ISTANBUL, Turkey - 

International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF), May 7, 2013 - Sikorsky Aerospace Services today announced the signing of a teaming agreement with WIKING Kale Air to establish a Sikorsky-authorized Customer Service Center (CSC) in Turkey. Supporting the country’s S-76® helicopter platform, the CSC will be centrally located in the city of Istanbul, and will offer maintenance services for Turkish and regional operators in south-east Europe and central Asia. Sikorsky Aerospace Services (SAS) is the aftermarket business of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).

“This is an important step in strengthening our support capabilities in Turkey. We are pleased to work with WIKING Kale Air – together we are poised to meet customer demand for in-country maintenance,” said David Adler, SAS President. “By establishing the WIKING Kale Air CSC, we can provide cost effective support solutions to help increase aircraft availability for our operators in Turkey as well as neighboring European countries.”

To better meet the growing demand for outsourced helicopter maintenance services in the south-east European and Asian regions, WIKING Helikopter Service GmbH bought a majority share of Turkey’s KALE Air– forming WIKING KALE Air. The certified JAA/EASA Part-145 Maintenance Organization will employ Turkish personnel and provide scheduled and unscheduled maintenance as well as aircraft modifications – including design engineering services and material support. WIKING Kale Air will leverage SAS’s extensive supply chain logistics and spare parts inventory to ensure fleet optimization.

“With the acquisition of KALE Air, we are meeting the growing demand for professional helicopter maintenance services in the south-east Europe and the Middle East region,” said Holger Stockmeyer, Managing Directors of WIKING Helikopter Service. “In this rapidly growing economy, WIKING has initiated an important step toward supporting customer needs and providing new capabilities to meet today’s challenges.”

WIKING Helikopter Service GmbH has been operating as an offshore specialist in the North and Baltic seas for more than 37 years. Originally founded for sea pilot transfer operations, WIKING has logged more than 44,000 transfers in 93,000 flight hours mainly flown with Sikorsky S-76 helicopters. WIKING maintains its own fleet and 16 customer aircraft throughout Europe and Central Asia.

Sikorsky Aerospace Services provides comprehensive support to rotary and fixed wing operators around the world. It offers its military and commercial customers a full portfolio of support services, including material distribution, maintenance, overhaul & repair, aircraft modifications and life-cycle support. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Conn., is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacture and service. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn., provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide.