Kaman Aerospace is to start making helicopters in Connecticut once again. The announcement comes more than ten years after production ceased in the state.
Kaman said it will begin building its K-MAX model, with the intention of doing an initial production run of ten aircraft. The manufacturing will take place in Florida and Bloomfield, Connecticut, and Kaman said it will definitely be hiring.
Kaman’s Terry Fogarty told WNPR the restart is all about customer demand.
“The last two years I have been getting a number of calls from people asking how they can obtain a K-MAX helicopter," he said, "and it came to the point where we determined that there was a real market out there that was being underserved.”
The K-MAX doesn’t carry passengers; it’s an external lift helicopter, made for hauling loads in and out of remote areas. Some of the main commercial uses are in the logging industry and in fighting forest fires, and Fogarty said the company has European customers interested in both of those applications.
“They’re finding more diversified uses for aircraft," he said. "There’s probably eight K-MAX helicopter on any given fire on any given day, because the forest service likes their capability and their cost. The power line folks as they string power lines through very austere environments — they like them because of the high reliability.”
Fogarty said after the initial run of ten helicopters he’s optimistic about additional orders - and even the potential for military contracts.
