Government orders allow W. Union business to expand

The founder of a manufacturer near West Union says, thanks to new orders from the federal government, his manufacturing business will expand. For HeliBasket on n. highway 11, West Union, John Tollenaere says two new contracts will allow his business to add four or five new workers. Tollenaere, a pilot and ex-army mechanic, runs a company that makes products for the helicopter industry, including parts that are used in heli-baskets that allow choppers to carry cargo products. “We’ve been told just this week that we are supposed to get 54 systems for the Chinooks and 104 for the Blackhawks,” Tollenaere said this morning. Daja Dial of the Economic Alliance says Oconee is also home to a second parts maker for aeronautics world—the other being RBC industries.