Fresh on the heels of celebrating its 40th anniversay this summer, American Eurocopter is  touting news of the addition of  delivery and training centers at its Grand Prairie headquarters where  it performs completions.

The new facilities boast a full-motion flight simulator, a customer service and fleet operations center and a two-story avionics shop and engineering center.

Also, in July, the company received FAA approval to operate under an ODA (organization designation authorization), which helps it speed up issuance of supplemental type certificates by acting on behalf of the FAA during the approval process.

American Eurocopter’s facilities generate an annual economic impact of about $740 million. The company employs more than 750 people at Grand Prairie, near Dallas; at a manufacturing center in Columbus, Miss.; and at a regional support center in Long Beach, Calif.

Currently, more than 1,800 Eurocopter rotorcraft are in operation in the U.S. with users including nearly 500 federal, state and local agencies as well as private operators. “We take pride in our U.S. heritage and the role our operations have played in our growth and leadership in the rotorcraft industry,” said Marc Paganini, president and CEO of American Eurocopter. “It has been a great 40 years, and the best is yet to come.”     –