Expansion Addresses Demand for Maintenance of Gulfstream
Business Jets
Gulfstream Aerospace
will build a new Savannah Service and Support Center that is more
than double the size of its current facility. The new center will
meet the ongoing demand for business-jet aircraft support,
maintenance and refurbishment. Gulfstream broke ground at the
construction site Thursday, the first step of a building project
that will be entirely completed by the end of 2009.
The construction project will be completed in two phases. The
first phase of construction, which will be completed by July 2007,
includes the north hangar building, connector building, repair
shops, a fuel farm, an engine run-up area, an employee parking lot
and a cafeteria. Phase One comprises some 318,660 square feet.
The second phase of construction will be completed by the end of
2009. It includes the south hangar building, a second engine run-up
area, additional repair shops and parking spaces. Phase Two
comprises some 311,220 square feet.
The new Service and Support Center will be located on a
76.6-acre tract in the southwest quadrant of the Savannah-Hilton
Head International Airport. It is part of Gulfstream’s
long-range facilities master plan announced in March. The $300
million, 7-year expansion will create up to 1,100 new jobs, a 25
percent increase from the current employment level of 4,300
employees. Gulfstream’s Savannah facility will expand nearly
70 percent in size by 2012. The facility expansion will be
completed in phases to minimize any effect on the business-jet
manufacturer’s core businesses – manufacturing and
servicing business-jet aircraft.
“Gulfstream is
committed to providing the highest possible level of service to our
customers, and our decision to expand is a direct reflection of our
ongoing investment in our people, our facilities, and our
capabilities to meet customer demand for aircraft refurbishment and
maintenance,” said Larry Flynn, president, Product Support,
Gulfstream.
“Not only does this investment position us well for the
future, but it also will help us better respond to the growth in
our own customer base and the resulting in-service
fleet.”
In addition to Savannah, Gulfstream operates service centers in
Long Beach, Calif.; Dallas; Appleton, Wis.; Brunswick, Ga.; and
London, England . The service centers provide maintenance,
overhaul, testing, inspections, equipment installations and
refurbishment of Gulfstream business jets.