Alabama helicopter maintenance company RMCI to open UK office

Posted on 19 Jun 2015 by Tim Brown

Huntsville-based company specializing in helicopter health monitoring technology and analysis, announced plans at the Paris Air Show today to open an office in the UK to meet growing demand for its products and services.

RMCI chief executive Ken Speaks said the office in Derbyshire, England, will make it easier for the Alabama firm to reach customers in the UK and throughout Europe.

The office will be staffed by Dr Lesley Brealey, an acoustics specialist who has vast experience in the aviation industry, at both the technical and board levels.

“We are on the leading edge of developing this technology, and demand for it is dramatically expanding around the globe,” Speaks said.

“We are able to detect emerging faults in helicopter drivetrain systems well in advance of an incident that could cause collateral damage or catastrophic damage.

Demand for this type of technology in safety critical systems—where it can save lives and reduce costs—is rapidly growing.” To further meet the global demand, Speaks said RMCI will open an office in Asia in 2016.

The Alabama company’s technology and analytical capabilities allow customers including the US military to monitor critical helicopter components such as transmissions, gearboxes, bearings, shafts and rotor systems. Its Expandable Rotorcraft Diagnostic System (XRDS™) is a compact monitoring and diagnostic tool for operators of helicopter fleets.

RMCI has vast experience in aviation health monitoring. The firm was founded 9 years ago to support US Army aviation with health monitoring and analysis for more than 3,000 helicopters of various types.

Speaks said that has given RMCI an advantage in the ability to explore and contribute to the advancement of prognostics and health management.

RMCI also supports and has contributed technical papers for the International Helicopter Safety Team, the American Helicopter Society International and the Society for Machinery Failure Prevention Technology.

“With our electronics hardware development, we have been able to produce a system that is lighter weight, more powerful, more capable and more affordable than legacy health and usage monitoring systems,” said Speaks, who attended this week’s Paris Air Show on a business development mission.

RMCI has a growing civil aviation customer base but has historically supported the US Navy, the US Army Aviation Engineering Directorate and Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command headquarters, the US Coast Guard, the Missile Defense Agency, NASA, the US Air Force, the US Department of Energy and the Aerospace Industries Association.