After a successful debut in France, Rotortrade is working to expand its maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) business to other parts of the world — with the U.S. and Australia the next targets.
The company established its first MRO facility — known as the European Service Center — in Tallard, France, earlier this year. The 16,000-square-foot (1,500-square-meter) facility offers full-service capabilities for types produced by all the major manufacturers, with space for up to eight helicopters.
Strategically located between Airbus Helicopters’ headquarters in Marignane, France, and Leonardo’s home in Cascina Costa, Italy, the European Service Center also has the ability to manage aircraft completion and reconfiguration from a VIP ito an air medical or utility interior. By Nov. 24, the MRO will also have the ability to perform major inspection on aircraft from singles to light twins (up to the Airbus H145 and Leonardo AW139 in size).
Rotortrade CEO Philippe Lubrano said the company is planning to launch MRO operations in the U.S. with a facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, followed by one in Texas within the next 18 months. He said he hopes to ultimately have “three or four” U.S. MRO facilities, with bases in Asia-Pacific and Africa by the end of next year.
“The minute you start to own millions of [dollars of] inventory you have a carrying cost,” said Lubrano, explaining the move into MRO. “You have to have a proper maintenance facility, you need a storage facility, you need pilots, you need many things to look after them. We used to subcontract all of that and I took the decision, in the middle of 2023, that we will build up an MRO network that we will own around the world to support our sales team and our customers.”
The move is the latest branch of growth for Rotortrade, after Saudi Arabian operating giant The Helicopter Company (THC) completed its acquisition of the global helicopter dealer last year.
“We went from an organization that was delivering about $120 million revenue in 2023 to an organization that is delivering $200 million revenue this year,” said Lubrano.
Today, the company has a staff of about 70, and it hopes to reach 120 by the end of 2025, with 12 dealerships.
The growth plan for Rotortrade’s MRO network is — as with many things related to THC and Rotortrade — rapid. Lubrano said it will involve “some merger and acquisition” to save time, but the company is planning to start from scratch in several countries — with the incumbent time and energy required to hire staff, build facilities, and get regulatory approvals.
Rotortrade manages the acquisition and on-boarding of the THC fleet, which currently numbers 62 aircraft. This figure is set to double over the next three years, with a new aircraft joining the fleet at an average of around 1.5 each month.
From next month, the customization of these new aircraft — from Airbus and Leonardo — will be completed at Rotortrade’s European Service Center.
As THC’s existing fleet ages, some of the older aircraft — roughly 10 percent each year — will be reconditioned and placed in the used helicopter market by Rotortrade.
Lubrano said the inventory held by his company will help alleviate the availability problems caused by long lead times at many OEMs.
“Look at the geopolitical situation around the world,” he said. “You have floods, you have fires, you have conflicts, you have pressure on borders. I observe that more conservatism is picking up all around Europe. Everybody wants to have more surveillance capabilities and solutions. So where is the requirement for vertical lift? It’s everywhere. Everybody needs a helicopter.”
Lubrano said Rotortrade’s inventory and MRO network would provide a solution for operators or agencies requiring more urgent delivery than an OEM can offer.
“We have to try to adjust and to give the possibility to [a customer] to make the helicopter they want to buy,” he said. “If I have one type, but the mission suite is not the one the customer wants, I have to have the ability to complete [the aircraft].”
In addition to providing MRO services to the aircraft in its own inventory, Rotortrade will be open to third party work, said Lubrano.
“We have to be customer focused,” he said. “We want to do third party because we want also to play a role in the regional MRO activity to support the market.”
