by the Romanian state.

The first civilian helicopters will be manufactured there in 2017, followed a year later by military helicopters, according to media reports.

Romania previously announced its intention to modernize the helicopter fleet of the Interior Affairs Ministry.

Airbus Helicopters aircraft already conduct missions for several Romanian State institutions, including the Ministry of Health, and the Intelligence Service Agency, SRI.

The company has a subsidiary in Romania, Eurocopter, which last year upgraded a fleet of 24 Royal Air Force Puma Mk1 helicopters, extending their life, and enhancing performance, mission capability and operational safety.

Airbus Helicopters, formerly Eurocopter Group, is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus Group.

It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located near Marseille, France, with other production plants in Brazil, Australia, Spain and the United States.