Consolidators International (CII) has completed its latest delivery of six helicopters to Russia to aid that nation's petroleum industry explore and drill for oil in the most remote regions of that vast nation.

The six 'choppers' are Robinson R4 helicopters manufactured in Torrance, CA. The fully assembled copters except for the rotors were air lifted on a Boeing 747 freighter aircraft to Helsinki, Finland, a customary 'jumping off' point to Russia and then on to Moscow. From there, the helicopters were dispatched to their assigned posts throughout eastern Russia including Siberia.

CII has specialized in shipping helicopters to Russia for the past decade, almost wholly for its oil industry. Julian Keeling, CEO at Consolidators International, pointed out that Russia is the world's largest producer of oil and its biggest dollar earner.

'With oil underpinning the entire Russian economy, that industry cannot allow even minor interruptions in production. The Robinson helicopters are invaluable in finding trouble spots quickly, allowing repairs to be made with minimal time wasted saving thousands and even millions of dollars,' said Keeling.

The CEO commented the shipping of helicopters to Russia is an excellent example of 'niche' marketing. 'CII has become expert not only in the physical delivery of these machines, but also thoroughly familiar with the often arcane customs rules and regulations proscribed by the Russian government.'

As a mid-sized consolidator, CII has grown over the past twenty years handling not only general cargo, but also developing markets that large, multi-national forwarders may find too small or else completely overlook.

The Los Angeles-based forwarder almost single-handedly has created a viable cargo market in American Samoa, an island in the South Pacific and a U.S. territory. While American Samoa always had cargo service, it often was disorganized and inconsistent. CII focused on that market, helping to bring a consistency of service utterly lacking until the forwarder concentrated on that small but growing market. American Samoa is an important location for tuna fishing fleets and canneries.

'Finding the right niche and providing consistent tender, loving care is the key to success with any forwarder,' concluded Keeling.