News & Insights
- New 65,000 Square-Foot Facility Replaces Temporary Hangar
- Rzeszow Team Maintains Airframes for Large-Capacity, Long-Range Aircraft
- Heli-One Creating Skilled Jobs in Poland’s Aviation Valley Region
3 June 2014 – Rzeszow, Poland – Current and future customers, especially those in Europe and the Middle East and who operate “heavy” helicopters, will be beneficiaries of Heli-One’s new, 65,000 square-foot customised hangar in Rzeszow, Poland, which was formally opened today.
Heli-One, a subsidiary of CHC Helicopter, is the world’s largest independent provider of helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). CHC is the operating company of CHC Group Ltd. (NYSE: HELI).
Plans for the new hangar were announced when Heli-One established a presence in Rzeszow in February 2013. Until now, the company has been operating from a temporary facility there.
Rzeszow is one of four Heli-One locations, which together provide customers around the globe with access to the company’s world-class maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities.
“From this location, we are meeting the demand from customers in Poland and across Central Europe,” said Anthony DiNota, Heli-One’s vice president, Commercial. “Our people and capabilities in Rzeszow demonstrate our commitment to the region and to delivering for our customers. We are proud and honored to be here in Poland.”
Today’s opening event included customers, government officials, and Heli-One and CHC leaders.
Paul King, CHC’s senior vice president of Facilities, recognized the importance of the location to customers of Heli-One worldwide.
“With advancing technology and global requirements, customers are flying increasing numbers of large, rotary-wing aircraft,” said Mr. King. “They are using heavies for a broad range of applications – offshore transportation, search-and-rescue services, police and military work, firefighting and more – and we are expanding our footprint to respond to a growing demand for Heli-One’s highly skilled MRO services.”
The Rzeszow facility’s design follows LEAN principles that from the start of operations are maximizing safety, effectiveness and efficiency.
The 65,000-square-foot structure has a maintenance hangar which can accommodate up to six large airframes, along with office and shop space. The facility includes several “green” upgrades, including radiant floor heat, LED lighting and skylights.
“This hangar is about high quality, efficiency and value, within a productive and safe working environment to our people,” said Mr. King.
Located in a region of Poland known for its deep aviation experience and engineering talent, Heli-One is drawing on a stream of skilled and ambitious graduates from the local schools and the Rzeszow University of Technology.
Today Heli-One employs more than 70 people in Rzeszow, and that number is expected to grow. The facility is presently focused on airframe maintenance for heavy helicopters, including Airbus Helicopter Super Puma and EC135 aircraft.
Around the world, Heli-One employs more than 700 people, provides world-class engineering and design expertise, and holds more than 40 certificates from aircraft manufacturers. From its four locations, the Heli-One team supports more than 200,000 flight hours per year.
About Heli-One
Heli-One is based in Delta, British Columbia, Canada, and has MRO operations in Delta; Stavanger, Norway; Fort Collins, Colorado.; and now Rzeszow. Heli-One is part of CHC Helicopter, the world’s largest helicopter services company, which, in addition to MRO services, provides transportation to offshore oil and gas platforms and ships and search-and-rescue agencies. CHC is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and operates about 240 aircraft in approximately 30 countries around the world.
Contact Information
MEDIA INVESTORS
T.R. Reid Lynn Antipas Tyson
Vice President, Global Communications Vice President, Investor Relations
+1.512.869.9094 +1.914.485.1150
t.r.reid@chc.ca lynn.tyson@chc.ca