Field Aviation celebrates 60 years of service to the regional aviation market in 2007. Working Week talks to Joar Gronlund, vice-president business development, about the Canadian company's history and future challenges
Since humble beginnings supporting post-war geophysical surveys in Canada's vast northern expanse, Field has evolved into the country's largest full-service support organisation. Now employing more than 400 people across two sites in Calgary and Toronto, the company has developed into a leading provider of aviation sales, service and production facilities.
Calgary's operations have changed significantly in recent years, reflecting a wider industry trend, as vice-president business development Joar Gronlund explains: "There has been a noticeable shift in focus away from military operations at Calgary. Total military work now makes up just 10% of the sites' business as opposed to nearly 50% 20 years ago."
In addition to heavy maintenance, the site is now active in the reconfiguration of regional Bombardier CRJs as corporate shuttles, some of which is carried out as a subcontractor to the manufacturer. Freight conversions also constitute a substantial part of the business and Field is working alongside Saab on the 340 conversion programme. "We also have a well-established parts manufacturing service at Calgary, which supplies all spares for the de Havilland DHC-4 Caribou and DHC-5 Buffalo," adds Gronlund.
"Adding additional value to the service through the design, engineering and certification of solutions has allowed us to position ourselves as a specialist in several other areas," he says.
Field's Toronto International airport facility provides a focus for these engineering activities. The company has created a healthy orderbook in the niche markets of supplemental type certificates (STC) and special mission modifications.
A symbiotic relationship with Bombardier positions Field as a leading contender in any special -mission tenders, such as maritime patrol aircraft. "In fact, half of all new Dash 8 Q200 and Q300s delivered by Bombardier are currently passed to us for conversion into special mission aircraft," says Gronlund.
Recent contract wins have seen Field supplying the Australian government with 10 modified Dash 8s for use as long-range electronic surveillance aircraft. In partnership with Surveillance Australia, the sixth aircraft has just been handed over and final delivery is expected by year-end. The aircraft delivered to date have established a copy-book service record, clocking up more than 2,000 flying hours a year with more than 11,000 Dash 8 missions now logged.
Other customers for the Dash 8 include US Customs and Border Protection and the Swedish coastguard. At the end of 2004, Field secured an order for three Dash 8 Q300 maritime patrol aircraft, to be delivered to the Swedish coastguard by the end of this year.
"As the Dash 8 starts life as a civil-certificated aircraft, we ensure that all the modifications we carry out are also certificated to the same civil standards," says Gronlund. "In this way, a passenger aircraft can be adapted to perform a specialist mission, but should the need arise, it can be converted back to civil use. This has tremendous advantages to the buyer and operator in retaining the aircraft's residual value."
The use of civil-certificated aircraft in roles traditionally carried out by purely military platforms represents an excellent opportunity for Field Aviation as Gronlund underlines: "Our specialist mission aircraft can perform a wide range of roles where a full weapons capability is unnecessary, from pollution monitoring, fisheries protection and border patrol, all at a greatly reduced cost."
Source: Flight International
