[Bloquez l'empire!] bell helicopter gets $3.7 million from govt for training

[Bloquez l'empire]

Bell Helicopter gets aid in meeting hiring goals
Quebec gives $3.7 million for training. Mirabel firm needs 500, including
engineers, as it takes on big contract with U.S. army

ROBERT GIBBENS
Freelance

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Bell Helicopter Textron Canada, urgently looking for 500 production
technicians and engineers, is plowing $14.3 million into a three-year
workforce training program with the help of a $3.7-million grant from the
Quebec government.

BHTC recently signed a $700-million (U.S.) order for 368 Bell 407
helicopters for the U.S. army. They will be similar to commercial 407s and
their avionics will be installed by the parent Textron Inc. in Fort Worth,
Tex.

The Montreal operation designs, develops and assembles all Textron's
commercial helicopters. The frantic search for new oil and gas reserves
worldwide is boosting world demand for helicopters, BHTC president Jacques
St-Laurent said.

Mirabel builds helicopters carrying up to 15 passengers and crew and it is
tooling up for production of the new twin-turbine Bell 429 model, destined
for medical emergency services, mainly in the U.S. and Europe, to be
followed by three variants. The 429 will cost $4 million U.S. to $5
million U.S. and deliveries are expected to start in mid-2007.

"We're constantly planning ahead in line with the dictates of the market,"
St-Laurent added. "We've hired 300 technicians in the past twelve months,
including 80 from Bombardier, and we urgently need to raise the workforce
from 1,700 now to 2,200 by early 2006 to handle expanding demand."

The training program will help employees adapt to new design and
production technologies, he said. There are intense pressures to improve
reliability and fuel performance, besides production costs. BHTC's main
competitor worldwide is Eurocopter.

It means BHTC will invest 38 hours per employee annually for training, up
nine per cent from now, or 2.6 per cent of payroll. The program also will
raise productivity.

Last month BHTC delivered its 3,000th helicopter, an $8-million (U.S.)
Bell 412 destined for service in the offshore oil industry. The Mirabel
plant celebrates its 20th anniversary next year.

The $3.7-million grant was announced by Quebec Employment Minister
Michelle Courchesne during a plant visit yesterday. She stressed the role
of aerospace in Quebec's economic growth. The province has about 45 per
cent of Canada's aerospace industry. The rest is spread over Ontario and
the West.

The Mirabel plant already has been expanded twice and a further 60,000
square feet will be added soon.

Women make up about 10 per cent of the production workforce and 21 per
cent overall.

"It's a challenging job installing the Bell 412's five miles of intricate
electrical wiring, but it's very satisfying," said 12-year BHTC veteran
Maryse Thibault, who is 40.

BHTC hires high school graduates and co-operates with CEGEPS, specialized
technical colleges, and universities to form skilled technicians,
designers and engineers. A technician with four years of training can earn
$40,000 a year to start and a fully qualified engineer starts at $60,000.

"Some young people think you have to be an engineer with six years of
study to get a job at Bell Helicopter," St-Laurent said.

"But that's a mistake. There are many different routes to build a career
with us and we can offer stability."

Mirabel's helicopters are sold worldwide, with 40 per cent going to the
U.S., 20 per cent each to Asia and South America and the rest to Africa
and the Mideast.

The world market totals about 500 new helicopters annually, but the Asian
market, including China and India, will expand rapidly in the next five
years.

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2005



On Tue, 2 Aug 2005, David Bernans wrote:

> Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2005 18:59:54 +0000 (UTC)
> From: David Bernans <dbernans at sdf.lonestar.org>
> Reply-To: realize at lists.riseup.net, David Bernans
<dbernans at sdf.lonestar.org>
> To: realize at lists.riseup.net
> Subject: [realize] know war?
>
> This just in... BHTC (on Concordia BoG) has just got a huge chunk of a
> contract between its US parent company and the Pentagon. It looks like
this
> is one of the biggest US defense contracts ever undertaken on Canadian
soil.
>
> dave
>
> From bellhelicopter.com
>
> Bell Helicopter Awarded Army Contract to Build 368 Armed Reconnaissance
> Helicopters (ARH)
>
>
> Press Contact
> Erin Dick
> (817) 280-8416
> edick at bellhelicopter.textron.com
>
> Fort Worth, Texas Jul 29, 2005
>
>
> Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc., (NYSE: TXT) was awarded a $2.2
> billion contract by the United States Army to build its next generation
Armed
> Reconnaissance Helicopter, or ARH. The ARH will replace the Army?s OH-58D
> Kiowa Warrior Helicopter also produced by Bell. The contract calls for
Bell
> Helicopter to build 368 aircraft for delivery during fiscal years 2006
> through 2013.
>
> ?We are honored to have been chosen by the U.S. Army to continue our
legacy
> of providing outstanding Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter technology,? said
> Mike Redenbaugh, Chief Executive Officer of Bell Helicopter Textron.  ?The
> Army requires a state-of-the art Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter and
that?s
> exactly what Bell Helicopter will deliver.?
>
> Bell?s ARH is a militarized version of its highly successful 407 single
> engine light helicopter.  Capable of being equipped with a wide variety of
> weapons, the Bell ARH will provide the Army with exceptional mission
> versatility and with the flexibility to accomplish armed reconnaissance,
> light attack, troop insertion, and special operations missions with a
single
> aircraft.  The Bell ARH will also provide greater deployability,
> interoperability and survivability.
>
> ?We look forward to this partnership both with the Army and with our
> world-class aerospace suppliers?to provide a premier aircraft to America?s
> troops,? Redenbaugh said.
>
> Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., a subsidiary of Textron Inc., is a leading
> producer of commercial and military helicopters and the pioneer of the
> revolutionary tilt rotor aircraft. Globally recognized for customer
service,
> innovation and superior quality, Bell?s global workforce of over 7,500
> employees serves customers flying Bell aircraft in over 120 countries.
>
> Textron Inc. is a $10 billion multi-industry company with 44,000 employees
in
> 40 countries. The company leverages its global network of aircraft,
> industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative
> solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful
> brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Jacobsen, Kautex,
Lycoming,
> E-Z-GO and Greenlee, among others.
>
> More information is available at www.textron.com.
> http://www.bellhelicopter.textron.com
> Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. Post Office Box 482, Fort Worth, TX 76101
>
>
>
> From radio-canada
>
> Bell Helicopter: important contrat pour Mirabel
> Mise à jour le lundi 1 août 2005 à 22 h 02
> .
> L'usine de Bell Helicopter, à Mirabel, se verra confier une partie
importante
> d'un contrat de 2,67 milliards de dollars canadiens que vient d'obtenir la
> société mère Textron de l'armée américaine.
>
> L'usine québécoise aura comme mandat de faire l'assemblage de base de 368
> appareils de type Bell 407, qui seront par la suite acheminés aux
États-Unis
> pour être complétés et livrés.
>
>
> Jules Bordeleau nous parle des retombées de ce contrat pour l'usine de
> Mirabel.
> La part du contrat qui sera réalisée à l'usine de Mirabel représente 849
> millions de dollars. Plus de 200 emplois seront créés pour mener à bien la
> commande.
>
> L'usine de Mirabel livrera les premiers hélicoptères à compter de 2006, et
> les travaux d'assemblage se termineront en 2013.
>
> Les nouveaux appareils de Bell remplaceront les hélicoptères de combat
OH-58D
> Kiowa Warrior, produits par la même compagnie. Ils sont destinés à servir
> dans des missions de reconnaissance, d'attaque au sol, d'insertion de
troupes
> et lors d'autres opérations spéciales.
>
> La transformation finale en appareils militaires se fera dans les
> installations de Bell Helicopter aux États-Unis, l'armée américaine
acceptant
> rarement de confier cet aspect du travail à un pays étranger.
>
> L'usine de Mirabel, qui emploie actuellement 1600 personnes, est une des
> trois usines de Bell Helicopter en Amérique du Nord. Les deux autres sont
> situées au Texas et au Tennessee.
>
> En février dernier, Bell Helicopter Textron Canada avait annoncé un projet
> d'environ 700 millions de dollars sur une douzaine d'années pour
> l'amélioration et la modernisation de ses installations de Mirabel.