Evergreen International Aviation

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Monument to Michael King Smith at the entrance to Evergreen International Aviation headquarters near the McMinnville Municipal Airport
Evergreen International Aviation
Founded 1960 as Evergreen Helicopters
Headquarters McMinnville, Oregon, United States
Website Evergreen International Aviation

Evergreen International Aviation, Inc. is a global aviation services company based in McMinnville, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1960, Evergreen is primarily known for commercial helicopter operations in agricultural and forestry applications.

History

Delford M. Smith founded the company as Evergreen Helicopters in 1960.[1] Smith was a leading innovator in the commercial use of helicopters, and his company was the first to use helicopters for spraying fertilizer and herbicides, spreading seeds and fighting forest fires. Del Smith and maintenance supervisor Norman McGrew developed a helicopter spray system called the "PaceSpreader" which permitted accurate, fast delivery of granular agents over large areas.[1] The PaceSpreader allowed the helicopter to operate at relatively high speeds while still delivering the product evenly and with measured precision. In 1972 the company expanded into the use of heavy lift helicopters, acquiring a number of Sikorsky S-61, known in Southeast Asia as the H-3 "Jolly Green Giant". In March 1973 the massive Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane was added to the fleet, with a lift capacity of 20,000 pounds.

In 1974 Smith became aware that the Johnson Flying Service was looking to sell its assets. The business was a small supplemental carrier that had two 94-passenger Lockheed L-188 Electra four-engine turbo-prop passenger aircraft.[1] More importantly, it held a supplemental air carrier operating certificate which allowed it to operate as an airline. After significant deliberation, the Civil Aeronautics Board approved the transfer in 1975. Evergreen International Airlines was officially formed and incorporated on 16 April 1975 as a subsidiary of Evergreen Helicopters, Inc.[2] The business subsequently continued to expand and split into a number of subsidiary divisions.[3] The main subsidiary is Evergreen International Airlines which operates the Boeing 747 as a cargo or tanker aircraft to destinations around the world. The 747-200 tanker can deliver 20,000 gallons of water on a fire, nearly ten times what can be delivered by a conventional forest service tanker such as the Lockheed P-3 Orion.[4] Evergreen is part of the US Civil Reserve Air Fleet and the International Peace Operations Association. It has been known to do work for the United States government, including fire suppression for the U.S. Forest Service, troop transportation in the Gulf War of 1991, as well as helicopter transportation for oil rig firefighters at the end of hostilities. The company has done some work for the Central Intelligence Agency as well, including transporting the Shah of Iran from Panama to the United States in 1980.[3]

Evergreen Helicopters was sold to Erickson Air-Crane in March 2013 in a $250 million deal. The sale provided Evergreen International Aviation with the liquidity it needed to continue operations. Said Mr. Smith: “The sale of EHI provides us with needed capital to repay existing debt and gives us the liquidity to support our airline and remaining businesses."[5] The deal is set to close in the second quarter of 2013, contingent upon Erickson Air-Crane obtaining the necessary financing.[6]

On November 8, 2013 Evergreen International Airlines, a subsidiary of Evergreen International Aviation, announced via a voicemail to their employees that all operations would cease effective November 29, 2013.[7]


Current fleet

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Yenne, Bill (2008). The Evergreen Story. AGS Bookworks Inc. p. 66. ISBN 0-9776374-1-7. 
  2. ↑ "Evergreen International Airlines, Inc.: Private Company Information - Businessweek". investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved 24 September 2012. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bates, David (21 December 1999). "Airline With an Attitude: A Special Report on Evergreen Aviation". Yamhill Valley News-Register. 
  4. ↑ Copenhaver, Larry (28 October 2006). "Giant Jet Unlikely to Attack California Fire". Tucson Citizen. 
  5. ↑ Evergreen Aviation (19 March 2013). "Press Release". 
  6. ↑ Siemers, Erik (19 March 2013). "Erickson Air-Crane to acquire Evergreen Helicopters in $250M deal". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 20 March 2013. 
  7. ↑ http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/11/evergreen_international_airlin_2.html

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