Airbus Helicopters estimates that the first H215 helicopters will be produced as of 2019 at Ghimbav, Brasov County (central Romania), later than the initial plan of the company. The delay comes because there are not enough orders, with Airbus setting a 16-unit threshold for the factory to start operating, whose construction started last year, said the French group’s manager for Romania. He added that production could start sooner if the global market is bouncing back. On the other hand, the Airbus factory, which deals with the modernization of Ghimbav helicopters, has many orders and is operating at maximum capacity, hotnews.ro.
Last autumn, the Airbus representatives said they wanted the first H215 helicopter to be manufactured by the end of 2017, a few months ago the deadline was postponed to 2018, and now Airbus Helicopter Romania’s manager Serge Durand says a realistic timeframe would be 2019, as “the world market must come back”.
The Airbus representative says that during the first year could be produced two-three helicopters, and in the second year five units. The price of a helicopter is around EUR 15-20 million, but it varies a lot depending on the installed equipment. The plan is that in a few years the factory will employ 350 people.