Sikorsky Colombia grows amount of native-born Black Hawk MRO personnel

The number of Sikorsky Colombia native-born Black Hawk utility helicopter maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) personnel at its Tolemaida Air Base facility has grown by almost 50% since its opening in 2012, according to a company executive.

Adam Schierholz, Sikorsky Latin America regional executive and product marketing director, told Jane’s on 6 December that of the 36 people on the MRO team when it first opened, roughly half were US expats and the other half were native Colombians. Of its current total of 38 employees, the MRO team now consists of 36 Colombians.

One of four 5.56 mm bullet holes in the tail of a Colombian National Police Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter. Since the bullet damaged vital structural components, Sikorsky Colombia is sending in a team to perform depot level repairs that the police are unable to perform themselves. (Jane’s/Pat Host)

Schierholz said this growth was due to improvements in quality control, engineering, and production skills among the Colombian hires. He specifically cited improvements in airframe, avionics, and hydraulics skills. As such, Sikorsky is able to give more responsibility to Colombian hires who are in-house Sikorsky employees rather than subcontractors.

Sikorsky Colombia in August 2019 hired William Cruz, a Colombian, to be the new quality assurance manager for its MRO facility: a 2,972 m ² company hangar that is fully equipped, including proprietary tooling, to perform complete airframe structural repairs. Schierholz said the previous quality assurance lead was a US expat looking to return home as he was nearing retirement; and in the past the company would have hired another American for the position.