Grand Opening/Ground Breaking Scheduled For Wichita And
Independence
Cessna Aircraft Company
has announced that it will hold two major ceremonies this month in
support of its expanding customer services. The first ceremony on
December 9, 2004, at 2:30 p.m. will celebrate the grand opening of
Cessna's Wichita Citation Service Center. The event will be held at
Wichita's new Citation Service Center (One Citation Lane [2121 S.
Hoover Rd.], Wichita, Kansas, 67209). Cessna will host
approximately 500 people at the event including Citation customers;
city, county, state and federal government officials, suppliers,
and employees.
Underscoring Cessna's commitment to its growing aftermarket
parts and services business, the new $61 million Wichita Citation
Service Center is the world's largest general aviation maintenance
facility. Located on a 124-acre site at Wichita's Mid-Continent
Airport, it has 443,000 square feet and will house over 100
Citations. The facility has five hangars, with the three largest
hangars encompassing over 60,000 square feet each. In addition, the
building has multiple customer lounges and offices, flight planning
offices, a restaurant, and a gift shop. The surrounding exterior is
equipped with a dedicated run-up area, two compass roses, and four
fuel farms.
Earlier this year, the company also opened a new Citation
Service Center in Orlando, Florida, designed to accommodate all
Citation models with a full range of inspections, maintenance,
repair, overhaul and other services. Today, customers' maintenance
needs are met at Cessna's 10 company-owned Citation Service Centers
or 28 authorized Citation Service Centers.
Facility Expansion in Independence, Kansas
On December 21, 2004, at 11:30 a.m., Cessna will host a
groundbreaking ceremony at its Independence, Kansas, facility. This
event will occur on the ten-year anniversary of when Cessna named
Independence, Kansas, as its new single engine piston aircraft
manufacturing location. It also marks Cessna's first expansion of
its Independence facility since it was dedicated on July 4,
1996.
The $20.4 million project will include the construction of a
90,000 square foot flight/delivery building and a 11,000 square
foot aircraft completions building. In addition, Cessna will expand
its current customer delivery center by 11,000 square feet. The
construction will be completed in December 2005. These new
facilities will support the production, marketing and delivery of
both the Citation Mustang and single engine products.
The Cessna Independence facility sits on a 213-acre site.
Current structures on the property include separate assembly, paint
and delivery facilities that total nearly 400,000 square feet.
Cessna broke ground for its Independence facility on May 19, 1995,
and dedicated the facility on July 4, 1996.
Production line flow of the first Cessna piston engine singles
since 1986 commenced on July 10, 1996, and the first customer
delivery, a 172R, took place in January 1997. In 2004, Cessna
celebrated the delivery of the 5000th single engine piston aircraft
since restarting production, and the delivery of its 150,000th
single engine since the company was founded in 1927. Today, Cessna
produces six single engine piston aircraft at its Independence
facility: 172R Skyhawk, 172S Skyhawk SP, 182T Skylane, Turbo T182T
Skylane, 206H Stationair, and T206H Stationair.
On February 16, 2004, Cessna announced it would build its new
Citation Mustang at its Independence, Kansas, facility. With
approximately 230 orders already taken, Cessna anticipates Citation
Mustang deliveries will be higher than any other Citation model. In
support of this activity, Cessna expects to increase its
Independence workforce by approximately 500 over the next several
years. Currently, Cessna employs approximately 600 people in
Independence.
Independence, Kansas, is located approximately 125 miles
southeast of Wichita in Montgomery County. The Cessna facility is
located approximately 5 miles southwest of the town. Independence,
Kansas, is home to approximately 10,000 people.