Airbus and a group of Chinese industrial partners have signed a contract to establish a joint venture manufacturing centre in Harbin, China, to manufacture composite material parts and components for the Airbus A350 XWB programme and Airbus A320 family aircraft.
The Chinese partners are Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG), Hafei Aviation Industry (HAI), Avichina Industry & Technology (AVICHINA) and Harbin Development Zone Heli Infrastructure Development Company (HELI).
The contract was signed by Laurence Barron, president of Airbus China, and Pang Jian, chairman of the Board of Directors of HAIG and HAI in Madrid, Spain, in the presence of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
The Harbin Hafei Airbus Composite Manufacturing Centre Company Limited (the Manufacturing Centre) will be set up in 2009. HAIG will hold a 50% stake, Airbus China will hold 20%, while HAI, AVICHINA and HELI will each hold a 10% stake. Manufacturing operations are expected to start in September 2009 and a new plant should be ready for operations by the end of 2010.
Airbus says it is committed to forging a long-term strategic partnership with China. The total value of industrial co-operation between Airbus and the Chinese aviation industry is expected to be near $200 million per year in 2010 and $450 million dollars a year in 2015.
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