Type GmbH Key people Andreas Sperl Website [1] Revenue 2.252 billion EUR Number of employees 1,143 | Industry Aerospace Products Aircraft conversion Headquarters Dresden, Germany Founded 1955 | |
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Parent organizations Airbus Group, ST Aerospace | ||
Eads efw a300 freighter conversion
EADS EFW (EADS Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH, literally: Elbe aircraft works) is a subsidiary and business unit of EADS in Dresden. It is located at the Dresden Airport and became the centre of freighter aircraft conversion in the EADS group.
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History
The Elbe Flugzeugwerke were founded in 1955 when Ilyushin Il-14 aircraft were built under license in Dresden. Concurrently the works started to develop and to test the Baade B-152, the GDR's own passenger jet program. The works employed up to 8000 personnel and some 25,000 in supplying industries which were bundled in a combined Volkseigener Betrieb in 1958.
The second prototype of the B-152 crashed on 30 April 1958 and the aircraft development was delayed. After the GDR stopped its entire aircraft program in 1961, the VEB Flugzeugwerft Dresden became a maintenance work for MiG combat planes and Mil Helicopters of the Warsaw Pact air forces. It also maintained the Interflug Airbus A310 fleet which was delivered in 1989.
Airbus and EADS
After the reunification of Germany, VEB Flugzeugwerft Dresden was supported by Deutsche Airbus, Hamburg. The Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH was founded at 27 April 1990 by DASA and Airbus. Since DASA, Aérospatiale-Matra and Construcciones Aeronáuticas merged, EADS is the only owner of the Elbe Flugzeugwerke.
Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH is a supplier of fiber-reinforced furnishing components used in Airbus planes since 1993. It has a capacity of up to 200,000 sandwich components per year.
The company started to convert former passenger aircraft into freighters in 1996. It holds the competence of the conversion of Airbus A300 and Airbus A310 planes which lasts about four months and includes higher Aircraft maintenance checks. It also converts Airbus A310 MRTT and Airbus A330 MRTT and was designated to deliver the first four prototypal Northrop Grumman KC-45 planes (without military tanker equipment).
Airbus Freighter Conversion GmbH
EADS EFW is co-proprietor of the Airbus Freighter Conversion GmbH located also in Dresden. The joint venture with the EADS sister company Airbus, Russian government-owned United Aircraft Corporation and Irkut was established in 2007 to build up a second converting production line in Lukhovitsy, Russia. EADS EFW has the largest stake of 32%, Airbus has 18% while the Russian shareholder both own a fourth.