By ALBRECHT MÜLLER Published: 9 May 2011 18:07
BONN - As part of its Systemhaus (system house) project, Eurocopter on May 6 started to build an integrated development center at its German site in Donauwörth.
"The Systemhaus project is an integral part of Eurocopter's Vision 2020 strategy and will form the basis for a promising helicopter technology site in Germany, pooling all the necessary key competencies to develop, manufacture and maintain rotary-wing aircraft at one location and securing these capabilities for the future," Lutz Bertling, president and CEO of the Eurocopter Group, said.
Development activities currently located at Eurocopter's Ottobrunn site will be integrated into the new building complex. Some 900 Eurocopter employees will work in the center, which will host development activities along with the system support center that is run in cooperation with the German Army.
About 780 employees from the existing Ottobrunn site, located about 100 kilometers away, will have to relocate to Donauwörth once construction has been completed in late 2012.
"Our goal is to accommodate all staff and skills from Ottobrunn in Donauwörth," said Friedrich Hormel, director of human resources and senior vice president of Eurocopter Deutschland.
"This undertaking not only brings together development and production activities, it also will accelerate processes by making it possible to create integrated teams," Wolfgang Schoder, CEO of Eurocopter Deutschland, said. "The new development center will help us to successfully develop and manufacture innovative helicopters more quickly, and it will make a substantial contribution toward maintaining Eurocopter's lead in the international rotary-wing marketplace."
The Systemhaus project is part of Eurocopter's Shape global transformation program, during which the company plans to invest more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.86 billion) in research and development funds between 2010 and 2014. At the same time, Eurocopter will invest an additional 1 billion euros in site modernization.
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