Bristow Group celebrated its new brand identity with the unveiling of a redecorated S-76 at the Sikorsky Aircraft booth (No. 2537) yesterday. The company was formerly known as Offshore Logistics, but a survey among customers and employees last year confirmed that the Bristow brand name was stronger and should be applied to all the company’s business units, said Bristow president and CEO William Chiles.
The Houston-based Bristow Group is under contract with Sikorsky to purchase 35 new S-76C+ helicopters, and Chiles told HAI Convention News that the company expects to add additional Sikorsky aircraft to that order within the next six months. Chiles said that some of the 35 helicopters already on order might end up being delivered as the S-76D, depending on timing and availability.
The S-76D twin-turbine is scheduled to enter service in 2008 and will be powered by the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210S.
Through its brands Air Logistics and Bristow Helicopters, Bristow provides transportation, maintenance, search and rescue and related services to the offshore oil and gas industry. The Bristow Group also provides offshore platform production management services, including staffing and on-site management of offshore facilities, through its subsidiary Grasso Production Management.
Chiles said Bristow also has placed orders for four Eurocopter EC 225s that will operate in the North Sea; four Bell 406-L4s that will operate in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska; six Bell 412s to serve a customer in Trinidad; and four Sikorsky S-92s that will serve the company’s air medical affiliate, Norsk Helicopters.
Chiles said his goal is to double the size of the company over the next five years, increasing the staff by 10 to 15 percent and capital expenditures by $150 million per year. The company is participating in the job fair here at Heli-Expo for pilots and maintenance technicians. Chiles said he plans to target its customer growth in Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East.
“We certainly feel that Bristow is one of our most important clients and are happy to share the stage with them for this important announcement,” said Sikorsky president Steve Finger. “Bristow has been a good customer of ours for many years, and we are pleased to continue providing high-quality helicopters for them.”
Bristow received the first production S-76 following the helicopter’s FAA certification in 1978.
