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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 0095.PDF
BUSINESS & GENERAL AVIATION STRATEGY KATE SARSFIELD/ LONDON Enstrom resolves to boost output Company president aims to shake off culture of complacency with customer support, marketing and sales initiatives Enstrom Helicopters is to increase helicopter production fivefold next year as it seeks to bolster its order- book and cultivate a new customer base through a series of sales initia tives and product improvements. Steven Daniels, president of the Michigan-based piston and turbine light-helicopter manufacturer, says a culture of complacency has sur rounded the company over a num ber of years, resulting in dwindling orders and production last year of only six aircraft. He says: "I arrived at Enstrom last June, aware that while our products [the piston-pow ered F28F and 280FX and 480B tur bine] were held in high regard, our approach to customer support, mar keting and sales was inadequate." He adds: "We lost sight of who our primary customers were - pri vate individuals. From the feedback I have received, it is clear that there had been a break-down in commu nication between them and the local Enstrom dealers." Daniels says he has put a new Products like the 480B are highly regarded but need support, says Enstrom strategy in place designed to reflect the new customer-focused culture at Enstrom. The company's international dealership network has now been strengthened, says Daniels, through the recruitment of new "experi enced" sales personnel across 26 locations, and an aggressive market ing campaign has begun to pro mote the types. "We are also estab lishing sales offices in emerging markets. Our Taipei base is already operational serving Asia Pacific and we plan to have a Russian base by the end of the year," Daniels adds. Enstrom is planning next month to visit China's Wuhan Helicopters to kick-start a long-standing agree ment for local assembly of the pis- PRODUCTION Lancair restarts Columbia 300 line with first-quarter delivery promise Lancair is restarting light aircraft production and hopes to deliver "two or three" Columbia 300s by the end of the first quarter. The company was forced to halt pro duction last year while it sought funding to ramp up output of the new design to the level required for sustained profitability. Late last year, Lancair's Malay sian backers agreed to "nearly quadruple" their investment in the Oregon-based manufacturer, says president Bing Lantis. The addi tional funding is sufficient for pro duction to restart and ramp up as originally planned. Certification work on the more-powerful Columbia 350 and 400 has also been resumed, says Lantis. The investment has come from the Malaysian government, which owns Composites Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM). Plans call for CTRM to become a second source for the composite airframe of the Columbia. "There is no requirement to buy from them," says Lantis. "It will be a business decision, but they are a good supplier." Certification work on the Columbia 350 is "basically done", says Lantis, but Lancair has taken advantage of the hiatus to make improvements to the 400. "We have flying yet to do [on the 400]," he says. The company's order back log grew during the production shutdown, and now stands at around 180 aircraft of all three models, Lantis says. Mooney Aircraft, which restarted deliveries last year after being res cued from bankruptcy, is projecting sales of 80 aircraft this year. Last year the Kerrville, Texas-based company completed and delivered 17 aircraft that were already on the assembly line when production shut down. Mooney plans to restart the production line for new orders next month. New Piper expects to deliver 252 aircraft this year, down from the 291 shipped last year. The com pany had projected deliveries of 331 aircraft in 2002, but reduced this to 305 when the general avia tion downturn began to bite. Year-end shipment numbers were reduced further by the crank shaft problem which affected avail ability of the Lycoming IO-540 engines that are used in certain Piper models. ton- and turbine-powered machines. "Our aim is for Wuhan to build our machines for the Chinese market." Only a handful of Enstrom types are in operation in the country. Daniels is also keen to widen Enstrom's appeal within the police aviation and advanced training markets, "areas which have never been properly addressed". He says: "We are evaluating the market for a new helicopter design, but obvi ously our first priority is to improve our current line-up. For the turbine models, for example, we plan to fit elastomeric dampers to the main rotor, designed to lower operating costs and provide a smoother ride. "We are also planning to install night-vision compatible cockpits and energy-attenuating seats as an option." Enstrom's new strategy, Daniels says, is showing signs of success, with this year's planned production target of 15 helicopters within reach. "For 2004 we expect to build to 30 machines," he says. CERTIFICATION New date for SJ30-2 Sino Swearingen Aircraft expects to announce shortly the new target date for certification of the SJ30-2 light business jet, but is tight-lipped about whether the programme will be acceler ated or further delayed. "We are in due diligence. We are looking at everything, any thing is possible," says the company, which underwent a management change late last year after an infusion of funding from its Taiwanese backers. US certification was projected for late this year, after repeated delays. Flight testing of the first certifi cation aircraft is continuing in San Antonio, Texas, and the sec ond aircraft is being prepared for flight. A third certification-test air craft is in final assembly and the fourth is being fabricated at Martinsburg, West Virginia. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 21-27 JANUARY 2003 25
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