From its base in Auckland, Salus Aviation runs a global operation that keeps aircraft flying safely and efficiently around the world.
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland has a worldwide reputation for innovation and creativity. While the region’s success in the marine and yachting sectors is widely acknowledged, perhaps less well-known is its proficiency in the aviation industry. Auckland-based Salus Aviation is an example of an innovative engineering-based business taking its expertise to the world.
With a home base at Ardmore Airfield in south Auckland, Salus Aviation manages operations in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and South Africa, offering a one-stop, nose-to-tail service for the aviation industry worldwide, both fixed wing and rotary.
From aircraft sales, leasing, maintenance, component and engine overhauls, blade repair, avionics design and manufacturing, parts supply, repainting, aircraft reconfigurations and more, Salus pretty much does it all.
A proud history
One of the reasons for this local aviation expertise is the historical importance of the industry to New Zealand. “We have a massive number of aircraft for a country our size,” says Salus director and co-founder Craig Brownie.
“Our topography is a big reason for that. From spraying crops and erecting cell phone and electricity towers to tourism – as well as our search and rescue services – aircraft have always played a crucial role.
In fact, New Zealand’s helicopter fleet is about the same size as the Japanese commercial helicopter fleet, and that’s a country of over 120 million people. So, it’s a proud history, with our company’s origins dating back to 1936. And we’re proud to be building on that.
Looking after aircraft around the globe
Salus Aviation’s vision is ‘Excellence at Altitude’, and in keeping with this, its offering is broad and varied, with aircraft leasing, maintenance, repair and overhaul a major focus. For example, Salus Aviation leases and maintains around one-third of all medical rescue aircraft in New Zealand.
Salus provides aircraft for emergency medical services in Australia and work contracted to the Australian Government in Antarctica. From the company’s base in South Africa, it provides aircraft for a range of activities across Africa, ranging from operations in Guinea to construction and seismic-drilling programmes. In the USA, Salus’s clients include the largest medical rescue service in the country (with more than 400 aircraft).
Creating a global niche from Auckland
Maintenance, repair and overhaul services are one area where Kiwi expertise is increasingly valued by the global aviation market. “Clients from all around the world will send us engines, helicopter blades, gearboxes and so on, literally in a box, for us to fix or recondition, certify and freight back,” says Craig.
“The manufacturer requires aircraft and aircraft parts to be replaced or overhauled after a specific number of flight hours at milestones in their life. Helicopter servicing includes brands such as Kawasaki, Bell, MD Helicopters, Honeywell and Schweizer. Fixed-wing aircraft include Cessna and Piper, and many more. We’ve become a go-to supplier for this work internationally.
It’s very specialised, so you need a specialised workforce, and we’ve been able to build and scale that. And along with improved freight speed and cost, we have built an incredible niche from our headquarters in Auckland.
Growing the business
Salus Aviation’s growth has been driven by strategic acquisitions. In 2019 it acquired Heli Parts Network based in Boulder City, Nevada (near Las Vegas), providing a platform for future expansion into the North American market. As well as helicopter maintenance, the Boulder City operation also manages the worldwide distribution of its extensive and comprehensive part and component inventory (focused on the Airbus AS350 line).
Ownership of the company has remained predominantly within Auckland, with Bancorp New Zealand group retaining an 80per cent stake. The other 20per cent is held by Prudential, one of the world’s largest insurers, as part of its global investment portfolio.
“Prudential’s involvement has been key for international growth,” says Craig. “As a New Zealand company, exposure and credibility can be a challenge. But when you can say that Prudential is an investor, that provides immediate validation of the strength of the future of the business.”
World famous in South Auckland
Salus Aviation is well set up for global growth from its south Auckland headquarters. “In fact,” says Craig Brownie, “there’s an industry cluster of aviation engineering expertise at Ardmore. There are a lot of businesses there that are involved in repairing or rebuilding historic aircraft, for example. So, it’s a nice community to work in.
“From our perspective, because we’ve built up a niche and some scale, there’s an opportunity for aviation engineers to work on a range of projects and update their skills, which is attractive when recruiting people locally and internationally. Along with a specialised aircraft engineering apprenticeship programme, we run a range of training courses as well, for engineers who want to achieve a type-rating approval.
Auckland is a good community to live in too. So, in terms of attracting skilled staff, you can get a nice house, you don’t have a long commute, it’s good for families. Which means that while we’re a global business, and we’re growing our presence around the world, we’ve retained our local roots. And I think that’s a really big part of our success.
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