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SkyTrac Systems Ltd. — a provider of satellite-based aircraft flight-following systems based in Kelowna, B.C. — has announced the sale of the company to a group of partners led by Malachi Nordine, SkyTrac’s existing director of product development. Nordine will replace previous owner Kathleen Wallace as the company’s president and chief executive officer.
Since SkyTrac’s core management team will remain in place, Nordine said the transition will be “seamless” for the company’s customers. “There will be no decrease in our service level or interface at all,” he told Canadian Skies in an exclusive interview in October.
Founded in the mid-1990s, and now employing around 40 people, SkyTrac has grown to become a leading provider of satellite-based flight-following solutions, especially in the helicopter industry. When Wallace was preparing to sell the company earlier this year, Nordine recognized that SkyTrac’s reputation and customer base would make it an attractive target for acquisition by a larger company — something he and his colleagues wanted to avoid. As senior sales manager Judy Meier explained, SkyTrac has forged a unique identity over the years as a small, nimble company that’s responsive to the needs of its customers. “There’s a lot of passion under this roof, and I think that transfers over to our customers,” she said. “They become part of that SkyTrac family. I think it would have been catastrophic to have lost that.”
Accordingly, Nordine began putting together a plan for a management buyout. He found the necessary financing support in Roynat Capital, a Scotiabank subsidiary that specializes in alternative financing solutions for Canadian mid-market businesses. In addition to its financing support, Roynat will add an experienced board of directors to complement the SkyTrac management team, including Stephen Sorocky. (Sorocky brings extensive senior management and business development experience in the technology and aerospace industries. He was previously CEO of a number of technology companies, and is a board member of the Canadian Commercial Corp., a federal Crown corporation that facilitates international trade for Canadian companies and is responsible for billions of dollars in defense and aerospace exports.)
Not only was Roynat supportive of the management team’s desire to keep the business in the Okanagan Valley, it shares the team’s vision for growing the company into new products and markets. “They want to see it grow,” Nordine said of his Roynat partners. “And, we’ll be able to grow and nurture the company in Kelowna.”
A Plan for the Future
What will that future growth look like? One key strategy for the company going forward will be to offer its customers more functionality in the same box — much as it does with its new ISAT-200A product.
Released at Heli-Expo 2012 in February, the ISAT-200A combines satellite flight-following with flight data monitoring (FDM), voice and text communications, and audio recording capabilities. As demand for FDM grows, SkyTrac expects the ISAT-200A to appeal to operators who would otherwise need to buy multiple pieces of equipment.
“In a small helicopter, space is a precious commodity,” said Nordine. “In the future, we will maintain the [aircraft] real estate we have by adding functionality — the same box will do more.” For existing installations, Nordine plans to add new functions through enhancements to SkyTrac’s software suite, developed in consultation with its customers.
Nordine also suggested that SkyTrac may leverage its technological expertise to expand into entirely new markets. “There is no reason why SkyTrac, in Kelowna, can’t develop other avionics products.”
In the meantime, Nordine emphasized that SkyTrac’s customers should feel assured that the company will continue to respond to their needs with the same degree of urgency and attention as in the past. “We’re agile enough and we care enough to respond to everyone from the large companies to the ma-and-pa operators. They should all have confidence that the company will continue as it has been, and even better.”
