Tata Steel Group, an Indian multinational steel-making company headquartered in Mumbai, and a subsidiary of the Tata Group has purchased a second Bell 429 helicopter to support their steel production operations. The helicopter will be based out of Tata Steel’s Aviation facility at Jamshedpur in eastern India, and will deal with the transportation needs at its steel plants and mines in the region.
“Bell Helicopter rotorcraft are relied upon to help our customers in India conduct business, day in and day out, in an efficient and time-effective manner that is simply impossible with any other form of transportation,” said Sameer A. Rehman, Bell Helicopter managing director for Asia Pacific. “The fleet of Bell Helicopter aircraft in India continues to grow as more and more customers come to depend on our performance and see the value in the flexibility provided by rotorcraft flight.”
The Bell 429 incorporates a fully integrated glass cockpit, sophisticated drive system, best-in-class WAAS navigation and IFR capability. The Bell 429 has more cabin space than any other light twin helicopter, with flat flooring and seating for seven passengers and one flight crew.
“We see the potential for an ever-increasing demand for Bell Helicopter products in India, a country boasting one of the world’s fastest-growing economies with an expanding industrial footprint,” added Rehman.
Bell Helicopter has been supplying helicopters to customers in India for more than six decades. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay flew around the country in the first iconic Bell 47 in 1953. At present, there are more than 90 Bell aircraft operating all over India in numerous sectors including commercial, civil/government, and military operations.
Bell Helicopter opened a liaison office in India in 1995, and since that time has been providing customer support to operators in the region with dedicated Customer Service Engineers and its authorized Customer Service Facility. In 2004, Textron Inc. opened an engineering and technology centre in Bangalore that employs more than 130 Bell Helicopter engineers working various programmes. Bell Helicopter also has a sales office in New Delhi.
