Ken Manning
Gazette staff
PORT McNEILL – West Coast Helicopters has garnered another award. The company owners were on hand to receive the Business Excellence award for Forestry Company of the Year for Vancouver Island from the Business Examiner Jan 27th in Nanaimo.
The award recognizes the helicopter company's wide range of forest services that include cone collection, log slinging, fire protection, crew movements, and seeding and fertilizing.
"We were also one of five finalists in the Green Initiatives category," said operations manager and co-owner, Peter Barratt.
Barratt is proud of his company's track record.
When the forward-looking company began business 17 years ago the three founders discussed what kind of company they wanted to be. According to Bararatt they could have chosen to "put all the profits in their jeans," but they went a different way.
"We figured if we look after our people then they will look after our company," said Barratt. "We also decided to support the North Island and North Island businesses because the North Island has supported us."
"The North Island is just like heaven only the fishing is better," quips Barratt.
Barratt is also proud he and his partners promote high conservation standards to reduce their carbon footprint. He said that the company's ethical stance meshed neatly with the green revolution. They had no issues with funding wind power generation, double-sealed fuel storage, high fuel efficiency helicopters and filtering contaminants out of rainwater running off their facility roof in Campbell River.
Barratt hinted there may be a big award coming to West Coast Helicopters in the near future, but for now the company is playing its cards close to its chest.