When Jeff Denomme took over as president of Alpine Aerotech LP in February 2015, he was struck by the length of service of the company’s management team. “It is something I hadn’t ever seen in this industry,” he said, and he loves it. “It brings a consistency to our products and services. When the management team has been here since Day One they understand our vision, goals and objectives for Alpine Aerotech.”
That ‘Day One’ was 25 years ago and that vision has evolved ever since. The company started in Kelowna, British Columbia, as primarily a structures shop and over the years has expanded steadily into an all-round one-stop shop with full capabilities of paint, structures, component overhaul, avionics and manufacturing for helicopters. It grew into a Platinum Certified Bell Helicopter Textron-approved Customer Service Facility and the leading edge provider of comprehensive worldwide helicopter support and aircraft maintenance services from its locations in Kelowna and Abbotsford, British Columbia.
Its 120 employees provide full service maintenance of helicopters, including avionics, component overhaul, composite repair, aircraft maintenance engineering, quality assurance, structural repair, and tooling capabilities. Add to that product and parts sales, manufacturing and product development and you have a truly one-stop shop to serve the helicopter operator.
Alpine Aerotech is focused on all aspects of best-in-class customer service. The company’s credentials and global approvals assist in providing solutions for a large variety of helicopter types, with customers from around the world.
Although the company’s core strengths are with the Bell product line, it does have capabilities with a variety of other brands, like Airbus models, for example.
Alpine Aerotech services a wide selection of operator types too, from large to small. A key customer is the Canadian military. “We are a major partner in helping support their Department of National Defence (DND) Griffon program,” said Denomme.
It comes as a natural fit for the company with its Bell Platinum Certification: the Bell CH-146 Griffon is the Canadian military version of the Bell 412EP. Denomme said the military likes the company’s approach to doing everything in house. It makes it more convenient. “Nothing but engine repair and overhaul is outsourced,” he said.
What’s their secret of success? “It’s all about knowing the operator and their priorities,” said Denomme, who knows them intimately. He comes from a career of managing maintenance operations for a large helicopter operator. “I understand the operational challenges so I can take my role here and work with them,” he said. “I totally get it. It’s about us listening to what the operators’ needs are and providing those solutions.”
The company services customers in all regions of the world where the needed capabilities may not exist. For example, “there’s a lot of customers who bring their aircraft from overseas on a hull exchange program,” explained Denomme. “We refurbish the hull and send it back to the customer and they put their components back on it and send us the old tired airframe and it comes back like brand new.” It is a bonus to clients who can’t afford to put the aircraft down for six months while the refurbishment is going on. “It provides an avenue for operators to keep the revenue stream coming in,” he said. “We do a lot of that around the world.”
For seasonal operators, relying on Alpine Aerotech for larger inspections is becoming increasingly popular. Operators drop their aircraft off in the fall and after the inspection return it in time for the new season’s start. “It is much more cost effective for operators living in remote locations that don’t have access to the parts, shipping and certainly, personnel,” said Denomme. He said they are pushing to drive the program’s momentum and lower costs for the operator.
These types of solution-driven services are key to the company’s ongoing success. “It’s really working with the customer and not just for the customer,” said Denomme. Like all successful businesses, there are challenges. “The economy and the seasonality of our business affect the operators, which impacts us,” said Denomme, citing influences like oil prices and the Canadian dollar exchange rate. “We work together with the operators to optimize the utilization of their aircraft.”
The steady growth will continue. Denomme said that means, “broadening our horizons in the international market and providing solutions for commercial and military operators around the world, while continuing to work with our partner Bell as a Platinum Support facility.”
Alpine Aerotech is dedicated to grow and expand its customer base by providing superior worldwide helicopter support.
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