History

History of Business

JSC “TAM - Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing” (formerly Tbilisi Aircraft State Association, “TAM”) was established on December 15, 1941.

Following the World War II TAM, working in conjunction with the Yakovlev Design Bureaus put into production the first Soviet jet fighter, the Yak-15 in 1946 followed by the Yak-17, Yak-23 and Yak-23 twin-seat trainer jet.

In the 1950s the factory started production of Mikoian's MiG-15 and later, the MiG-17 fighter aircraft. In 1957 TAM started production of the MiG-21 two-seater fighter-trainer aircraft and its various derivatives, continuing the MiG-21 production for about 25 years. At the same time the company was manufacturing the K-10 air-to-surface guided missile.

The first Sukhoi SU-25 (known in the west as the "Frogfoot") close support aircraft took its maiden voyage from the runway of TAM. More than 800 SU-25s have been delivered to the customers worldwide. TAM has always been the only manufacturer of this type of aircraft. Along with the SU-25 aircraft the enterprise also launched large scale production of air-to-air R-60 and R-73 IR guided missiles, and produced over 6,000 missiles a year until the early 1990s.

In the mid 1980s TAM also participated in the former Soviet space program "Buran" (the Soviet equivalent of the Space Shuttle) by manufacturing and assembling various parts and assemblies for it.

In the late 1990s TAM and the Georgian Space Construction Institute designed and produced the space antenna-reflector which was immediately successfully installed on the MIR Russian space station. Today TAM directs its strategy to fully leverage its experience related to the SU-25 aircraft. The company today cooperates with Israeli partners to modernize and renovate original SU-25 aircraft.

 Starting from early 90’s TAM started the process of production of civil goods. The civil goods produced by TAM range from small gasoline tanks to hydropower turbines.

 TAM has an excellent reputation in the industry, meets western technical standards as evidenced by its past and existing partnering arrangements. In 2001 TAM received EN ISO 9001:2000 quality certificate for the design and production of military and civil aircrafts and its components, as well as design and production of non-aviation industrial products. In 2006 TAM received EN 9100:2003 quality certificate for the design, production and maintenance of military aircrafts and its components and parts and for the design, production and maintenance of civil aircraft, components and parts as sub-contractor. These are the first similar certificates issued by certification authorities in the Former Soviet Union area. In December 2007 TAM received the certificate of Lahav Division Military Aircraft Group - IAI Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (Israel) as an "Approved Supplier". Besides, TAM has already finished preparatory works and will apply for NADCAP certificate.

The Privatization Process 

Until 1998 TAM was wholly-owned by the state as in the legal form of Limited Liability Company. The company became a Joint Stock Company (JSC) in March 2002.  The main objective of this step was optimization of the company structure, divestiture of non-core assets, streamlining the management structure, and valuation of the company physical assets. As a result of those changes, non-core assets were transferred to the Ministry of State Property Management.  

Due to the expected saturation of SU-25 military aircraft the company started process of finding opportunities outside military sector. The main strategy was directed towards shifting from military to civil aircraft building. Initial attempts to forge strategic partnerships with international aircraft manufacturers were not successful. The main reason for that was government ownership.  The government therefore contracted out the management through a tender process. The main criteria for contract award was submission of a five-year business plan.  Of the three bidders the Georgian Government awarded the contract to LLC “Tbilaviamsheni”. This LLC was founded by the top management of TAM. The company was also option of a future privatization of TAM.

 In November 2004 the Government offered The LLC the opportunity to acquire 90% of TAM for US$ 67 million and the contract was signed in that month.  In accordance with Georgian Law the remaining 10% ownership stake was transferred to TAM`s personnel. In 2005 TAM completed the transaction on its terms and on 6 January 2006 the company received the document transferring the title.

Formation of TAM Group

Due to large diversification towards civil production and continuous need of quick response to growing market requirements, “Tbilaviamsheni” LLC management decided to separate civil production (non-aviation) lines from JSC TAM’s structure and on its base establish legally and financially independent subsidiaries. By this decision, on the one hand, TAM got possibility to  focus on its traditional (core) business and on the other hand, gave full independence to the managers of new established independent companies and diminished the risks associated with taking ineffective decisions and decreased bureaucracy.