Helios Visions, a Chicago-based commercial drone company, recently announced its expansion into Houston, Austin and the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The company announced Dec. 14 it had entered the three Texas markets. Helios offers a number of commercial drone services, including infrastructure inspections, building facade inspections, construction progress documentation and commercial real estate uses.
Helios is co-founded by Calvin Gin, a member of the Gin family who established The Flying Food Group, which is the third-largest airline catering company in North America. An affiliate of Gin bought the Luby’s Cafeteria restaurant business, a subsidiary of Houston-based Luby’s Inc. (NYSE: LUB), but not any of its real estate, for $28.7 million in June 2021.
"Given its central location and the high population growth trajectory, we knew that expanding into the Texas market would allow us to best serve the needs of both existing and new clients,” Gin said in a statement. “I am often traveling across Texas for other projects including Luby's Restaurants and Charming Studios, so it is a natural progression for Helios Visions to expand our drone service offerings here."
Helios co-founder Ted Parisot said the company chose Houston as one its markets to expand into due to the continued growth of construction projects in and around the metropolitan area and the large amount of commercial real estate that would benefit from Helios’ services. The company also already works with a number of Texas-based companies, Parisot said, making the Lone Star State a logical next step for the company.
Additionally, Parisot said a couple of national laws providing funding for infrastructure projects and encouraging the use of drone services to inspect construction projects make it the right time for Helios to expand.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021, provided $110 billion for roads, bridges and other projects; $17 billion in port infrastructure and waterways; $25 billion for airports; and $65 billion in power infrastructure, among other investments. The Drone Inspection Act provides funding for state and local governments to support the use of drones for inspecting, repairing or constructing infrastructure projects. The bill was passed by the U.S. House in September but has not been taken up in the Senate.
Parisot said Helios has an office in the Spring Branch/Fairbanks area. He said the company is actively hiring new drone pilots in Texas, with plans to hire 15 to 20 new employees across the state in 2023.
