HI Uplift: NHV plans growth through diversification

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by Mike Stones
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Lars-Henrik Thorngreen

Lars-Henrik Thorngreen, CEO, NHV wants to forge closer links with customers. (Image courtesy of NHV).

Diversification offers growth opportunities for NHV Group as the North Sea oil and gas market remains flat, according to Lars-Henrik Thorngreen, CEO of the European-based helicopter services provider. While the market has long been a priority, NHV has also diversified into the offshore wind market, third-party maintenance services and training.

Founded in 1997, the company initially delivered pilot transfer services and later search and rescue. Over the past 10 years, after the acquisition of Blueway, it expanded into the offshore oil and gas sector. It’s active in the North Sea, France and the Ivory Coast.

But NHV missions are not limited to offshore operations. The company also offers maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) services and training under Part 147 (European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)) rules. One contract is with the French Ministry of Defence, to services airframes and maintenance facilities for pilot training.

‘Not a lot of growth’

One reason for diversification is to grow the operator’s income streams. Not least because of a lack of growth in the offshore oil and gas market. “There’s not a lot of growth in the North Sea oil and gas market,” says Thorngreen. “There’s a lot of consolidation between the operators – not helicopter operators, but oil and gas operators. So, from that perspective, with our services delivered to the oil and gas market, it’s the same contracts being moved between the operators.”

While unbridled oil production is favoured by President Trump – who recently advised: “Drill baby, drill,” Thorngreen doubts this philosophy will have an immediate impact in the North Sea. Although there may be an impact in the medium- to longer term, depending on geopolitical factors, the North Sea is an expensive place to produce oil, he says.

However, its offshore energy production is not limited to oil and gas. “The wind market is another important market for us. The growth we will see in 2025 in the energy market is foreseen to be in the wind market,” says the NHV CEO. “It’s not exponential growth but slow growth.”

‘Pivotal moment’

Last month, NHV won a multi-year contract with sustainable energy specialist Vestas for offshore wind operations in the North Sea using Airbus H175 super-medium helicopters. Starting in April, the operator will deploy the aircraft to provide crew changes and hoisting operations for the offshore wind industry. At the time, the company said: “This contract marks a pivotal moment for both NHV and the helicopter industry as it makes NHV the first operator to utilise both a super-medium aircraft type and the H175 helicopter exclusively for long-term support in the offshore wind sector in the North Sea.”

As wind farms move further offshore and turbines increase in size, the operator sees the demand for larger helicopters like the H175 growing. In addition to the construction of new facilities, there’s a considerable amount of re-tendering for contracts to supply existing offshore wind parks. While helicopters are unlikely ever to replace transportation by ship, the operator sees rotorcraft playing a bigger role in wind turbine construction and maintenance.

For NHV, super-medium helicopters offer a useful blend of new technology and capabilities matched with lower operating costs and greener environmental credentials. “We think the proven super-medium helicopter largely fulfils the requirements performed by heavies – just in a more cost-effective manner. We are ready to backfill [with super-mediums] should the S-92 diminish,” Thorngreen tells us. (Sikorsky has often pledged to support the ageing S-92 fleet).

‘Represented overkill’

Looking at the North Sea, the primary super-mediums – such as the Leonardo AW189 and the Airbus H175 have “taken over a large proportion of the market”, he says. In the CEO’s view, the AW139 lacked the capacity needed for offshore wind operations while the S-92 “represented overkill”.

The company is also monitoring the development of the Bell 525 Relentless super-medium helicopter. But it prefers to wait for “a more mature product” before committing to the platform.

Thorngreen, who last year returned to the company after several years in other roles, including at Air Greenland, thinks North Sea contracts are now longer than before Covid with fewer cancellations for convenience. “The industry understands that having the availability of assets has become a limiting factor,” he tells us. “I think the industry has learnt the lessons of the past.” So, it’s not unusual to see contracts with a term life of four or five years or even longer, which was far from common five years ago.

MRO contracts

MRO contracts is another area NHV has exploited. This market is dominated by long-term tenders and contacts, with the company currently focusing on securing contracts to beginning next year. Contracts with military and parapublic organisations are particularly attractive to the business – given the length of the partnership – as the European defence industry also consolidates. Maintenance, as a proportion of the company’s total business accounts for about 10%-20%.

Training pilots and technicians is a small but significant part of the business. “It’s strategically important for many reasons – including internal reasons in securing the capability and flexibility to train our own teams,” says Thorngreen. “That makes sense both from a cost and time perspective.” However, it is a much more dynamic market, with for example pilot instructors changing jobs than company’s MRO business.

Turning to challenges facing the business, Thorngreen detects an improvement on supply chains. But it remains a daily challenge for the business – particularly the senior management team. The key is maintaining closer contact with manufacturers and suppliers to ensure products are well supported is a critical concern, he says.

Backbone of NHV’s fleet

Another challenge is choosing the right helicopter platforms. NHV made the right choice 12 years ago in becoming the launch customer for the Airbus H175 and believing in super-mediums before they were proven as a concept, he says. The H175 is now the backbone of NHV’s fleet.

The next big question (“under consideration by all CEOs in the industry”) is selecting the next generation of helicopter assets. “We are already looking now at what should be our fleet in 2026, 2027 and beyond because it has to be relevant to market requirements.”

Overarching all NHV’s business – both long established and newer markets – is Thorngreen’s mission to forge stronger links with customers. “We are revisiting and consolidating our business model,”  he tells us. “Under my leadership, I want us to move closer to the customer and to become less corporate. To ensure, for example, that local base management has the authority to change and follow customers’ needs.”

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HI Uplift Dashboard: Helicopters for sale

Multi engine

  • Total for sale/lease: 292 – one more than last week
  • Percentage for sale/lease: 3.93
  • Absorption rate: 4.53 months
  • Total fleet: 7,436 – two more than last week.

Single engine

  • Total for sale/lease: 440 – one more than last week
  • Percentage for sale/lease: 3.81
  • Absorption rate: 4.39 months
  • Total fleet: 11,544 – 14 more than last week.

Source: Amstat, January 31st, 2025.

 

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