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The Ledcor Group of Companies and Wood Buffalo Helicopters have announced that they have concluded an agreement in principle to merge their helicopter businesses and assets in Fort McMurray, Yellowknife and Terrace into a single operating entity, subject to regulatory approval.
“We look forward to combining the talented and experienced teams of employees within Summit Helicopters and Wood Buffalo Helicopters to better serve the Western Canadian market,” said Paul McElligott, president of Ledcor Resources and Transportation. “Both companies complement each other in expertise, fleet, and location.”
Summit Helicopters is part of the Ledcor Group of Companies and operates a fleet of helicopters based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Terrace, B.C. Summit Helicopters specializes in arctic operations, mining exploration, crew movements, environmental surveys, business travel and medevac.
“Customer service is what we do best, so our helicopter business has been growing steadily in recent years,” said Michael Morin, president, Wood Buffalo Helicopters. “More and more of our customers are requesting services beyond the reach of our traditional base of operations. We now look forward to serving them in British Columbia and the North.”
Wood Buffalo Helicopters has over 10 years of vertical lifting experience in Northeast Alberta and operates a fleet of light and intermediate helicopters based in Fort McMurray, Alta. Wood Buffalo Helicopters specializes in oil & gas field support, surveying, patrol, forest protection, fire-fighting and environment & wildlife operations.
“Subject to regulatory approval of the merger, the brand of the new entity will be Summit Helicopters,” said McElligott, “and, I am pleased that Michael Morin will be levering his extensive experience in rotor operations as the chief operating officer of the new combined business.”
“I am excited by the opportunity to combine the best of Wood Buffalo’s success in the oil sands area with Summit’s success in the North,” said Morin. “Plus, by combining forces we will gain efficiencies on fleet usage, maintenance, administration, and training.”
“One characteristic that was closely aligned with both companies was our focus on safety and the existence of programs that continually enhance and improve safety across our operations,” said McElligott.
“We plan to implement Flight Data Management (FDM) and Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) early on in the merger to further increase the reliability and efficiency of our services,” added Morin.
