Interview with Andrej Kalitka about Liebherr-Aerospace in Russia
Andrej Kalitka
Meet Andrej Kalitka, General Manager of Liebherr-Aerospace and Transportation activities in Russia and Regional Sales Manager for this area. He talks about the strong development of Liebherr-Aerospace in Russia and illustrates the valuable support that the company offers to the customers in the country.
Hello Andrej, could you please introduce yourself?
I am Andrej Kalitka, General Manager of Liebherr-Aerospace and Transportation activities in Russia and Regional Sales Manager in the country. After graduating from the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) as an air systems engineer, I joined Liebherr in 2004 to support the development of the Sukhoi SuperJet 100 aircraft, mainly regarding the flight control system.
At that time, I was the second person joining the newly created Aerospace department at OOO Liebherr-Russland based in Moscow. It was a great and very dynamic time when Russian aircraft designers were working closely together with Western system engineers to create the SuperJet 100, a brand new and state-of-the-art aircraft!
General view of Liebherr-Russia headquarters in Moscow
What had led to the creation of the Liebherr-Aerospace department in Moscow?
The Western-Russian collaboration required quick and efficient communication and our department was supporting most of the dialogues making sure the right understanding was achieved.
The Liebherr-Aerospace department in Moscow has grown in accordance with the Sukhoi SuperJet 100 program development: once the first hardware and software elements had been designed, we employed a team of software testing engineers, and when the first aircraft prototype assembly started, we recruited support engineers for the aircraft’s final assembly line (FAL). Finally, as soon as the SuperJet 100 had entered into service, a field service representative (FSR) joined our team to support not only the Russian operators of the SuperJet 100, but also airlines operating Airbus, ATR and Embraer aircraft fleets that have various Liebherr-Aerospace products on-board.
Our presence on site and deep involvement created a very good image towards the customers. The Liebherr-Aerospace footprint in Russia is big!
As of today, our team of 10 Liebherr-Aerospace colleagues is based in Moscow and in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
We are taking care of different disciplines: we continue to support the SuperJet 100 FAL and offer in-service troubleshooting, development of new software baselines for flight control systems, sales of spare parts, etc. We remain very close to local operators and airframers to discuss commercial and technical topics with them.
And today, what are the current challenges for Aerospace in Russia?
Our challenge is to pay even more attention to the voice of the customers, who are still under pressure from the global consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. We keep close contact with the airlines operating in Russia. We know about the culture, understand the language and have experience with the rigorous climate conditions. We understand accurately our customers’ specific needs and offer them well-tailored service solutions.
