BBA Aviation Global Engine Services companies Dallas Airmotive and H+S Aviation have added a series of new capabilities that expand their coverage to 65 percent of the world’s rotorcraft fleets. The new capabilities–including support for the PW200, PW210, PT6T and PT6C-67 (supported by H+S Aviation only)–are part of a multi-year effort to significantly expand the reach of the BBA companies in the rotorcraft engine services market, making those services as central to their businesses as the fixed-wing work. As a result, “We are now virtually authorized on every rotorcraft that we can be on,” said Peg Billson, president and CEO of BBA Aviation Global Engine Services (Booth 4356).

The company has invested roughly $40 million in the past two years in this expansion, which has included the opening of a third major MRO center in Abu Dhabi and the construction of new facilities at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

The Abu Dhabi facility opened in late 2014 and recently received approvals for PW200 and PT6C-67 engines. Billson noted that a number of employees transferred to the facility to ensure “we are bringing it up with our experienced technicians.” Work has been under way at the facility, which she said will support customers in China, Southeast Asia, India and Africa, along with the Middle East. “We are receiving the interest we’re anticipating for that facility,” she said. “There was a need and a demand for support for these rotorcraft in that region.”

In Texas, Dallas Airmotive also has received approvals to support the PW200 and PW210, along with its existing support for the PT6T and Rolls-Royce 300 and M250. These capabilities have come online as Dallas Airmotive prepares to transfer to its new 200,000-sq-ft center of excellence and test center. The company on February 19 received a temporary certificate of occupancy, which Billson said is the “green light to start fitting out the facilities and move forward.”

A permanent certificate of occupancy is anticipated in the next month or so, and the Dallas Airmotive lines will slowly transfer over the next year. Billson said the company has an outline on that transfer, but recognizes that could shift “based on what volume we have at the shop.” Once everything has been transferred and is up and running, the company will hold a grand opening.

Along with Dallas and Abu Dhabi, the company serves customers through its facility in Portsmouth, U.K., along with 10 regional turbine centers and a field service network. “We like the footprint that we have in place,” she said. The company also has invested heavily in cross-training so it can “flex” its employees to ensure they have the resources available for where the services are needed.

The cross-training has been helpful in managing work as the energy markets struggle while law enforcement and medevac pick up, she said. It also has been a key part of another critical initiative of the company, expediting its turntimes. “We’ve done a significant amount of work in the last year in increasing our speed and increasing our throughput in our shops,” Billson said, noting the company improved turntime by 42 percent in 2015 across all of its product lines.

With the investments in facilities, authorizations and training, the companies are coming to Heli-Expo with the message that “we are fully open to support…the world’s helicopters fleets.” Billson said. While noting pockets of the industry have been aware of its expansion in the rotorcraft markets, she said, “We are going to make a hard push at Heli-Expo to help people really understand the depth and breadth of our capabilities.” To emphasize that point, Dallas Airmotive and H+S Aviation are offering discounts on services for customers who commit during Heli-Expo.