Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings Honors Eurocopter de Mexico Cultural Heritage

Eurocopter, a global leader in civil helicopter and military helicopter transport, recently completed a new corporate display set high above its division headquarters at the Mexico City airport. It was no ordinary display: it was an actual Eurocopter AS350 heli. And its exotic design scheme was no ordinary paint job: it featured in a multitude of bright colors paying homage to the region’s ethnic Mexican culture, thanks in part, to Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings.

“We’ve always had a heli display at the airport, right above the business. It is a real heli, actual size,” says Romina Cedeno, Eurocopter de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. communications cooordinator. “Historically, the heli’s colors were mostly in the blue family, those of the corporate color. And while we are a European enterprise, we have a very important presence in Mexico. So we looked to create a display color palette featuring one universal color for both our country, as well as represent France, Germany, and Spain. We chose red because it’s a consistent and prominent color in each of our respective flags.”

“We also wanted a new heli to reflect our new offices. As part of the growth of Eurocopter in Mexico the buildings were renovated and it was the right time to change the image and colors of the heli,” she continued. “The intention was to glorify and honor the Mexican culture in the presentation of the company and, for this reason we worked with the brand PINEDA COVALIN to create a unique design featuring ethnic figures of the Mexican cultures.”

The end result is a design 100% reflective of the Mexican culture. Cedeno goes on to explain: “We selected a flower of the Huichol culture, emphasizing the vibrancy of that culture. The color scheme that we chose (black and red) was a strategic decision to show that Eurocopter can design and produce helis with any desired color in any desired design.”

“We expanded our chromatic range and demonstrated that we can produce any customization that the heli’s owner might want. Of course, it was an excellent opportunity to try the Sherwin-Williams products, since we wanted to learn of the products’ quality, and the heli was a good opportunity for our two companies to work together. It was a challenging project and, when finished, we were very happy with the results.”

According to Christopher Cook, Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings Global Development manager, the AS350 was first painted with his company’s AMS 3095-certified CM0483928 High Solids Corrosion Resistant Epoxy Primer, and then with the brand’s latest SKYscapes basecoat-clearcoat polyurethane aerospace paint system. “The primer is a high performance, high solids, low VOC product intended for use on all types of aircraft and has excellent recoat/intercoat adhesion with Sherwin-Williams topcoat systems,” says Cook. “The SKYscapes system provides a unique two-step process featuring specially formulated resins that deliver richer color and higher gloss retention. It also improves hiding with thinner films on bright, multi-colored schemes. So, it was perfect for the design Eurocopter de Mexico wanted on their project.”

“In addition to their offices at the airport, Eurocopter de Mexico also does maintenance and painting right on the site. They were pleased to see that this new system cures at ambient temperature in half the time of other single-stage paint systems. As a result, it allows MRO facilities, their paint shops and manufacturers to add to their bottom line (up to 30 percent) with faster turnaround and adopt even more lean production practices.”

For more information on Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings, call 1-888-888-5593 or visit its new website at www.swaerospace.com.

 

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