Long known as the world’s lone operator of the heavy-lift S-64, Erickson Air-Crane announced yesterday that it has rebranded as Erickson Incorporated, reflecting the company’s recent acquisitions and newly diversified portfolio. Over the past year, the Oregon-based company purchased fleet operators Evergreen Helicopters and Air Amazonia, which will serve as the basis for three new operating divisions within its new corporate structure: Erickson Helicopters (formerly Evergreen Helicopters), Erickson Transport (formerly Evergreen Helicopters of Alaska) and Air Amazonia (to be rebranded over the coming months), which will join Erickson Air-Crane, Canadian Air-Crane, European Air-Crane and Malaysian Air-Crane within the company.
“What will be different about these units is most of them will fly a mix of aircraft,” said company president and CEO Udo Rieder, noting the end of the days when the company was defined solely by the Aircrane. Over the past year, Erickson has gone from operating 20 S-64s to more than 90 rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft of varying types. “We are obviously very competitive and we found that we were giving away a lot of the markets to smaller aircraft, to medium aircraft to light aircraft as well as to fixed-wing aircraft,” he added.
