Skies clear for Robinson Helicopter
Firm’s production more than doubled in 2011, after a recession sparked slowdown.
Robinson Helicopter Co. of Torrance, the world’s leading maker of commercial helicopters, said it churned out 356 choppers last year, more than double 2010’s production of 162.
The company’s helicopters are used in a wide variety of occupations, including television news operations, police work and banks’ transport of money between branches.
Robinson builds the twoseat R-22, the four-seat R-44 and the new five-seat R-66 at its complex in Torrance.
The increase in production is welcome news for Robinson, which struggled during the recession as customers cut back orders and saw financing for the purchase of new helicopters all but dry up.
When Robinson announced that it had made just 162 choppers in 2010, it was a stunning reversal of fortune for the company, which built 893 aircraft at its peak just two years earlier.
Because the company is privately held, little public information is available about its finances.
Dun & Bradstreet Inc. estimated its 2011 sales at $77million.
Crucial to Robinson’s recovery has been its newest helicopter, the jet-powered R-66.
The rotorcraft is by far the company’s most technologically advanced, capable of flying faster, higher and with more people and cargo than any of its previous aircraft.
Production on the R-66 prompted Robinson to last year expand its factory, which now hugs almost half a mile of runway at the east end of Torrance Municipal Airport.
At the plant, assembly line workers build the helicopters from scratch, with nearly all parts made inhouse.
The company added 261 employees in 2011, bringing the total number to 1,152.
Robinson said it was entering 2012 with a backlog of more than 400 aircraft orders.