Robinson Helicopter Co. of Torrance, Calif., is bouncing back from the recession with a newly named second-generation CEO at the helm,
the
Los Angeles Times
reported.
The company, which makes low-cost helicopters for clients such as news operations, banks and police departments — but not the federal government — endured “two years of layoffs and slumping sales,” the
LA Times
article said.
Kurt Robinson, 53, became CEO in August, when his father, Frank, the company founder, retired.
The company produced 162 helicopters in 2010, an 82% decline from 893 sold in 2008, the report noted. It reduced its staff from 1,400 in 2008 to 900. Dun & Bradstreet estimated its sales in 2010 at $75 million, the
LA Times
article said.
In the mid-1990s, the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board investigated Robinson’s safety record after 21 crashes between 1981 and 1994 in which 32 people died, the report noted. The board concluded that pilot error and inexperience were the causes, not mechanical failures or material defects. However, an Orange County jury found the company partially liable for a fatal crash; the case was ultimately settled.
Frank Robinson started the company in 1973. It didn’t make a profit until 1987 but by 1991 had become the world’s largest-volume helicopter producer, the
LA Times
article said.
Family Business
Magazine featured Robinson Helicopter on the cover of
its March-April 1991 issue.
The article focused on Frank Robinson’s hesitance to develop a succession plan. (Sources:
Los Angeles Times,
March 28, 2011;
Family Business,
March-April 1991.)
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