We’re excited to announce an important milestone for Vallfirest: Shawn Bethel has stepped into a new role as Vallfirest National Sales – Canada & Aerial Division Head. As the demand for advanced aerial firefighting solutions continues to grow worldwide, Shawn’s leadership comes at a key moment for our mission and our innovation strategy.
Read on to learn more about his vision, experience, and what this new chapter means for Vallfirest in our Q&A below.
- With your long-standing experience in this industry, where do you see the biggest opportunities for innovation and growth in the helicopter bucket segment?
In recent years, wildfires in our landscapes and in our communities are increasingly causing more destruction and threatening resiliency measures in all segments of our populations. This is occurring globally and at levels we’ve never seen before. Wildfire agencies have always been stretched thin trying to fulfill aerial firefighting resource requests to adequately support wildland firefighters doing their hard work on the ground. And for safety and operational effectiveness, they need more aerial support to hold the front lines. This means that in addition to fixed wing tankers, we need more helicopters and VTOL drones to take on the fight both day and night with reliable, robust bucket technologies that supports continuous operations. Bucket technologies with wide ranges of volume capacities that can be operated by all helicopter types and all sizes of ‘heavy payload’ carrying drones. This effort, in support of balanced fleet concepts will see more impactful aerial firefighting 24 hours a day - including heavy smoke conditions where traditional aircraft cannot operate.
- You’re taking the lead of a newly acquired division specializing in aerial firefighting buckets. What excites you most about this new chapter, both for you and for the company?
Many helicopter bucket and tank technologies have emerged over the past 50+ years to support ground wildfire operations. Over my 40 years in wildfire, I’ve seen many of these from both perspectives of 20 years in wildfire ops as an end user and the last 20 in private sector supporting product development and response to wildfire agency demand for new bucket features and increased performance on the fireline. I am super excited to help Vallfirest re-introduce a bucket technology with 25 years of legacy wildfire experience designed by a helicopter pilot ‘for’ helicopter pilots - Chris Black at AFC in Australia. The Water Hog’s unique electro-hydraulic actuated, multi-drop valve design is incredibly robust, reliable, and is showing the market that an affordable helicopter bucket can work all day long, throughout the fire season, without fail and allow pilots to keep putting water on the fire until the ground crews put it out.
- How does this acquisition position the company to become a global leader in aerial firefighting solutions?
Vallfirest’s presence in the global wildfire market is currently seen across 85 countries. With exceptional after sale product support, vested customer service and offering a ‘one-stop shop’ for all things wildfire - Vallfirest is fully committed to the wildfire community. With the Vallfirest Aerial Division line of products including the Heliskid and Inflatable Tanks, the addition of the Water Hog sees us ‘rounding up’, so we can support more wildfire operations in more locations across the globe.
- What can our customers and partners expect from this new phase—both in terms of product evolution and operational excellence?
Vallfirest is truly ‘the wildfire company’. We listen to the wildfire management and mitigation professionals around the world. I am super excited to work with our teams, develop more Vallfirest products in the years to come and help ‘move the needle’ towards increasing public safety, property, asset & infrastructure protection. Truly an honour to be part of the Vallfirest mission in support of operational effectiveness, organizational efficiencies and improving wildfire outcomes in the global wildfire community.
Shawn’s vision and expertise highlight the exciting path ahead for Vallfirest’s Aerial Division. As we continue to expand our capabilities and strengthen our presence worldwide, his leadership will be key to driving innovation and delivering reliable, high-performance solutions to the wildfire community.
We’re proud to have him guiding this next chapter - and even more motivated to keep pushing the future of aerial firefighting forward.
