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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Keeping up with the activities of Yellowknife-based Discovery Air Inc. can be a daunting task these days.

A Servicios Aereos Helicopters aircraft moves equipment in Chile. Discovery Air Inc. subsidiary Great Slave Helicopters Ltd. announced the purchase of the South American operator last week. - photo courtesy of Discovery Air Inc.

Last week's announcement of the purchase of the 10-helicopter operator Servicios Aereos Helicopters in Chile by Yellowknife-based Discovery subsidiary Great Slave Helicopters Ltd. is only one among several acquisitions, joint-ventures, and subsidiaries struck in the past year by the specialty aviation provider.

"Discovery Air has put out a number of press releases over the past year, and they certainly add up to many positive events for the North," spokesperson Sheila Venman told Yellowknifer.

"We're not growing for the sake of growing, we're only growing when it makes smart sense."

Mining and power infrastructure development has taken off in Chile, Venman said, which is conveniently counter-seasonal to Canada, offsetting the relatively sleepy Northern mining activity in the winter.

While shares of Discovery Air Inc. closed at $3.85 Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, $0.09 higher than on the day of the purchase announcement, the stock price can fluctuate significantly based on the trading of a small number of shares, Venman said, so the company never gauges response to a move based on one-day stock changes.

Major refinancing deals aimed at improving the company's balance sheet, and providing excess cash toward acquisitions, are all part of the company's long-term growth plan, which is the focus of the board of eight and management team, led by president and CEO Dave Jennings.

Since the economic downturn in 2009, when the company took advantage of the GNWT's opportunities fund to take on a $34-million, 48-month term loan, operations have rebounded, with Discovery's strategic growth path including a major concentration on Northern operations, Jennings has stated.

"We plan to keep this focus by ensuring we continue to be the leading service provider in our existing operations and by seeking and selecting new opportunities that complement our growth model," Jennings said.

The company estimates it has grown to 850 employees at peak this past summer from 450 employees in 2009, and has many job openings for skilled mechanics and pilots in Yellowknife, Venman said.

In addition to plans by newly-created subsidiary Discovery Air Innovations to bring a developing line of heavy-lift, helium-powered airships to the North by 2014, major contracts signed in the past year by Discovery subsidiaries include the multi-million-dollar yearly contract to supply air ambulance services in the Kitikmeot region for the Government of Nunavut, and a $15-million Diavik Diamond Mine contract signed by partner Tli Cho Air.

Discovery Air has 35 bases across Canada - in the NWT, Nunavut, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

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