COATESVILLE, Pa., Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Keystone Helicopter, a subsidiary of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., today celebrated the Federal Aviation Administration's award of a Production Certificate (PC) authorizing Keystone to manufacture S-76(R) commercial helicopters at its new state of the art Heliplex(TM) facility. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
Local and county officials joined representatives from the FAA, Keystone and Sikorsky executives, and company employees to celebrate the recently received approval, following submission of the application in March 2006. Production will begin almost immediately, with the first aircraft built under the PC slated for delivery before year-end.
"Sikorsky is experiencing unprecedented growth and is expanding capacity to meet all our customer requirements -- including those of the U.S. government, which in July approved full-rate production for approximately 1,200 UH-60M and HH-60M helicopters starting in 2008," said Mick Maurer, Vice President, Operations, for Sikorsky. "Keystone's new charter not only enables us to meet our important S-76 helicopter customer needs but also frees up capacity at our Connecticut plant to help meet our government obligations. This is great news all around."
"We would not have received this production certificate without the skills, dedication and hard work of all our employees, and the support and dedication of our local FAA Manufacturing Inspection District Office," said Keystone President David Ford. "Today we celebrate a great achievement -- their achievement."
Sikorsky expects to phase in S-76 helicopter production at Keystone starting with approximately 20 aircraft between now and the end of 2008, Maurer said. The transfer will have no effect on Connecticut employment levels. "We have more than enough work to go around," he said.
In addition to its new production capability, Keystone Helicopter is a full-service maintenance and completion center anchored by the Heliplex, the new state-of-the-art technical services depot in Coatesville, Pa. Keystone is a factory-authorized service center for Bell, Eurocopter, MD Helicopter, Rolls-Royce, Turbomeca, Pratt & Whitney, and Sikorsky products. Sikorsky's mission statement reflects its long commitment to safety and innovation: "We pioneer flight solutions that bring people home everywhere... every time(TM)." United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Connecticut, USA, provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in government procurement priorities and practices or in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production and support of advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corporation's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
SOURCE Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.
