American drone technology and services distribution company, Volatus Aerospace thinks the commercial drone industry is now ripe for the next stage of growth, which the company reckons can only be found in scattered start-ups and organisations consolidating their operations.

In preparation for this phase, Volatus and Drone Delivery Canada have announced that they will be entering into an equal partnership, set to be completed in the third quarter of 2024.

“Knowing that we can be stronger together, Volatus Aerospace and Drone Delivery Canada are planning to join forces in a merger expected to close in the third quarter of 2024,” Volatus said in a statement.

Following the merger, the new company will now be known as Volatus Aerospace Corp; however, Drone Delivery Canada’s name and brand will be maintained for cargo operations.

Glen Lynch, the current CEO of Volatus and his counterpart at DDC Steve Magirias will share leadership pf the management team, while current Volatus board chairman, Ian McDougall, is set to become chairman of the combined company’s board. 

The two companies plan to immediately begin commercialisation efforts by forging a robust, financially sound enterprise focused on immediate and long-term revenue with a clear path to sustainable growth and market leadership.

For their part, DDC believes the merger will Volatus will help the company leverage the latter’s vast reach across North and South America to make more sales of DDC’s cargo drone solutions.

“To date, Drone Delivery Canada has built advanced, competitive drone cargo solutions that are now ready to go to market,” Volatus’ statement continued.

“We believe that Volatus Aerospace, by focusing on drone services, training, and equipment sales, is well positioned to commercialise their technologies. 

“While the drone cargo market is still in its early stage, there are significant revenue-generating opportunities today for remote operations. There is high demand for reliable, autonomous, green aerial services, especially in the oil and gas, power utilities, maritime, and arctic sectors.

“The key motivator for this merger of equals is to transition the industry from individual visual line of sight drone-pilot operations to beyond visual line of sight remote operations into a scalable many-to-many model.

“The merged company will be able to immediately leverage existing global opportunities in these sectors, offering on-demand remote data intelligence at scale through its Operations Control Centre, which can fly multiple aircraft simultaneously anywhere in the world and is already in operation daily with room to scale.”

For their part, DDC reckon that the merger comes at a right time, now that drone regulations, especially in North America, are opening up more and more towards further drone integration.

“To date, Drone Delivery Canada has invested $40 Million into building strong, competitive drone cargo solutions that are now ready to go to market,” the company said in its own statement.

By focusing on drone services, training, and equipment sales, Volatus is well-positioned to leverage these technologies and bring them to market.

As regulations begin to enable the commercialization of drone cargo and remote drone operations, Volatus has been planning to commercialise its efforts in Advanced Air Mobility, adding to its go-to-market strategy.

“Without technology such as Drone Delivery Canada’s remote operations centre; Flyte management software; DroneSpot infrastructure; and cargo-focused, commercialized aircraft, the path to competitively enter the Advanced Air Mobility market would require significant research and development (“R&D”) investment for any drone-based services company.”

Magirias said he was happy that his company had found the right partner to continue its drone journey.

“Drone Delivery Canada has been searching for the right partner to join us on our growth journey and we are confident that Volatus is a great fit, from a management vision point of view, industry know-how, and experience,” he said.

“We were initially attracted to Volatus’ strong reputation in the industry, admirable fiscal management through a challenging capital markets environment, and vision towards generating diversified lines of revenue.”

While McDougall also expressed his company’s excitement at joining with DDC to expand its portfolio of services to the commercial drone industry.

“We are thrilled to announce this transformative merger with Drone Delivery Canada,” McDougall said.

“Merging with Drone Delivery Canada will enhance our ability to offer cutting edge technology and services to our clients and help position the combined company as a global leader. Volatus sees a tremendous opportunity to commercialise Drone Delivery Canada’s advanced technologies, through our network of partners, Fortune 500, international mining, oil and gas, and utilities clients, further positioning the combined company as a global leader in drone technologies and services.”

Lynch also added his voice; “We believe that the strategic impact will be significant right out of the gate, and allow us to drive innovative technology advancements and offer our clients industry leading technology and service.”