Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom has created an aerospace subsidiary to service and potentially assemble AgustaWestland helicopters, beginning with Malaysian army A109s.
AgustaWestland and DRB-Hicom signed a memorandum of agreement last month appointing start-up Deftech as a sales agent and authorising it to establish a service centre. The maintenance facility will open in Penang before the first of 11 A109 light-utility helicopters are delivered to Malaysia next November. Deftech plans to later add aircraft customisation capabilities, an assembly line and possibly a helicopter component factory.
Deftech will also help AgustaWestland with both civil and military sales in Malaysia. The next major target for AugustaWestland is a coastguard requirement, for which it is offering the AB139. Replacements for Malaysia's fleet of Sikorsky S-61 Nuris may also be acquired in three to five years.
The government has selected Deftech over established maintenance company Airod to support the army's new A109 fleet. Airod is at present the only authorised AgustaWestland service centre in Malaysia and plans to continue servicing two A109s operated by Malaysia's fire department. Deftech has been promised a regional role, enabling it to provide a higher level of maintenance than service centres in other Asian countries. AgustaWestland will help to train personnel and Deftech will be able to draw on manufacturing capabilities of non-aerospace DRB-Hicom subsidiaries, particularly the automotive division.
Source: Flight International