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Eurocopter Establishes Kazakhstan Engineering Facility
By: David A. Lombardo
Caption: Eurocopter and Kazakhstan Engineering have signed an agreement formalizing a joint venture to assemble and customize Eurocopter EC145s at a new facility in
Word Count: 173
Eurocopter and Kazakhstan Engineering have signed an agreement formalizing a joint venture to assemble and customize Eurocopter EC145s at a new facility in Astana, Kazakhstan. Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering plans to assemble and deliver the first six of 45 EC145s the Kazakh government is acquiring through 2016. It will also develop local maintenance and training capabilities to support EC145 operations in the country as well as across the new customs union zone created by Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus, and throughout the entire Central Asian zone. “We foresee many opportunities for the EC145 in this part of the world based on its adaptability to support the oil and gas, mining, parapublic, government and corporate sectors, and in other applications as well,” said Lutz Bertling, Eurocopter’s president and CEO. The first six EC145s to be assembled at Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering’s facility at Astana Airport will be used by Kazakhstan’s Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Emergency Situations for such operations as medical airlift and search-and-rescue missions.