This year marks a major milestone of operations for Heli-Team, which has been supporting development projects in northern Norway with rotorcraft for 30 years.
The company’s fleet consists of seven helicopters to perform sling-load operations that include building power lines, providing concrete molding, stringing power line cables, building steel mast constructions, and more.
“It’s been very challenging, of course, but also very fun to be on this journey for 30 years,” said Bente Slåtto Steien, CEO and founder of Heli-Team.
Heli-Team’s fleet consists of six aircraft from the Airbus AS350 family (B1/B3/H125) and one Bell 205 A1, with payloads ranging from 2,866 pounds (1,300 kilograms) to 4,409 pounds (2,000 kg). The aircraft have been airborne for roughly 45,000 hours to date, and have delivered all the power line missions in Norway’s three northernmost counties over the last 25 years.
While its operations were initially focused in Norway, Heli-Team has been working on some major power line projects for companies in Sweden and Italy, as well.
“I think we have a great foundation here,” said Steien. “Today we have 25 employees, and there were only two in the beginning. . . . Everyone has contributed to this success of 30 years, and we’re looking forward to celebrating next month.” Steien said a party for the company has been planned for June, both to celebrate the 30-year milestone and to say thank you to the team.
Over three decades ago, Steien saw an opportunity to improve the company she worked for back then — which was using fixed-wing aircraft instead of helicopters for its operations.
“I recognized that I often saw opportunities for helicopter services that this company didn’t have,” she said. “I saw there was a class coming up for two years to study how to start your own business. So I thought, ‘OK, maybe I should see if there are any possibilities to start [a business] with helicopters.’ ”
While the aviation industry is predominately male, Steien has worked for 30 years to show women they can be happy and successful in this industry, too. “We have to be more secure because there may be people who don’t automatically believe in a woman’s business,” she said. “Just do it.”
After receiving her Air Operator Certificate (AOC), she was able to get a loan from the bank and purchase her first helicopter — an Airbus AS350 B1 (which was Eurocopter at the time). “I still have that helicopter here [at Heli-Team] today,” said Steien.
