The aerostructures arm of South Africa's state-owned aerospace and defence group Denel is emerging from turbulent times to establish itself as a tier one player in the global supply chain. Three years ago the Johannesburg-based business hit rock bottom. Having been appointed one of a handful of non-European partners for the Airbus Military A400M in an offset deal, Denel Aerostructures was struck first by a two-year programme delay and then by Pretoria's unexpected axeing of its order for eight of the transport aircraft.
With the government wavering on whether to continue supporting the heavily loss-making aerostructures business and Airbus bruised by the decision, Denel's ambitions of moving up the value chain as a first tier supplier to major airframers looked in tatters. Coupled with that, the business was saddled with a cost base it could not support. "It was a period of great uncertainty for us," admits chief executive Ismail Dockrat, who took over in early 2010 after a spell at sister unit Denel Aviation. "The company was in dire financial straits."
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