FL Technics parent branches out into helicopter MRO

Lithuania’s Avia Solutions Group is taking over local rotorcraft support specialist Helisota. The parent of Vilnius-based MRO provider FL Technics is acquiring 96.2% of Helisota, partly through the transfer of newly issued Avia group securities. The transaction will be conducted in stages, but is to be complete by year-end. Helisota will continue to trade under its name and retain its management team, Avia says. The Kaunas-based maintenance provider is an approved service facility for Russian Helicopters types and Robinson R44s. It generated a turnover of LTL42 million ($16 million) in 2012. Becoming part of the Avia group will strengthen the helicopter MRO specialist's market standing, says Helisota chief executive Josif Legenzov. “We will not only expand the spectrum of our services, but also extend the scope of our geographical presence,” he says. The rotorcraft MRO activities are to be operated in partnership with FL Technic’s business aviation support arm, which was set up in 2011. “It is only natural that with our currently owned infrastructure and resources we have decided to turn to the direction of helicopter maintenance,” says Avia’s chief executive Linas Dovydenas. “We had two options: either to start a company from nil, or acquire an already existing one with the view to developing it.” FL Technics Jets is building a hangar at Kaunas airport. Once that is completed, the MRO specialist plans to expand its capabilities to new aircraft types, Dovydenas says.