Shop To Be Added To Boise, ID Facility
Western Aircraft tells
ANN it recently began work to launch a full-service interior dhop
this spring at its Boise, ID facility. The shop, called the
"Interior Re-Completion Center," will provide interior upgrades on
large business jets and turboprop aircraft. The company expects the
Re-Completion Center to be operating in spring 2008.
"The Interior Re-Completion Center at Western Aircraft is an
obvious next step for us," said President/COO Allen Hoyt. "Our
heritage has been to focus on key airframes such as Falcon,
Hawker/Beechcraft and Pilatus—and our business on those
airframes continues to soar. We want to best serve the customers we
have by adding depth to our services available for those key
airframe operators. We are investing millions of dollars to support
our customers in new ways."
For Interior Design and
Sales, Western Aircraft has selected 20-year veteran designer Karen
Cooper (right). She brings senior design experience from Gulfstream
and McKinney Aerospace, where she completed custom projects for
some of the most demanding customers in the world. Cooper has been
working with Western Aircraft’s customers for a few months
and preparing for the Re-Completion Center launch.
"The best interior starts with having the smartest design for a
particular owner’s taste, and that comes by having superior
knowledge of details," said Colleen Back, Vice President of Sales
and Business Development. "Karen will design an interior with the
materials, textures and colors that will give them an environment
they want to live in, not just fly in. Several of our Falcon 2000
and 900 principals have already commented about her dynamic manner,
and how enjoyable she made the design process. Even more
importantly, she has an absolute dedication to managing the details
on materials availability and quality, which helps customers feel
very confident they will have a fabulous interior upgrade."
On the operations side, The Re-Completion Center will include a
state-of-the-art 1,600 square foot spray/paint booth which will
accommodate very long or wide single piece items, such as Falcon 7X
drink rails and other large cabin business jet elements. Another
8,000 square feet of space will accommodate the shop’s
upholstery and other support areas. In addition to this, the
company has broken ground on a new 21,000 square foot hangar, which
will handle some of the company’s space needs in the future.
The company has launched an aggressive recruiting campaign to
attract experienced craftsmen for the Re-Completion Center, and is
hiring for positions from cabinetry finishers to sewers and shop
team leads.
During the startup phase, Western Aircraft will draw on the
knowledge from their own interior experience, with managers who
have launched and managed interior shops in the past. The company
has been involved with multiple Falcon Jet interior projects, and
has years of experience on Pilatus PC-12 interior upgrades and
modifications.
In addition, Western Aircraft will have resources from its
sister company, Atlantic Aero in Greensboro, NC. The two companies
were independent operations until 2007, and are now owned by
Greenwich AeroGroup in Greenwich, CT. Atlantic Aero is noted for
its Challenger, Hawker and late-model Learjet major interior
refurbishments for large fleet operators, and maintains a 24/7
schedule with 40 interior craftsmen.