Rotorcraft
One Year Out of Bankruptcy, MD Helicopters on Upswing
Support for customers is key to future growth at rotorcraft manufacturer
Brad Pedersen MD Helicopters president and CEO
Brad Pedersen, MD Helicopters president and CEO. (Photo: Matt Thurber/AIN)

After exiting bankruptcy a year ago and having delivered just five rotorcraft for all of 2022, MD Helicopters is well into a turnaround that will see the company deliver 19 airframes this year and more than 20 in 2024. “[Next year] is a conservative plan,” MD president and CEO Brad Pedersen told AIN. He added that the company’s board of directors gave him the objective of “how to get to 50 a year.

“A year ago we came out of bankruptcy…after years of turmoil,” he added. “Our biggest goal was to stabilize and profitably grow [the company].” One of MD’s biggest problems was customer support for the 1,700 helicopters in the field. “We didn’t pay a lot of attention to keeping those guys flying,” he admitted.