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Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Aerospace |
Founded | 1969 |
Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Romain Trapp, President of Airbus Helicopters, Inc. and Head of the North America Region |
Products | Helicopters |
Number of employees | 780 |
Parent | Airbus Americas, Inc. |
Website | http://airbushelicoptersinc.com |
Airbus Helicopters, Inc. (AHI) is asubsidiary ofAirbus Americas, Inc., the United States subsidiary ofAirbus SAS, itself a subsidiary of the Dutch companyAirbus SE. Airbus Helicopters manufactures and markets a broad range ofcivilhelicopters. With large facilities in Texas and Mississippi and service centers throughout the country, Airbus Helicopters, Inc. has a U.S. footprint of over 860,000 square feet (79,900 m2) and controls over 50% of the U.S. market.[1]
The company's history goes back to the now-defunctLTV Corporation. In 1968, Vought Helicopter Inc. (VHI), a subsidiary of LTV, built a facility at theGrand Prairie Municipal Airport inGrand Prairie, Texas, for the purpose of marketing helicopters to North America built byAérospatiale, the French helicopter manufacturer. However, six years later Aérospatiale bought out VHI and took over its own marketing; two years later it changed VHI's name to Aérospatiale Helicopter Corporation (AHC). In 1980, AHC built its current Grand Prairie facility.
In 1992,DASA of Germany and Aérospatiale merged to formEurocopter; AHC would become American Eurocopter.[2]
In 2004, the facility in Columbus, Mississippi was opened and in 2006, became the manufacturing facility and home for the U.S. Army'sUH-72A Lakota helicopter. The company was renamed Airbus Helicopters, Inc. on January 2, 2014.[3]
Airbus Helicopters produces helicopters at two production plants in the US.