16:50 GMT, December 2, 2011 Santiago | Eurocopter opted for a sunset in the foothills of the Andes near Santiago as the backdrop for the tenth anniversary of the company’s establishment in Chile, which was attended by over 300 guests. During these ten years this subsidiary has enjoyed exponential growth, with a two-fold increase in the number of Eurocopter helicopters in the region.

Created in 2001, the Eurocopter Group’s southernmost subsidiary started out with ten employees. It has since grown to include almost 100 professionals, diversifying its activities and extending its facilities to optimize customer service not only in Chile, but also in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Uruguay. In addition to helicopter sale and customization, the company also handles spare parts distribution, fleet maintenance and training courses for pilots and technicians through its training center, which has provided over 200 courses to date.

“During these ten years, Eurocopter Chile S.A. has sold more than 80 helicopters, establishing itself as a major player in the region’s aerospace industry,” declared Alexandre Ceccacci, CEO of Eurocopter Chile S.A. “In the future, Eurocopter will continue to invest in the region and offer high quality services for our customers.” With more than 260 helicopters in service with around 70 operators, Eurocopter accounts for nearly 50% of the civil and parapublic market in the region. The main fleets are located in Argentina and Chile, although other countries such as Peru offer strong growth potential, particularly to provide support for the mining industry. The Eurocopter fleet is renowned for its reliability on demanding missions such as tactical transport with the Cougar helicopter and search and rescue missions with the Dauphin family of aircraft. The EC135 and EC145, meanwhile, are mainly used for police, SAR and MEDEVAC missions. Another highlight is the success of the single-engine Colibri and Ecureuil helicopters, which are highly valued for corporate transport, tourism, heli-skiing operations and various other aerial tasks.

Over 300 guests, including customers, authorities and employees, attended the anniversary celebration at the Tobalaba Airfield in Santiago. A special guest at the event was the pilot Didier Delsalle, who earned his place in the annals of aviation history for touching down and taking off from the summit of Mount Everest at an altitude of 8,848 meters in an Ecureuil AS350 B3.

With more than 75 AS350s operating in the Southern Cone, this helicopter is undoubtedly one of the mainstays of the fleets in this region dominated by mountainous terrain. It is therefore fitting that Eurocopter Chile S.A. was responsible some months ago for the first delivery to the American continent of the new version of this helicopter, the AS350 B3e.