On Friday September 28th 2018 the Heli-One Canada team hosted a special guest at their River Road (Delta, BC) facilities. Local Member of Parliament (MP) Carla Qualtrough (Delta) toured the facility, met with staff, and took questions during a brief visit. The MP is also the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and the Minister of Accessibility. A considerable amount of government spending budget is within her portfolio responsibilities and this includes any that come from the Department of Defense.
MP Qualtrough was invited to the River Road facility to learn about Heli-One’s contributions to the global and national aerospace industry. She toured the production facility with special focus on the S-92 gearbox line, Materials Testing Lab, and Plasma Spray booth. The Materials Testing Lab and Plasma Spray allow Heli-One to further enhance their in-house repair capabilities. The Testing Lab & Plasma Spray allows technicians to develop and test materials for repair capabilities that are usually done by an external vendor. This saves the company both time and money as well as deepening the knowledge base of technicians. The MP was impressed with the breadth of capabilities at the facility and the specialized skills of staff.
The MP then made some short remarks to the entire team, including assurances that part of her mandate is to diversify who receives government contracts, remove roadblocks facing Western Canadian companies, and modernizing the procurement process. Questions to the MP focused on staffing challenges, keeping business in Delta, and highlighting Western Canadian businesses.
For additional photos and information about the visit, please read this article in the local newspaper (Delta Optimist):
https://www.delta-optimist.com/news/delta-mp-wants-west-in-on-more-of-the-billions-in-government-contracts-1.23446666
