On the Record with
RUDY PALLADINA, PRESIDENT & CEO, AMERICAN EUROCOPTER CORPORATION

Eurocopter Beefs Up Customer Support

Rudy Palladina is American Eurocopter's new president & CEO.

Reflecting the sales success of the parent Eurocopter company, Rudy Palladina, president and & CEO of American Eurocopter, professes himself "very pleased" with performance in 2000.

"We already have about 25 orders booked going into 2001, which makes my life much more comfortable," he told Show News.

Palladina took over last September from Christian Gras, who was promoted to headquarters in France to head Eurocopter's worldwide customer support division.

American Eurocopter estimates it took 50% of the U.S. parapublic market last year, though its total U.S. market share actually declined.

"We delivered 60 helicopters, right on business plan," Palladina said, against its own estimate that 170 new turbine helicopters from all manufacturers were delivered into the U.S. civil and parapublic market last year. In 1999 Eurocopter claimed a 48% U.S. market share with 64 deliveries.

"The good news is that a broad range of our helicopters went to a variety of segments, which always makes for a good business. You never want to be vulnerable to a particular type of market segment," Palladina said.

Of Eurocopter's U.S. deliveries, 33% went to the parapublic sector, 23% for corporate, 18% to utility and tour operators, 18% to EMS, and 8% for offshore work.

By model the U.S. market took 17 EC 120s, 18 AS350B2s, 14 AS350B3s, two Twinstars, and nine EC 135s.

A total of 56 orders were booked by American Eurocopter in 2000.

"Our priority last year was to improve customer service-we went a long way toward achieving that objective against an environment where we have been introducing new products and having them mature in service," Palladina said. "That represents a tremendous challenge."

He acknowledged it is hard to measure such results, but noted the best evidence of customer satisfaction is in the order book. "On that score we are doing extremely well, as we sold more turbine helicopters than anyone else," Palladina noted.

Two highlights in customer service are Christian Gras's return to head office in that role with a personal knowledge of the U.S. market, and the commitment of Thales (Sextant) to provide support in the field, he said.

By John Morris