Eurocopter and Kazakhstan Engineering sign agreement

An agreement was signed by the Eurocopter
president and chief executive officer Lutz Bertling and Bolat Smagulov, the
president of Kazakhstan Engineering, in the presence of the French and Kazakhstan
prime ministers Francois Fillon and Karim Massimov.

The accord marks an important milestone in
the joint venture’s establishment, which this year plans to assemble and
deliver the first six of 45 EC145s to be acquired through 2016 by the Kazakh
government.

Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering also will
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
last summer, and throughout the entire Central Asian zone. Additionally, the
organization will oversee sales activities these areas.

“This joint venture holds particular
importance for Eurocopter, as it gives us a key presence in a
rapidly-developing country,” Bertling said. “We foresee many new opportunities
for the EC145 in this part of the world, based on the helicopter’s capacity for
missions in support of the oil and gas, mining, parapublic, government and
corporate sectors, and in other applications as well.”

The first six EC145s to be assembled at
Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering’s facility at Astana
Airport are to be utilized by Kazakhstan’s
Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Emergency Situations for such operations
as medical airlift and search & rescue missions.

“As the first cooperation of this magnitude
between our country and any helicopter manufacturer, Eurocopter Kazakhstan
Engineering will help develop new expertise in high-technology industries,”
Smagulov stated.