Returning Vets May Find New Home At The Lancair Company
The Lancair Company has
announced that it is actively soliciting veterans returning
from active duty in Iraq to help fill some of the approximately 100
positions it’s currently adding as part of a major expansion
program. The Company began an aggressive increase in capacity,
which includes expanding its workforce by more than 150% as well as
several million dollars worth of capital investments, shortly after
the first of the year in response to strong demand for the
Company’s Columbia 350 and 400 certified aircraft.
“It is estimated that upwards of 40% of the Central Oregon
veterans returning from active duty have no
civilian employment waiting,” said Lancair Company
President Bing Lantis. “We are trying to fill a lot of jobs
and we’re very pleased to be in a position to give back to
the men and women who volunteered to serve our country.” The
Company will give preference to returning veterans and will provide
training for the specialized work of building the Company’s
all-composite, four-place aircraft.
“Since the first of the year, we’ve already hired
more than 200 new employees,” Lantis said. “We expect
to hire another 100 in the coming months and look forward to adding
the dedication and leadership that the returning service men and
women have gained in our country’s armed forces.”
In addition to the hiring blitz, The Lancair Company is also
adding square footage and state-of-the-art equipment to its Bend,
Oregon manufacturing facility. Included in this is an additional
41,000 square feet to the primary manufacturing facility and three
new hangars, bringing total work area to 181,900 sq ft. Like the
manufacturing facility, the new hangars will also be located on
Bend Municipal Airport. Construction on all of these projects is
already underway with some already completed.
“Orders for our Columbia 350 and 400 are very
strong,” Lantis said. “We’re increasing our
production rate as quickly as possible while maintaining or, in
many cases, enhancing our product quality. Doing this requires more
room, equipment and people.”
A notable element of the expansion program is a new aftermarket
installation and service facility to be located in one of the new
hangars. It will provide Columbia buyers with a factory-owned and
managed opportunity to add non-production options as well as
service and maintenance for their aircraft.
“A lot of people who buy aircraft like the Columbia 350
and 400 want to add avionics and other things that aren’t
feasible on the production line,” said Lancair Company Vice
President Marketing and Sales Randy Bolinger. “This facility
will provide these services with the assurance that the quality
level will be consistent with what our customers expect from the
factory.”