Columbia Helicopters Cites Expanding Maintenance and Operations Contracts As Important To Projected Growth

Aurora, Oregon (PRWEB) December 29, 2011 "Our pursuit of commercial, and military helicopter maintenance and operational contracts in new areas has resulted in our ability to grow and employ much more people," stated Michael Fahey, President of the Aurora, Oregon-primarily based firm. "At the same time, we are continually creating new contracts with our international petroleum and logging customers. &#13 Columbia Helicopters owns, operates, and maintains the greatest personal fleet of heavy-lift helicopters in the world, consisting of seven Columbia Model 234 Chinooks, and 14 Columbia 107-II, twin engine, tandem rotor aircraft. Capable of carrying loads in excess of 26,000 pounds, the Columbia Model 234 Chinook has one of the biggest lifting capacities of any industrial helicopter. The Columbia 107-II helicopter has a capacity of approximately ten,000 pounds. "Some of our Chinooks are operating in Peru and Papua New Guinea, wherever worldwide petroleum clients use these aircraft to move heavy gear, and help exploration operations in remote jungles," Fahey stated. &#13 Benefiting both the business and the nearby economy, hiring at Columbia Helicopters is up 12 percent over this period a year ago, with nearly 200 jobs additional since the finish of 2009. That includes 40 extremely skilled men and women hired by the company's Aurora-based upkeep operation given that the beginning of 2011. Currently, Columbia Helicopters has virtually 700 personnel in its global operations, with above 200 far more employed by international subsidiaries or affiliated support organizations. &#13 According to Fahey, modern development was largely fueled by the entry into the military operations marketplace for the very first time, with the deployment of 5 hefty-lift helicopters and help personnel to Afghanistan on December 1, 2011. Below a multimillion dollar contract with the United States Transportation Command, Columbia Helicopters will operate from a variety of places all through Afghanistan in a non-tactical, logistics assistance role ferrying mail, personnel and supplies. &#13 "The Afghanistan mission is a best fit for the talent ranges and expertise we have constructed up above our 55-year history, and our understanding is that we are generating a distinction," mentioned Fahey. "The military has repeatedly expressed fantastic appreciation of our operational tempo, high level of availability, and the flexibility of our crews to carry out our missions in a timely, and quite specialist manner." &#13 In order to meet the demands of its developing world-wide military helicopter servicing enterprise, the firm is now routinely sending crews outdoors the US in order to help customers with routine maintenance. At present, Columbia's crews are operating for military organizations in Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Spain and other areas. The organization, in truth, has opened a servicing operation facility in Australia. In addition, servicing crews have been dispatched to Afghanistan to function on deployed foreign military aircraft,. &#13 In addition to the military, Columbia has historically worked with a number of commercial clients, and has noticed important development in upkeep for both groups, especially with individuals utilizing helicopters equivalent to the Columbia fleet. &#13 To more improve its servicing and repair capabilities, the firm broke ground last summer time on a new, $ four-million engine test facility at its Aurora base, slated to be fully operational in 2012. Capable of operating the T55-714 engine, which powers military CH-47 super hefty-lift helicopters around the world, the check cell has been designed to accommodate long term versions of that engine, as nicely as other engine product lines. &#13 "We are certainly pleased with our growth," Fahey said. "Whilst we have grown conservatively, and do not anticipate our enterprise model to alter, our Board of Directors and management team will discover all opportunities when they present themselves, and I am confident that we will continue to develop in the future." &#13 Columbia Helicopters is a member of the American Helicopter Services &amp Aerial Firefighting Association (AHSAFA), a Washington-based trade association representing industrial operators of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft engaged in aerial wildland firefighting and other aerial solutions. &#13 &#13 &#13 Singapore Meetings [l]
 * 1) &#13