Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC
McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) has turned down at least two new bids for its helicopter business, despite it being unhappy at the management of the civil side of the company, according to Herbert Lanese, deputy president of McDonnell Douglas Aerospace.
"We definitely could have sold off the helicopter company. We had at least two offers...as recently as within the last year," says Lanese. He will not identify the suitors, and says that the company no longer has any sell-off plans.
MDC had sought a buyer for Mesa, Arizona-based McDonnell Douglas Helicopter System (MDHS) in 1992, but took the business off the market a year later because no suitable offers had been made for the company.
Since then, prospects for MDHS have brightened, particularly with the sale of the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter to the UK and The Netherlands. Lanese believes that the helicopter company will perform well during the next five to seven years.
He is happy with MDHS's military position, although he says that the company is disappointed with its performance in selling civil rotorcraft, including the single-turbine MD520N, the eight-place development, the MD630N, and the light-twin MD Explorer. All three are NOTAR (no tail rotor) helicopters.
"On paper, it [NOTAR] should be a very successful programme, but it has not been. It has not had the financial return that we projected. That is our fault. I think our management has been very weak. Most technology companies have great scientists, but not good business people as a rule. We do not have enough good business people to go around," adds Lanese.
He says that MDHS has not been effective in evolving its commercial-helicopter business strategies. Lanese notes that MDHS is running at 35% of production capacity, the industry average, and says that consolidation within the US industry is inevitable.
"We need decisive action," Lanese warns.
Source: Flight International
