Aerodyne buys 60% stake in Danish AtSite

By Digital News Asia March 13, 2018

Aerodyne can expect an additional US$24.6 million in revenue over the next three years
Through its stake, Aerodyne can tap into the growing wind energy market

Aerodyne buys 60% stake in Danish AtSite

AERODYNE Group, a Malaysian drone specialist has bought a 60% controlling stake in AtSite for a total consideration of 2.2 million euros (RM10.6 million; US$2.7 million) which will give Aerodyne a leg up in the growing wind energy market.

Based in Denmark, AtSite is a forerunner in wind turbine blade inspections for the wind turbine generation industry throughout Europe. Over the last year AtSite technicians have completed more than 1,000 blade inspections on both offshore and onshore wind turbines.

With this deal, Aerodyne can expect an additional 20 million euros (RM96.4 million; US$24.6 million) in revenue over the next three years.

Aerodyne is ranked 7th in worldwide survey done by Drone Industry Insights, a market research and analytics company based in Germany. It provides insights and market data for the commercial drone industry.

“The synergy that AtSite and Aerodyne can reap from this collaboration will give us the competitive edge and long-term sustainability,” said AtSite CEO Mads Obling Rasmussen. “There are many interesting developments in the pipeline and we look forward to sharing them.”

“We are excited at having Mads Rasmussen and his team at AtSite in Denmark join our Aerodyne family. We are excited about breaking new frontiers together,” said Aerodyne CEO and founder Kamarul A Muhamed.

“This acquisition is our ticket to the European and global wind turbine inspection market. Through our stake in AtSite, Aerodyne can tap into the growing wind energy market as more countries explore renewable energy.

“AtSite is one of Europe’s leading wind turbine generation blade expert. Aerodyne specialises in drone, automation and artificial intelligence. This is a marriage which will bring about multiple benefits to both parties.

“Our stake in AtSite is going to help Aerodyne deliver better value to wind farm owners through improved drone inspection automation and precision detection assisted by artificial intelligence.

“The potential of this business is enormous. Aerodyne sees this stake as a strategic investment,” he added.

Aerodyne operates in 10 countries around the world – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Australia, UK, US, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Denmark. It has over 200 drone pilots, developers, engineers and consultants.

In 2017, Aerodyne flew 35,000 flights, an industry leading number of flight operations. It also inspected and managed 100,000 assets in the same year.

Kamarul said the world’s rapidly depleting fossil fuels combined with the awareness for clean energy to limit the harm to our environment and climate change, have led more countries to turn to renewable energy such as wind turbine generation.