By Richard Mantu, tel: (012) 314-2419 

Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin on Friday opened Turbomeca Africa's new manufacturing and maintenance facility at Kempton Park, Johannesburg, that will manufacture gear boxes, civil and military helicopter engines.

Turbomeca Africa is a joint company formed two years ago by South Africa's arms manufacturer Denel, and French Group Turbomeca (part of Snecma in France). 

The company manufacturers engines for both domestic firms and international companies such as Rolls Royce and General Electric, and gives support to repairs and overhauls of  civil and military helicopter engines in Sub Sahara Africa.
 
Denel owns 49 percent of Turbomeca Africa, while the French group owns the remaining 51 percent.

"The establishment of this new facility is very much in line with government's intention to optimise and expand South Africa's aerospace capabilities and to gain meaningful entry into the global environment," said minister Erwin on Friday. 

He said the venture was part of government's initiatives to restructure State-owned enterprises by seeking foreign partners in a bid to strengthen the SNO's competitiveness globally. 

"Its an important area for us as the SA government to begin to invest in new technology so that we develop our capacity to export. We are confident that once we form partnerships with foreign companies, we will attract more foreign partners," said Mr Erwin.

Denel CEO Victor Moche said the new facility would be geared to become a "centre of excellence for engine manufacturing." 

"We want to achieve a standard and be at a stage where the world knows that certain engines are done only in South Africa," he said.  

Turbomeca Group chairperson and CEO Emeric d'Arcimoles said the facility put the company in good stead to break even and it was a vote of confidence that Turbomeca France was transferring its work load to Turbomeca Africa.  

"We are re-deploying additional competency at the right place to support the growing 2005 demand from Snecma, international markets for both manufacturing, repair and overhaul, and from the South African Air Force, as we now are considered as a strategic partner," said Mr d'Arcimoles. - BuaNews