What is Torrance know for worldwide? Not the beach – we have one, but even many locals don’t seem to know that it is there. Is it the malls? That’s a local draw, but not anything that people in other countries are likely to be aware of. Here’s the surprising truth – Torrance is known all over the world for its helicopters. You know – the little ones that you have seen flying by the beach. They are Robinson helicopters, from a Torrance company that has changed aviation all over the planet.
The company was founded in 1973 by namesake Frank Robinson and produced its first commercial aircraft in 1979. Some of those originals from 1979 are still flying, and one is in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington.
The President of the company is still named Robinson – Kurt Robinson, son of the pioneering Frank. “I grew up with a passion for business and wanted to run a company. It just so happened that was when my father was getting Robinson Helicopter off the ground. He made me an offer and so I came here, and helicopters have been in my blood ever since.”
“What my father set out to do was different from other aviation companies. They built helicopters for the military and then took variations of those and tried to sell them to the commercial market and the public, and that process makes them very expensive. What he focused on was, can we take today’s technology and use it to lower the cost and improve the reliability of the aircraft? And he did.”
Who buys a Robinson helicopter? “Well, we have sold over 11,000 of them all over the world, and about 65% outside the US. They are popular in regions like the Australian Outback where roads are poor and large farms are in remote locations. They are also used where crime is a worry in Brazil and Mexico where people would rather fly than use the roads because no one can rob you in a helicopter. They are used to reach fishing boats out at sea and isolated research stations.” Walking through the factory you can see airframes being assembled and painted that have their destinations written on them – China, Czech Republic, Australia, South Africa.
There are three models of Robinson – the two-seater R22, the four-seater R44 and the five-seater R66, which features a large luggage compartment. Will there someday be an R88 that is even larger? “That’s not on the drawing board yet”, says Kurt. “Maybe someday – we created the market for a small helicopter and meet that need beautifully, so there’s no place to go but up. Right now we are focused on our current product line and creating new technology and features for our existing airframes.” The Robinson line can be ordered in 20 different colors, with options that include pontoons for landing on water, built-in cameras for traffic reporters and news helicopters and different styles of landing gear. There is even an autopilot and gyro system so the pilot can take their hands off the controls and the machine will fly itself.
Many people by the beach see Robinson helis
flying over the beach and wonder whether those are ‘test drives’ by prospective buyers. “Well, if you see one on the weekends it isn’t ours”, says Kurt with a smile. “We are only open Monday through Friday. If you see one during the week it is probably on a quality test run and safety check. Every one is flown by our pilots prior to being sold, first hovering low here at Zamperini field and testing the avionics and then we do test runs at unpopulated areas over the ocean. Those may be what people are seeing. Or, it could just be owners of the helicopters sightseeing or going to work.”
How did a manufacturer of a luxury item like personal helicopters survive the economic downturn? “The recession of 2008 had a big effect on the business; it was the first time the global economy really contracted so that no part of the world escaped. Our international sales were hit hard. For a while credit was tight and large organizations weren’t ordering many new helicopters. We made it through by good management – watching expenses, not buying things we didn’t need and using good engineering and technology to provide the things that people want at the lowest price possible. Now things have been getting better year by year and we are very optimistic for the future. I would say that we are about two-thirds of the way back from where we were in 2007.”
Sometimes people say that California isn’t a good place to do business. Why has Robinson Helicopter stayed in Torrance? “We get offers about once a month to move to a different state, especially ones in the South. We also get offers to be purchased by companies in other countries, but this is the best place in the world to do this job.”
One advantage is the weather – Robinson needs to fly helicopters every workday, and this is one of the few places you can do that. Another is the commercial environment, Kurt explains. “Los Angeles and Torrance have a diverse workforce and a lot of unique machinery and high technology companies. Anything that you need, you can find a company that does it locally. There is a lot of processing that if we were somewhere else like in the middle of the country we would have to ship things out to get work done. Here the turnaround time is minimal so we can get things done quickly. It’s also great that the port of LA and LAX are so close since we are shipping spare parts and components overseas.
One thing that makes Robinson competitive in the global marketplace is advanced technology. On a walk through the plant Kurt proudly pointed out ways that the company’s engineers have innovated. “We have pioneered manufacturing techniques that increase efficiency, improve worker safety, create better quality and lowered cost. We use lasers and water-jet cutting to shape parts with precision and low environmental impact. In most of our company you can’t even smell chemicals – because of the advanced technology, we don’t need many of them.”
Frank Robinson is now retired and only occasionally visits the company; he recently returned from visiting the small islands where he grew up off the Washington State coast. Kurt is proud of his father and what he has accomplished. “My father just started this company to make a personal helicopter and now it has grown beyond his wildest dreams. No one thought that we could do this – the market for personal helicopters barely existed then. We have had an enormous impact on the industry and Frank will be in the aviation books – as a matter of fact, he already is now. If you focus on your dream, turn it into the goal and succeed in that goal that is more than enough in life. There is no way that we could imagine what we became.”
In five years will Robinson Helicopter be larger, smaller or about the same? “Larger – we have to be. With all of the helicopters out there needing spare parts and new rotors, our business just has to grow – it’s simple math. The more helicopters that are out there, the more parts will be needed to maintain them, and they will be made right here.”
Kurt reflected on the place Robinson holds in Torrance. “Since we have been here over twenty years, one of the satisfying things is when we see long-time employees bringing in their sons and daughters to work here. We have to give our kids a reason to come back to our community and you need good engineering jobs, good manufacturing jobs. We have those and I am proud of that. I am inspired by our Torrance employees and how much they have contributed to our success. That’s one reason we stay here, the people. I am part of the community – for most of my career here, I have been walking to work. I like Torrance.”
The next time that you see hear the sound of an engine overhead, look up – Torrance’s most famous product may be flying over you. And the next time you are considering the purchase of a personal helicopter, shop locally. Someone named Robinson will be glad to help you.
