Eurocopter has opened a new centre in Perth, Western Australia to support the growing Eurocopter fleet of helicopters deployed in the booming resources industry in the state.

More than 25 17-19-seat helicopters of Eurocopter's Super Puma family are deployed by several companies operating in the oil and gas industry in Western Australia's North West Shelf region. The helicopters are deployed in airlift supply and personnel transport operations, with the local fleet expected to significantly grow during the next three to four years.

The new Perth Support Centre, managed by Eurocopter subsidiary Australian Aerospace, comprises more than 720m² (7,750ft²) of office, training, maintenance and warehousing facilities. It will provide warehousing for stock on consignment and additional spare parts, local training for customer pilots, light maintenance and repair operations, as well as technical support.

The centre will also cater for non-resource industry customers in the region, including the Western Australia police force, for example, which has been operating Eurocopter helicopters for more than 25 years and recently put a new AS365N3+ into service. The first EC130T2 for the Asia-Pacific region is destined for a customer in Perth in the near future, says Eurocopter.

The helicopter manufacturer supports more than 400 Eurocopter helicopters in the Australia-Pacific region.

Source: Flight International