Transwest Helicopters Ltd, who in October 2011 relocated from the Chilliwack Airport in Southwest British Columbia to the Oliver Airport in the Southern Interior, is pleased to announce that the company has won a contract to overhaul two Bell 412 helicopters at its brand new hangar facility in Oliver British Columbia Canada this winter. These machines have arrived in Oliver overland from Lafayette, Louisiana USA and are in the process of being dismantled.

President and CEO Ernst-Ulrich Maas praised the efforts of all Transwest Helicopters staff who have worked very hard to ensure the relocation and set-up of the company in the new Oliver base ran smoothly. This enabled the company to bid successfully on this overhaul contract.

“We experienced a challenging year and it is very gratifying to be successful in attracting new business to our new Oliver base” Ernst Maas says. He attributes this success as an overall team effort, but in particular due to the perseverance of Transwest Helicopters Director of Maintenance, Stacy Ascah.

Transwest Helicopters Ltd, first established in 1958, has many years of experience forest firefighting, power line construction, ski lift construction, oilfield support and has carried out hundreds of miscellaneous heavy lift jobs both in Canada and abroad with an excellent safety record. The company currently employs 35 people, a mix of both regular staff and contract aviation engineers/pilots. There have also been a number of local hires, which will have had a positive effect on the local job market.  The local economy in general has also benefited from the arrival of the newly relocated staff both living and working in the Oliver/Osoyoos British Columbia area.

Transwest Helicopters operates a fleet of Bell 214B, Bell 412 and A-Star 350 B2 helicopters.  Transwest Helicopters is a Bell Authorized Service Center that specializes in major component overhaul for the Bell medium family of helicopters and is also a Honeywell Licensed Support Facility.