Draganfly expands its drone production capacity to satisfy growing demand

Canadian UAV hardware and software company Draganfly had a busy and productive 2022, and is now building on continued business momentum in the first three months of this year with the announcement it is expanding its drone production capacities to keep pace with surging demand.

Saskatoon-based Draganfly said this week that it was ready to begin using additional drone production facilities added to its plant in Burnaby, British Columbia. The company had previously decided to extend the operation’s output capacities in response to additional business generated by deals concluded in 2021 and 2022. Its continued growth in the initial months of this year indicates that expansion decision was prescient indeed.

Read: Draganfly partners with RSI to access India’s expanding (and protected) drone market

Draganfly has concluded a rash of partnerships with sensor and various software companies to expand the range of capabilities and utilities its drones can provide. The company has also been busy widening its UAV product line, rolling out three different craft in 2022 with the the Draganfly Heavy Lift Drone, Commander 3 XL Drone, and Long Range LiDAR system. 

As a result, demand for Draganfly drones had grown to the point of nearly outpacing production capacities.

“We are thrilled to announce this expansion of our manufacturing capabilities,” said Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly. “This facility reflects our ability to meet the ever-growing demand for Draganfly products and our commitment to better serve our customers by providing the highest quality drone products.”

Draganfly has been building business by pursuing sales of drones for enterprise uses, but has particularly increased its activities with security and defense users. 

Among those has been its supply and support work with Ukraine’s government, and assisting the country’s medical and public safety teams that use its UAVs to care for people injured or trapped by Russian strikes.

It has also done considerable work training and otherwise assisting Ukraine’s specialized forces to locate and neutralize countless mines and unexploded missiles invading Russian troops have left in their wake.

Read more: Draganfly drones neutralizing mines – not dropping explosives – in Ukraine

Both those engagements and Draganfly’s success in building its business through an expanding client list had made increasing its drone production capacities an inevitable move many months ago. That set up this week’s announcement that the added spaces to the Burnaby facility are now ready to be brought online.

The plant features automated machinery to support smart manufacturing, and multiple in-line working stations to enable additional expansion of assembly, integration, and quality control posts. It has also been designed to facilitate efficient inventory management, resulting in faster turnaround time on orders.

Draganfly chief operating officer Paul Mullen says the center is designed to meet today’s increased demand, and satisfy what the company believes will be higher sales in the future.

“We are excited to announce our expanded manufacturing facility, which begins our path to scaled production in 2023,” said Mullen. “The additional production space is necessary to meet demand and will allow for expanded and faster production.”