ASHK is capable of fully replacing the import of aviation tires
The Altai Tire Plant, whose tires for the MS-21 airliner recently received a Certificate of Conformity of Component Products (SGKI), is capable of fully replacing the import of aircraft tires on the Russian market, believes the founder of the flight safety and certification service RunAvia.ru Andrey Patrakov, whose words are cited by Kommersant.
By 2030, it is planned to produce 270 MC-21 aircraft and equip all of them with tires from the Altai Tire Plant. At the same time, the expert believes that these volumes of tire supplies may be excessive, since "the volume of production of the aircraft themselves will not be fulfilled due to the unfinished certification of other important components". Taking this into account, in Patrakov's opinion, it would have been rational to direct at least part of the investments to the development and certification of domestic tires for foreign-made Airbus A320 and Boeing B737 aircraft, which, unlike tires for the MC-21, already have a demand, which "can make the project of the Altai plant potentially profitable and successful".
According to the estimates of the managing partner of IPM Consulting Anastasia Vladimirova, investments in the creation of a tire production line for the Russian aircraft can amount to 3-4.5 billion rubles, while development "could have cost a little less - in the range of 800 million to 1 billion rubles". "The aviation industry requires a multi-year development and validation cycle, which significantly increases the cost of the project compared to automotive or industrial tires," the expert notes.
In general, analysts highly appreciate the prospects of the project, since, in addition to direct tire supplies, the Altai Tire Plant can provide their after-sales service, which will ensure stable income throughout the entire life cycle of the aircraft. Moreover, as the leading expert of UK "Finnam Management" Dmitry Baranov points out, in the future, there is a possibility that tires will be exported both with the supplied aircraft and for replacement on other aircraft.
As for the risks, experts say that there is uncertainty about the production volumes of the MC-21, and in addition, there is a likelihood of difficulties in ensuring stable quality when launching serial production, which will also require significant initial investments. Another important factor is the price of domestic tires, which may be higher than the market price, and besides, as Vladimirova says, the new line will have a long payback period, which can stretch for 8-13 years.
Earlier, the Kirov Tire Plant and Nizhnekamskshina also reported plans to launch the production of aircraft tires.