In the middle of a helicopter market that has been flat for nearly a decade and seems likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future, how does a 50-year-old rotorcraft repair, maintenance, management and operations company not only survive but actually manage to grow? In the case of Keystone Helicopters, it does so by making the most financial advantage of its prime but previously undervalued market position; its reputation as the middle-Atlantic region’s blue-chip rotorcraft repair and mod shop; and by a steady multi-year policy of diversification and growth, particularly in the modestly but steadily growing aeromedical transport world.
Oh, and add one other ingredient to this mix: money. Keystone has benefited from an estimated $75 million cash injection as a result of its buyout for an undisclosed sum by the Ranger aerospace venture capital group, a network of holding companies. Spearheaded by the peripatetic Steve Townes, Keystone has been energized, not just with money but with an overall plan for the future, all at a time when the overall economy is stalled in a slump, a condition many financial gurus agree is one of the best times to prepare for growth.
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