Poland: EADS CASA unreliable on C-295 deal

As part of its 2001 deal to sell Poland 10 transport aircraft for $300 million, EADS CASA was to have made good on "offset obligations," but Warsaw doesn't see signs that the company will meet them.

Deputy Economy Minister Pawel Poncyliusz intends to bring up the matter with Spain, according to Rzeczpospolita, a major Warsaw daily. EADS CASA has until 2010 to invest in a Polish offset program, but has made little indication that it will comply. Poland has already paid EADS CASA $212 million for delivery of C-295s.

"We are concerned, as so far the European manufacturer hasn't announced and submitted any completed projects to the government for appraisal," a Polish Department for Offset Programs official says.

Among Poland's complaints:

• EADS CASA has failed to fulfill its pledge to manufacture major Airbus components at the Okecie plant the company had acquired as part of the offset program;



• EADS CASA has not equipped a promised C-295 service plant in the country, requiring the Polish military to have its already-purchased planes serviced in Spain; and



• EADS CASA has not gone through with starting large-scale production of transport aircraft components at Okecie for the CASA plants in Seville and Cadiz, Spain.

"All that happened was that bundles of electric cable for aircraft and wing components were ordered from Poland," the official said.

Zbigniew Wasiucionek, who runs foreign marketing operations at EADS PZL Okecie, "declined to comment" on the company's policies.

According to the report, EADS CASA initially repaired the neglected Okecie plant, rebuilding a galvanizing shop, bringing in a new management system, repairing roofs and training employees. "But it lacked the will to do anything more."