MD Helicopters booked orders for 25 helicopters last year, its highest annual order intake since 2008, it announced today. A company spokesman told AIN that the orders were almost evenly split between military and civil models.
In addition to an order for 12 helicopters from the Nigerian federal government, recent commercial transactions involved MD530Fs designated for multi-use missions. These civil variants included VIP aircraft for Clemens Aviation and utility aircraft for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and WCF Aerospace on behalf of Skydance Helicopters, a company that specializes in power line services.
“This achievement is a testament to our dedicated team and the trust our customers have in us,” said Jason Lindauer, MD v-p of sales and marketing. “We have an aggressive campaign underway to meet face-to-face with our customers, suppliers, and prospects to gather firsthand feedback and to continue to strengthen relationships.”
MD has instituted a variety of process improvements over the last year, according to the company. They include improving customer support, increasing investment in direct communications with customers, enhancing manufacturing efficiencies, ensuring in-stock spares availability, and maintaining healthy supplier relationships.
MD emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2022 and appointed a new board of directors, CEO, and senior executives with the stated intention of rebuilding product support and gradually ramping up helicopter production.