VAI Member Spotlight: Bayards Aluminum Solutions, Netherlands Helicopter and aircraft platform specialist expands into emerging electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft sector. From designing, engineering, manufacturing, and installing made-to-order aluminum helicopter and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft landing platforms to delivering customized high-tech milled parts, Bayards Aluminum Solutions is a leader in specialized aluminum solutions for vertical aviation operators. The burgeoning eVTOL aircraft sector is experiencing unprecedented growth, with substantial investments driving innovation and development. Yet, having the necessary eVTOL infrastructure is key to unlocking electric aircraft accessibility in cities. Recognizing the critical need for specialized infrastructure, Bayards Vertiports, like Bayards Aluminum Solutions a business unit of Bayards Group, is positioning itself to establish a comprehensive network of landing sites to support eVTOL technology. Developing the eVTOL Ecosystem Bayards Vertiports is partnering with several eVTOL aircraft manufacturers to prepare for increased demand for operational infrastructure. Currently, the sector is navigating the complex process of obtaining the certifications and permits essential for the airworthiness of eVTOL aircraft. Bayards is cooperating with regulatory authorities and experts in the field during this process to help ensure that the vertiports designed now will support both the eVTOL aircraft of today and infrastructure regulations of tomorrow. Bayards believes aluminum is the ideal material for future eVTOL landing sites due to its durability, light weight, and design flexibility. By remaining involved with the regulatory process, the company is aiming to create vertiports that can be installed in any city and operate 24 hours a day for more than 35 years without structural reinforcement. eVTOL, Helideck, and Helipad Specialists The company designs, engineers, manufactures, and plans to install its custom vertiports for electric air taxi operators anywhere in the world. Bayards will work with operators to optimize preexisting vertiport concepts to support specific aircraft models and design to the scale of operations or location when creating a new vertiport model. Landing platforms are not new to Bayards Group. The company’s helidecks division has developed infrastructure for more than 60 onshore and 600 offshore helicopter landing sites. Company Roots Bayards traces its beginnings to 1963, when Jacobus Johannes Bayards laid the foundation of what is now Bayards Group. The company started with a small workshop dedicated to constructing aluminum and stainless steel products in the village of Nieuw-Lekkerland. Based on the banks of the river Lek, Bayards expanded beyond its homeland’s border to become an international company. Focusing solely on aluminum, Bayards has grown into a force within the market for metal and complex aluminum structures over the past five decades. Today, Bayards operates state-of-the-art production and assembly facilities in Nieuw-Lekkerland; Heijningen, North Brabant; and IJsselmonde, Rotterdam. The company also has 15 sales offices to support customers globally, including locations in Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Singapore, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States.
