Airbus is extending further its extensive footprint in Malaysia with the opening of a new regional helicopter completion and delivery centre (CDC) at its Subang facility.

The new CDC will see Airbus’ new helicopters for customers in the Southeast Asia region being completed in, and delivered from this centre of excellence, consolidating Malaysia’s role as Airbus’ regional hub for helicopter services, customer support and full-flight simulator training.

Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke officially opened the regional centre today.

Speaking at the ceremony, Raymond Lim, Head of Airbus in Malaysia said, “The move to set up a regional helicopter completion and delivery centre in Malaysia fully demonstrates Airbus’ unwavering commitment to the country’s aerospace industry, in particular the promotion of Malaysia’s growing industrial footprint across all areas of our business.”

“This expansion is part of our growth plan for the region, and will enable us to provide the best possible end-to-end support to our customers in this fast-growing region, backed by our extensive range of helicopter services,” he added.

The new regional helicopter centre can accommodate up to four medium-sized helicopters at any one time. It is capable of assembling and delivering up to 20 helicopters per year from across all its rotorcraft models.

In addition to the new completion and delivery centre, the company has also expanded its full motion full-flight simulation centre with the addition of a Dauphin AS365 N3/N3+ simulator to its existing H225/H225M simulator. With two simulators in place, training of pilots and crew from customers in the military, parapublic and civil sectors through the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, can now take place in Malaysia.

Strategically located 25 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur, Airbus Helicopters’ Malaysia facility spans more than 10,000 square metres. The facility is fully-equipped to provide a broad spectrum of services from scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, aircraft modifications, aircraft completion and delivery, material management and technical support. Airbus Helicopters has a team of over 100 personnel, supporting operations in Malaysia and the region.

The expansion of the facility at Subang further extends Airbus presence in Malaysia. Airbus is the largest international partner for the Malaysian aerospace industry, with its sourcing and services businesses in the country worth USD400 million annually for the local economy. The company’s activities currently sustain employment for over 4,000 Malaysians in the country’s fast-growing aviation sector.

Malaysian companies supply parts for a wide range of Airbus programmes, including the A320 Family, A330neo, A350 XWB, A380 and A400M. In addition to the regional helicopters centre, Airbus operates a Customer Services Centre at Sepang offering specialised aircraft modification and design services. The company also through its fully-owned Sepang Aircraft Engineering offers maintenance, repair and overhaul for A320 Family and ATR series of aircraft.