Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of Oboronprom, part of State Corporation Rostec, is showcasing key innovations in helicopter manufacturing at Oboronexpo 2014 and the Engineering Technologies 2014 international forum, taking place on 13-17 August in the Moscow region town of Zhukovsky. The company will focus at the events on how it is embedding digital technologies in its production processes, its experience of and future plans for improving energy efficiency and lean manufacturing, and its successes in re-equipping and upgrading its production capacities.

“The competitiveness of our helicopters directly depends on the innovative solutions that we are introducing today, particularly digital production technologies and energy efficiency,” said Russian Helicopters Deputy CEO for Production Andrey Shibitov. “We are working hard to modernise and upgrade our enterprises, and are effectively creating a new production platform.”

Russian Helicopters’ digital manufacturing policy aims to boost productivity by introducing digital technologies into design, pre-production and manufacturing processes, as well as after-sales support. The policy focuses in particular on replacing traditional paper-based versions as the master copies of technical documentation and moving to 3D digital models. Implementing this policy in full will help Russian Helicopters to optimise production processes and execute plans quickly, as well as increasing technological flexibility and as a result production quality.

Another important pillar of the company’s ongoing upgrade programme is lean manufacturing. This is a strategy to reduce energy and material losses from production processes to a minimum, through energy savings, recycling of secondary materials and by-products, and reducing warehousing, logistics and other indirect costs. In tandem with embedding lean manufacturing techniques, Russian Helicopters is also focusing on improving the environmental sustainability of its production processes.

Implementation of energy efficiency programmes is forecast to reduce the company’s energy consumption by 40% by 2020 compared to 2010.

Russian Helicopters’ upgrade and technical re-equipping programme is already producing significant results. In 2013 alone, Russian Helicopters enterprises brought online more than 800 new pieces of equipment and undertook more than 100 measures to improve environmental sustainability and workplace safety. Investments in production capacity in 2013 totalled RUB 8.3 billion, an increase of 8.5% on 2012.

Oboronexpo 2014 showcases the latest developments from the defence industry, including missiles and artillery weapons, armoured and military vehicles, unmanned multirole systems and communications technologies.

Engineering Technologies 2014 is a dedicated forum for leading companies from the sector to share their successes, talk about successful and effective solutions, and discover more about the experience of other producers. At the forum, Russian Helicopters plans to hold a number of business meetings and presentations.

Russian Helicopters, JSC is a subsidiary of UIC Oboronprom, which in turn is a part of State Corporation Rostec. It is one of the global leaders in helicopter production and the only helicopter design and production powerhouse in Russia. Russian Helicopters is headquartered in Moscow. The company comprises five helicopter production facilities, two design bureaus, a spare parts production and repair facility, as well as an aftersale service branch responsible for maintenance and repair in Russia and all over the world. Its helicopters are popular among Russian ministries and state authorities (Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Emergency Control Ministry), operators (Gazpromavia, UTair), major Russian corporations. Over 8000 helicopters of Soviet/Russian make are operated in 110 countries worldwide. Traditionally the demand is highest in the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Russia, and CIS countries. Russian Helicopters was established in 2007. In 2013 its IFRS revenues increased 10% to RUB 138.3 billion. Deliveries reached 275 helicopters.

UIC Oboronprom, JSC is a multi-profile industrial and investment group established in 2002. It is a part of Russian Technologies State Corporation. Its main tasks include: helicopter engineering (Russian Helicopters, JSC) and engine-building (United Engine Industry Corporation managing company).

State Corporation Rostec is a Russian corporation established in 2007 in order to facilitate the development, manufacturing and export of high-technology industrial products of military and civil purposes. Today it comprises over 663 companies, which form 8 military-industrial and 5 civil industry holdings. Rostec’s subsidiaries are located in 60 regions of Russia and supply their products to over 70 countries worldwide. In 2012 revenues of the Corporation amounted to RUB 931 billion, net profits were RUB 38.5 billion and total taxation exceeded RUB 109 billion.