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British Columbia, Canada, is strategically locatedas the gateway between Asia and North America.Its location, talented workforce, rich naturalresources and thriving new industries provideoutstanding business opportunities for increasedtrade, investment and tourism.
Modern transportation infrastructure in BritishColumbia provides efficient access to key globalmarkets by land, sea and air. British Columbiaitself is a vast area of nearly one million squarekilometres with several rugged mountain ranges,thousands of kilometres of coastline and vastforest regions. Fixed-wing aircraft, float planes andhelicopters have played an important role for thepast 60 years in the development of the provinceand in gaining access to key markets.
As a result, British Columbia companies havedeveloped world-class expertise in modifyingaircraft for specific applications such asfirefighting, air ambulance emergencies andoperations on and over water as well as providingservice to aircraft serving the Vancouver andVictoria international airports.
Vancouver International Airport — with a largecontinental and global network of routes — ranksahead of San Francisco and Seattle in the numberof scheduled weekly international flights, and is aleading North American hub for the Asia Pacificregion.
The British ColumbiaAerospace Industry:
• Consists of more than 80companies with annual salesof more than $800 million.
• Employs more than 7,000highly skilled engineers,technicians and machinists.
• Derives 80 per cent of itstotal revenues from exportsales.
S E C T O R P R O F I L E
B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A C A N A D A
Photo courtesy of MTU Maintenance Canada
British Columbiaaerospace industry
Main areas of aerospaceexpertise in British Columbia are:
• Maintenance, repair and overhaul• Remote sensing, software and
systems integration• Aerospace manufacturing
Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul
Maintenance, repair and overhaul is the largest sectorof the aerospace industry in British Columbia. Itgenerates almost half the jobs in the industry and$400 million in revenue each year. Companiescontract for customers from Asia, South America,Europe and the U.S.
Some maintenance, repair and overhaul companiesinclude:
ACRO Aerospace supports Bell, Eurocopter andSikorsky helicopters and Allison, GE, Pratt & Whitneyand Turbomeca engines. www.acro.ca
Cascade Aerospace offers complete services formaintenance, repair and overhaul of Boeing 737 andBombardier Dash 8 aircraft.
www.cascadeaerospace.com
Air Canada Technical Operations in Vancouverspecializes in Boeing 737 and 767, and A310 heavymaintenance, component overhaul and linemaintenance. www.aircanada.ca/about-us/technical
Kelowna Flightcraft in Kelowna specializes in Boeing727 and Convair 580 aircraft. www.flightcraft.ca
Innotech Aviation in Richmond repairs and upgradesbusiness aircraft. www.innotech.ca
Viking Air in Sidney does modifications to improveperformance and capacity of various out-of-productionDe Havilland aircraft including the Beaver, Otter andTwin Otter. www.vikingair.com
MTU Maintenance Canada in Richmond is an enginemaintenance, repair, overhaul and testing facility forCF6-50, JT8D and CFM56-3/5 engines.
www.mtucanada.com
Other maintenance, repair and overhaul serviceproviders include:
Alpine Aerotech: www.alpineaerotech.comAOG Air Support: www.aogair.comCanadian Aero Technologies:www.canadianaerotech.comHelipro International: www.helipro.comH-S Tool: www.hsrework.comPacific Avionics: www.innotech-execaire.comPenta Aviation: www.penta-aviation.comVan Isle Avionics: www.vanisleavionics.com
Remote Sensing, Softwareand Systems Integration
British Columbia’s aerospace industry has become acentre of excellence in the area of remote-sensingsatellites, satellite communications ground stations,data interpretation, flight management systems and airtraffic control systems.
This sector reports $250 million in annual sales andemploys 1,500 people.
MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA)in Richmond has become a world leader in the retrievaland interpretation of satellite data and as a systemsintegrator. MDA is the prime contractor of the$200-million Radarsat 2 satellite. www.mda.ca
Photo courtesy of BCIT
Radarsat International in Richmond processes andmarkets data from the Canadian Radarsat satellite. It isalso the North American distributor of data from otherEuropean and Canadian satellites.
www.radarsat.mda.ca
Raytheon Systems Canada in Richmond has designedand built the Canadian Automated Air Traffic System(CAATS), the most advanced automated air trafficmanagement system in the world. www.raytheson.ca
Other software and systems integrators:
Aeroinfo: www.aeroinfo.comEpic Data: www.epicdata.comSpectrum Signal Processing: www.spectrumsignal.com
Aerospace ManufacturingBritish Columbia aerospace companies have thecapability to manufacture large integrated componentsfor many of the world’s aircraft produced by Boeing,Bombardier and Bell helicopter.
Companies in this sector:
• Employ more than 1,000 people. • Doubled sales in the past five years to more than
$150 million annually.
Avcorp Industries has the largest aerospacemanufacturing facility in B.C. at their 27,870-square-metre facility in Delta. The company supplies majoraircraft structures to Bombardier and Boeing. The spin-off from Avcorp’s success is felt by some 40 suppliers ofgoods and services in B.C. www.avcorp.com
Ebco Aerospace, located in Delta, is a provider ofprecision machining services. This state-of-the-artfacility supports the precision manufacturing needs ofthe aerospace and defense industries specializing inmedium to large structural aircraft componentsmachined from high strength steels, titanium andaluminum alloys.
www.ebco.com/ebco_aerospace.html
Northern Airborne Technologies in Kelowna is aninternationally accepted manufacturer of specializedcommunications equipment for rotary- and fixed-wingaircraft. Applications include Air Ambulance, AirborneLaw Enforcement, Search and Rescue, military andmarine programs. www.northernairborne.com
Viking Air is an aerospace manufacturer of componentsfor fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. Viking is the primarysupplier to Bombardier for parts for the De HavillandTwin Otter. www.vikingair.com
Other aerospace manufacturing companies include:
Aeroalliance: www.aeroalliance.comAdvanced Wing Technologies:www.advancedwing.comCustoms Plastics: www.custom-plastics.comMerril Engineering: www.merrilengineering.rotor.comMurphy Aircraft: www.murphyair.comPyrotek Heat Treating: www.pyrotek.comVersaform Canada: www.versaformcorp.comZum Hingst: www.zht.com
The provincial government issupporting the British Columbiaaerospace industry by:
• Working with industry to address a criticallabour shortage by supporting trainingprograms at the British Columbia Institute ofTechnology and five other advancededucation institutions in the province.
• Working closely with the federal governmentto ensure that federal aerospace-relatedcontracts are equitably awarded to BritishColumbia firms.
• Jointly promoting the industry in conjunctionwith the Aerospace Industry Association ofBritish Columbia.
For more information on the aerospace industry in British Columbia contact oneof the following offices:
British Columbia Post-Secondary Aviation ProgramsOne key to having a vibrant aerospace industry is a well-trained and skilled workforce. The provincial governmentprovides funding of over $4 million each year for aerospace training. Currently 320 new aerospace techniciansgraduate from British Columbia post-secondary institutes each year. The following British Columbia institutions offeradvanced educational programs related to the aerospace sector:
Ministry of Competition, Science and Enterprise
B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A C A N A D A
A E R O S P A C E I N D U S T R Y
British Columbia Institute of Technology, Richmond604 278-4831 www.bcit.ca
Electronics technician (core), aircraft gas turbinetechnician, aircraft structures technician, aircraftelectronics technician (avionics), aircraftmaintenance engineer.
College of New Caledonia, Prince George250 562-2131 www.cnc.bc.ca
Commercial aviation diploma (bush pilot orinstructor pilot) offered in co-operation withPioneer Flight Training Ltd.
Northern Lights College, Dawson Creek250 785-6981 www.nlc.bc.ca
Aircraft maintenance engineering program.
Okanagan University College, Kelowna250 762-5445 www.ouc.bc.ca
Commercial aviation diploma offered inco-operation with the Southern Interior Flight Centre.
Selkirk College, Castlegar250 356-7292 www.selkirk.bc.ca
Aviation technology program.
University College of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford604 504-7441 www.ucfv.bc.ca
Aviation diploma co-op programs (airline, wildernessand flight instruction options) offered in co-operationwith Coastal Pacific Aviation. Bachelor of businessadministration program – aviation major.
The Aerospace Industry Associationof British Columbia1080 Lee StreetWhiterock, British Columbia V4B 4P1Phone: (604) 781-7782www.aiabc.com
British Columbia Trade and Investment Office730 - 999 Canada PlaceVancouver, British Columbia V6C 3E1Phone: 604 844-1946Fax: 604 660-2457 E-mail: [email protected] www.cse.gov.bc.ca/industryprofiles/aerospace
A copy of the British Columbia Aerospace Directory canbe found at: www.cse.gov.bc.ca/industryprofiles/aerospace/profiles_list.htm
Updated August 2001
