BROADENING OUR RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND BUSINESS TIES

Anatoly Brenko
 

ARE, which is the leader in repairing Su-17, Su-20 and Su-22 aircraft, also repairs Su-25, Su-27, MiG-29 and An-2 planes. We invite all those interested for cooperation.

For its contribution to the victory in the war, in April 1945 the enterprise was awarded the Red Star Order. Since 1953, ARE has been located in the town of Baranovichi.

After the war, the enterprise began to repair MiG-15 and MiG-17, Yak-28, Il-28 and Tupolev Tu-16 aircraft and, starting in the mid-1960s, missile equipment. In the late 1960s, ARE became the Soviet Air Forces' leading enterprise in the repair of Sukhoi aircraft: Su-7, Su-17, Su-20, Su-22 and Su-27s of all modifications.

During its best years, ARE repaired up to 190 aircraft a year. The start of the 1990s saw a sharp fall in aircraft repair orders. By 1992, the enterprise was on the brink of closure. The management made the right decision: it focused all efforts on the repair of three other types of aircraft: MiG-29, Su-25 and Antonov An-2. As a result, since 1993 the enterprise has repaired 26 MiG-29 planes, 26 Su-25 planes, and 31 An-2 planes. Simultaneously, it continued repairing other types of aircraft. In recent years ARE has repaired 42 Su-17 aircraft, and a large number of units and removable equipment of Su-27 planes. Importantly, the management has done its best to keep highly qualified specialists and avoid mass dismissals.

Since 1992, ARE has been included in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus. In September 1992, it received the right to independently cooperate with foreign partners in aircraft repair. Since then, it has cemented its long-standing ties with partners from Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, and increased its export services 300 percent.

To achieve this, we actively sought for new partners and new forms of cooperation. For example, we repaired airframes and aircraft systems at customer production facilities, and simultaneously repaired removable equipment at ARE. In this way we repaired six Su-17s and one MiG-29.

The enterprise has invested a lot in the development of its production facilities. Over the past two years its investments in production and the purchase of special production equipment for new aircraft has reached U.S. $2.5 million.

Apart from traditional repair fixtures and equipment, the enterprise uses new technologies which make it possible to radically cut expenses on aircraft repair. For instance, ARE specialists have worked out and introduced into production an automated complex, based on the Industrial PC ADVANTECH computer, to diagnose fourth-generation aircraft radars and detect malfunctions down to a functional unit.

The enterprise has for many years had a center to train aircraft repair specialists. At present, we also train pilots and technicians to use aircraft equipment.

Most aircraft repairs are done in two hangars with a total working area of 10,600 square meters and in auxiliary shops with a total working area of 8,200 sq.m. In these shops specialists repair aircraft units with experimental casings, other aircraft equipment, electronics and units of detachable armaments. There are also metal-working, machine and electroplating shops. All the shops have state-of-the-art equipment that make it possible to repair any aircraft unit accessories and any sophisticated system.

To preserve the enterprise's competitiveness, its management devotes substantial energy to improve the price formation process, to make all repairs on schedule and to improve service quality. Special attention is paid to the introduction of an international product quality control system.

Efforts made by the enterprise in the past few years have already produced good results. The enterprise has stable finances. Its own working capital allows it not to demand advance payment from its customers and make all settlements after the work is done.

By 1998, the number of ARE personnel had increased 10 percent, and this tendency keeps growing. ARE's production plans for the coming two years include the repair of over 30 units of aircraft equipment. ARE is now working on various long-term programs and searching for new partners and lines of business. Considering forecasts for the development of Air Force aircraft in the world, the enterprise, apart from traditional repairs, is ready to modernize earlier-built Soviet aircraft. Its plans also include participation in the assembly in Belarus of a multimission seven-seater general-purpose aircraft, and other projects.

We regard our traditional cooperation with Russia's leading aircraft companies as a guarantee of the successful fulfillment of our plans. An established business network of ties and markets and the advantages offered by cooperation in the Commonwealth of Independent States, give us hope for closer contacts with Russian aircraft industry enterprises, especially in modernizing aircraft equipment. We can strengthen our positions only by pooling efforts, which will give great advantages to all partners. ARE, which is the leader in repairing Su-17, Su-20 and Su-22 aircraft, also repairs Su-25, Su-27, MiG-29 and An-2 planes. We invite all those interested for cooperation.