OREANDA-NEWS. August 15, 2011. The Second International Operators Conference (IOC) opened its doors to companies operating rotorcraft of Russian make today at the Moscow World Trade Centre. The conference is organised by Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation Oboronprom. The event is an element in the holding company’s strategy for creating a global multi-level aftersale support network for helicopters produced in Russia.

Over 200 company representatives from 80 countries arrived to take part after receiving an invitation from Russian Helicopters. The Conference has been timed to take place during International Aviation & Space Salon MAKS 2011 so that participants have a chance to explore the holding company’s lineup at the static display and the air show.

Russian Helicopters showcased the new Mi-34C1, Ka-226T, Mi-38, and Mi-26T2 at MAKS. Those and other civil rotorcraft of Russian make, including the attack Mi-28NE Night Hunter and the Ka-52 Alligator will be shown to IOC participants in Zhukovsky at the static display of Russian Helicopters and in pavilion C3 at the UIC Oboronprom stand.

“Aftersale support of rotorcraft is one of the top strategic priorities for us,” comments Russian Helicopters CEO Dmitry Petrov. “Over 8500 machines of Russian make are in operation worldwide and we are determined to use all opportunities for quality growth of our support network. We’ve opened a service centre in India this February and new centres in such important markets as China, Latin America, and the Middle East are on our checklist. Certification of existing facilities is also continuing.”

The modern support system is expected to solve the acute problems: shorten response time, speed up parts delivery, decrease AOG time for helicopters requiring serious repairs, and offer transparent pricing, clear and understandable to the customer. The company is simultaneously making a switch to modern internal resource management and helicopter fleet monitoring means. An Oracle-based IT system and a client Internet portal have been introduced, database integration is under way with State Research and Development Institute of Civil Aviation.

Aftersale support includes finding new partners to create MRO centres worldwide: the participation of local companies ensures quality that satisfies the developer and a high level of flight safety.

Successful MRO centres already exist in CIS countries; service centres are being authorised in Eastern Europe. The infrastructure has grown significantly since the previous Russian Helicopters Operators Conference. New centres have opened in India and Vietnam, another one is under way in China. With the diversification of the sales geography the support network will continue its expansion on other important markets such as Latin America and the Middle East. Russian Helicopters are thus in the process of creating a global service network, pursuing the goal to cover the entire lifecycle of offered rotorcraft models, from design and mass production to aftersale support and scrappage.