At the LABACE aviation tradeshow in São Paulo, a city in southeastern Brazil, Brazilian Sierra Aeronáutica announced a joint venture with US-based Texas Aviation Services (TAS), a company specialized in helicopter and aircraft services. The partnership will guarantee support for Brazilian helicopter clients.
LABACE (Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition) is the largest annual aviation trade show in Brazil.
Speaking before members of the aviation press corps and other industry leaders, the two companies noted that as a consequence of the rapid growth of the helicopter market in Brazil, they have achieved unprecedented backlogs for completions and customizing projects chiefly for VIP helicopters.
Given the continuing growth of these markets for helicopters and aircraft technical services, Ranger Aerospace (parent company of TAS) is considering more aggressive expansion to serve customers in the region, perhaps including a substantial industrial investment in the Sao Paulo area, joint ventured with Brazil partners with whom preliminary talks have already begun.
Marcos Braga, CEO of Sierra Aeronáutica, and a well-known widely respected rotorcraft expert in Brazil, said, "The helicopter expertise of TAS, plus the aerospace experience and investment power of Ranger Aerospace, spells good news for our numerous customers here."
TAS is a Brazilian ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency) certified repair station. Helicopters that are delivered from Texas to Brazil are already registered and approved by the Brazilian aviation authority, without the delays normally found with typical entry and customs procedures.
Steve Townes, Chairman of TAS and CEO of Ranger Aerospace said: "We are committed to our helicopter clients in this region. We want to be the customizing partner of choice for discerning customers who value the exceptional quality instilled in helicopters by a dedicated and skilled workforce. We are investing steadily to achieve deeper technical capacity and larger scale."
Texas Aviation Services, with 140,000 square feet of facilities at Meacham Field in Fort Worth, TX, is an independent helicopter technical services company with 37 years of history. The firm specializes in both civilian and military helicopter completions, retrofits, MRO, avionics systems integration, interiors, paint, component overhaul and engineering.Â
TAS performs complex customizing projects on civilian Bell, Eurocopter, Agusta and other helicopter types, and extensive retrofits on military Blackhawks. The Meacham Airport operations are one of the largest of their type in the mid-South, with the capacity for scores of helicopter projects per year.
Service
Sierra Aeronáutica
Site: www.sierraaeronautica.com.br
