Igor Pshenichny, Russian Helicopters
Release Date: 2009-06-29
This is the first time that you come to Le Bourget after Russian Helicopters unified the Russian helicopter brands. How has this new unified brand been received by industry professionals and companies?I think it has been quite a positive reception. First because the united Russian Helicopter corporation is putting into practice the same business concepts and models shared by our colleagues from international helicopter-making companies, and presenting a consolidated product portfolio.
Secondly it is easier to establish and develop international cooperation because we are representing the collective interests of the entire helicopter Russian industry, and not the special interests of one factory or another. It allows us to be much more efficient.
Thirdly, because we can easily put a service offer behind our products by establishing closer links between our company and our customers, and is also important to point out that we have a steady support from our Government in this regard.
Would this mean that current and potential customers will find a unified voice in Russian Helicopters, without having to deal with random factories dotted around Russia for products or after-sales services as it happened before?
Exactly. Before, factories had to compete among themselves for customers etc, nowadays Russian Helicopters as a unified company comprises the entire value chain of Russian-made helicopters in our a country, as well as for our products sold abroad.
In order to achieve this and bring our performance to the next level, we are about to open two engineering centres around Moscow, one for Mil and the other one for the Kamov type of helicopters.
It is important to note that both brands, Kamov and MiL which are very well established in the market, will not disappear, and the mission of our holding company, Russian Helicopters, is to articulate the success of our brands and products in the local and international markets to make them more competitive. We work on market rationale, and not on any vertical dictate.
Will the engineering centres be an initiative self-financed by Russian Helicopters or will they receive State support?
The policy of our company is, as I mentioned before, commercially oriented, so we will strive to finance the engineering centres ourselves. If it is needed, however, some parts of the project could be funded by the state through different federal programs.
Helicopter sales have increased steadily in the last two years. However, are you worried about drops in sales for 2009 and beyond given the current financial outlook?
We do not regard 2009 as a problem for us because our order book is full, and we have a good level of order from customers even for 2010. However, we need to determine how 2011 and 2012 will unfold. We are in the process of rethinking our way of working, and we believe that we will be taking two different steps; the first one will be to put new products in the market, and the second one will be to establish a different model of cooperation with foreign companies to put completely new products into the market.
Would these new products be a conversion or of existing products, or completely new designs?
I believe both. There will be a modernisation for some of our best sales products such as the Mi-8 and M-171, of course, but we also have plans to put on the market new models such as ANSAT which has been in the pipe for a while already.
What about the different forms of cooperation that you mentioned with foreign companies…are we talking about a new joint-design and production model, like sharing risk partners as we see for the Superjet100 plane?
We believe the future of our industry depends on the further integration of the different helicopter brands. First of all to develop a wider helicopter market for all of us, and, secondly, to achieve a level of cooperation as partners which results in the optimal design and production of new models. We are currently seeing what could be done with Russian design, alongside the integration of different partners for the engines as well. However it is a bit early to disclose any details.
We should develop in full scale our industrial potential, and start new business practices.
Talking of the industrial potential, the Russian aviation industry suffered a terrible blow during the 90s... How big do you feel is today the gap between your closest EU or US competitors and the Russian Helicopters?
I believe the gap does not exist as such; simply because our managers are part of a new generation of managers that share a common language and a strong ambition to success, equal to that of our colleagues and competitors. Indeed, many of them have worked for our closest competitors before!
Finally, how do you find this 48th edition of Le Bourget, having worked in the aerospace industry most of your life, and being a regular visitor?
I personally find Paris Le Bourget as the best Air Show in the world, not only in terms of organisation and participation but also because there is a warm atmosphere of cooperation and interchange, which distinguishes Le Bourget from many other Air Shows. So Russian Helicopters is very pleased to be part of this event.
| Company: | Russian Helicopters |
| Position: | Deputy CEO, Sales & Marketing |
| Country: | Russian Federation |