Press Release
Keystone Helicopter Corp. Release date: September 11, 2007
Keystone Helicopter Opens New Paint Facility in Coatesville, Pa. COATESVILLE, Pa., Sept. 11 / -- Keystone Helicopter today opened its new, state-of-the-art paint and composite facility at its Heliplex(TM) complex in Coatesville, Pa. Keystone is a business unit of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.
The 25,016-square-foot building is the newest addition to the Heliplex complex. The new building incorporates three large booths capable of painting fully assembled S-92® helicopters, as well as a booth dedicated to painting smaller parts that have been removed from the aircraft. These down-draft style booths eliminate foreign particles from settling into the paint. They use three-stage filtration systems for particle collection, and they eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the painting process.
The adjoining painting prep area is 3,500 square feet and can support up to two fully assembled aircraft at once. This area also is equipped with a fully re-circulating dust collection system as well as a central vacuum type dust collector to keep aircraft pristine before painting.
The new facility also will house the new composite area complete with a full wood shop, clean-room style lay-up area, large ovens and a walk-in freezer for storage of compounds used in molding composite materials into aircraft panels.
"This facility has been years in the planning, incorporating hundreds of hours of thought, research and planning and drawing on scores of years of experience to ensure we put out the most efficient, highest quality product on the market," said David Ford, president of Keystone Helicopter. "In addition, it incorporates the latest in environmentally friendly technology, in keeping with United Technologies' industry leading practices."
The next phase of the Heliplex, a training and customer delivery area, is set to break ground in the fourth quarter of 2007.
About Keystone Helicopter
Keystone Helicopter is a full-service maintenance and completion center anchored by the Heliplex(TM), a new, state-of-the-art technical services depot in Coatesville, Pa. Keystone is a factory-authorized service center for Bell, Eurocopter, MD Helicopter, Rolls Royce, Turbomeca, Pratt & Whitney, and Sikorsky products. Keystone is a subsidiary of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. based in Stratford, Conn., a world leader in helicopter design, manufacturing and service. Sikorsky Aircraft is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., which is based in Hartford, Conn., and provides a broad range of high-technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.
Source: Keystone Helicopter Corporation
CONTACT: Leigh Matthews of Keystone Helicopter Corporation, +1-610-883-4500, lmatthews@keystonehelicopter.com
Web site: http://www.keystonehelicopter.com/ |
