OJSC "Rostvertol" Plant #168 Rosvertol plc Rostovskoye vertoletnoye proizvodstvennoye predpriyatiye (RVPP) Rostov Helicopter Production Enterprise (RHPE) Rostov Helicopter Manufacturing Enterprise (RHME) 5 Novatorov, 334038 Rostov-on-Don, Russia Tel.: + 7 8632 317493, , 317224 fax: + 7 8632 310039/317491, telex 123125 GROM
Rosvertol of Rostov-on-Don is one of Russia’s leading manufacturer of combat helicopters and heavy civilian transport helicopters. Rostvertol has been producing helicopters designed by the Mil design bureau since 1956 and is a world leader in the manufacture of heavy-lift helicopters. It built the Mi-6 Hook and Mi-10 Harke heavy-lift helicopters and now builds the Mi-26 Halo, the largest heavy-lift helicopter in the world. It also produced the Mi-25 and Mi-35 Hind combat attack helicopters and reportedly is ready to build the Mi-28 Havoc. The plant also produces substantial quantities of helicopter rotor blades and consumer goods. In the 1960s, in light of the start of serial manufacturing of Mi-6 helicopters at the Plant #168 Mil's firm opened its own Affiliated Branch #2 in Rostov-on-Don. The Branch was engaged in elaboration of Mi-6 heavy helicopter modifications. M.V.Suvorov was the first manager and organiser of the Affiliated Branch #2.
Rostvertol is a member of Aviakadry, a personnel training association that serves aviation industry enterprises and organizations in Russia and other CIS states. It has become a member of the American Helicopter Society, and plant officials have visited U.S. helicopter companies.
By the late 1990s the company had 8,900 employees, whereas it had 13,000 in 1993. Rostvertol has recreational complexes and supports children's pre-school institutions, a cultural center, sports club, hunting ground, and other such social activities.
Key capabilities include: metallurgical work (casting, molding, stamping of steel and magnesium and aluminum alloys); machining and assembly of parts; pressworking and blank preparation (laying out and blanking of sheet metals on copy-milling and numerical-controlled layout machines, parts molding by elastic medium on presses with high specific pressure, stretch-forming, stamping on mechanical and hydraulic presses); welding (argon-arc welding of steel, aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, and magnesium alloys; automatic submerged argon-arc welding); adhesive bonding; heat-treatment; coatings (anodizing of aluminum alloys; plating with cadmium, zinc, chromium, and copper); composite rotor blade production (machining and heat treatment of spars; manufacture of honeycomb blocks; shaping and facing of blade leading edge portion; adhesive bonding of blades).
Business plans have been developed by the enterprise for five projects on operational development and production of multifunctional helicopter of MI-26T modification for total investment amount of 24.4 mln. US$. Payoff period of the projects is 2-3 years. 25 - 30% of produced multifunctional helicopters are intended for export supplies. It is participating in development of the Mi-46, a helicopter with a 10-12 ton payload intended to replace the Mi-6 and Mi-10K. Rostvertol is ready to organize serial production of two-seat helicopter Mi-60 manufactured jointly by specialists of MAI and OJSC "Mil MVZ". "Rostvertol" does not participate yet in the Mi-60 program financing and all work is carried out at the expense of MAI which in its turn is financed by the Ministry of science and technology of the Russian Federation.
The enterprise specializes in the production of transportation and combat helicopters, car trailers, audio and video cassettes with imported tape. Rostvertol has begun production of vacation travel trailers, equipment for dairy farms, and audio cassettes, and reportedly is preparing to produce Heineman-type light trailers.