VICTORIA, British Columbia - For years, Canada's Vector Aerospace has had a low-key presence even as it played a significant role in the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of a variety of military aircraft around the world.
The company hopes to change that image as it focuses on acquiring more defense and commercial business in what has become a relatively recession-proof area of the aviation industry.
Vector already handles maintenance for the United Kingdom's Chinook, Lynx and Sea King helicopters, and it provides some support for the Royal Air Force's fleets of Tornado, Harrier and Nimrod warplanes. It also performs work on the Canadian military's Griffon and Sea King helicopters and Buffalo fixed-wing aircraft, and on U.S. Navy TH-57 training copters.
"We are low-key," acknowledges Declan O'Shea, Vector's president and CEO, "but we are looking to change that."
Founded in 1998, Vector, with corporate headquarters in Toronto, specializes in maintenance, repair and overhaul for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. It employs 2,500 at 13 locations throughout Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Africa. In total, it has 1.5 million square feet of hangar and shop floor space for its engine, airframe and component work.
In 2008, Vector acquired the U.K. Ministry of Defence's Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) Rotary Wing and Components businesses, paving the way for future military work in that country. In addition, over the years, Vector has established long-term partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Sikorsky, Eurocopter, Boeing and AgustaWestland.
"We know we're not going to be the biggest, but we do believe we can be the pre-eminent leader in the MRO market," O'Shea said. "That's both on the civilian and military side."
David Stewart, a partner with AeroStrategy Management Consulting, London, said the global economic downturn has significantly hit business aviation and the air transport market. But the MRO market still has the potential to generate revenue, and it is a much more stable environment, he said.
"MRO is where Vector resides, and it's a much softer landing," he said. "It's not until the planes are parked and retired in the desert [that] they stop generating MRO. If they're flying, they're generating maintenance."
In the last several years, defense work has been playing a bigger role at Vector Aerospace. In 2007, defense contracts accounted for about 35 percent of business, but that has climbed to around 48 percent, O'Shea said.
He said Vector is looking to expand in the defense market in 2010 and has spent the last 18 months streamlining its processes and reducing its turnaround time on its customers' aircraft and systems.
O'Shea pointed to the company's solid year in 2009. Although financial information isn't yet complete for the entire year, revenues for the first nine months were up 20 percent over 2008.
In 2008, Vector's revenues totaled 499 million Canadian dollars ($480 million). Net earnings were 25.2 million Canadian dollars, compared with 12.1 million in 2007.
Stewart said that Vector's growth in revenues last year bodes well for the company. "That's quite an impressive performance," he said.
Defense work factored into the company's increase in 2009 revenues:
n In September, Vector won an initial contract from Boeing to modify Britain's CH-47 Chinooks. The work on the massive twin-rotor transport choppers included the integration of a new glass cockpit, engine upgrades and the modernization of on-board systems. The initial contract is worth 10 million Canadian dollars, but Vector estimates follow-on work could be worth as much as 50 million Canadian dollars.
■ In August, Vector announced it had been awarded a contract by the Brazilian Air Force to support its fleet of Bell H-1H helicopters. The contract is worth about $15 million over five years. Vector will provide support for airframe inspection and repair services and logistics.
The contract includes repair and overhaul work for transmissions, gearboxes and hydraulics, which will be carried out in Vector's Bell Helicopter-approved facility in Andalusia, Ala.
■ In addition, the company completed upgrades on Britain's fleet of Mk9 Lynx helicopters, with all 22 aircraft outfitted with defensive aid systems.
Vector also has set its sights on more U.S. military work. Since 2003, the company has been performing aircraft condition inspection support for the U.S. Navy's TH-57 helicopters.
O'Shea said that work helped Vector land a contract last year on the U.S. Army's TH-67 training helicopters at Fort Rucker, Ala. The deal included the inspection and painting of 25 TH-67s and a complete structural overhaul on two heavily damaged helicopters. Like the U.S. Navy's TH-57, the Army's TH-67 is a variant of Bell Helicopter's Model 206 modified for military pilot training. The Army's OH-58 Kiowa scout and observation helicopter also is based on the Bell 206.
The TH-67 contract is "a huge milestone because for 2010, we wanted to do more work, clearly, with the U.S. Army," O'Shea said. "We would very much like to win the rest of that fleet. They have ... 250 aircraft, so we'd like to get more of those airframes into our shops."
In August, Vector added a Bell-certified airframe repair capability for the OH-58 A and C models at its Andalusia, Ala., helicopter repair and overhaul operation. With that, Vector is fully capable of performing airframe repairs on OH-58 fleets around the world, including for U.S. military, law enforcement, government and security agencies, as well as for NATO allies and other countries.
Vector also is eyeing MRO work on Canada's new Chinook copters, expected to be delivered in 2012. It provides flight-line service to Canadian Air Force CH-146 Griffon helicopters, and conducts inspections and maintenance on Griffons at its facility in Langley, British Columbia. It also provides repair and overhaul services for Canada's CH-124 Sea King helicopter fleet and that aircraft's General Electric T-58 engines, gearboxes and transmissions.
O'Shea sees Vector's track record on the U.K. Chinooks as a strong card in any competition for Canadian work. "We believe we have a huge experience and knowledge on the airframe," he said. ■
Video 
Help
