Helicopter firm looks to Johnson for savings

18 November 2004

Steve Johnson, the new procurement manager for Europe at helicopter services company CHC Helicopter Corporation, is looking to save 3 per cent of its £200 million annual European goods and services budget within the next two years.

CHC, a Canadian multinational that operates air rescue and helicopter transport for a range of organisations and governments including the global offshore oil and gas industry, has grown rapidly through acquisitions. Its aircraft operate in 30 countries and it employs around 3,500 people worldwide.

Procurement must now be co-ordinated, according to Johnson, who is also a Scottish representative on CIPS council.

"Over the past couple of years, CHC has looked at improvements to areas such as HR and finance, but not procurement. People have been doing their own thing, so I have been given a blank sheet of paper."

The company's key operational areas are England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands.

Johnson was formerly purchasing manager at Invsat, the VSAT communications arm of Inmarsat Ventures.

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