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Aviation maintenance company to invest $20 million in Blytheville facility Thursday, Mar 27, 2008 Jason Wiest Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas' vast aerospace industry got larger Wednesday when state economic development officials announced an aircraft maintenance company would locate a $20 million repair facility in Blytheville. Miami-based Aviation Repair Technologies said it would employ 310 within three years at a new airframe and engine repair facility at the former Eaker Air Force Base in Blytheville. The jobs will pay an average salary of about $20 per hour, or more than $40,000 annually, officials said. The company is a subsidiary of Aero Maintenance Group, a major player in the maintenance and repair business for commercial, regional and corporate aircraft. "The $16.9 billion annual airline maintenance market is projected to grow 4.3 percent yearly, and this facility is part of our strategy to meet that demand," said Ben Quevedo Sr., chairman of Aviation Repair Technologies and CEO of Aero Maintenance Group. Line maintenance, heavy maintenance, jet engine overhaul and other types of repair for aircraft like the CRJ-200 and ATR-72 will be performed at the Blytheville location. The company currently provides maintenance for Federal Express, Delta Air Lines and American Eagle, among others. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission awarded Mississippi County a $1 million community development block grant to upgrade and renovate a hangar and office building for the company, AEDC spokesman Joe Holmes said. The bulk of the company's financial assistance came on the local level, however. The Mississippi County Quorum Court approved $2.7 million in incentives for the company Tuesday night, designating the money for work force training, leasing costs and site work. "We are aggressive in this region when it comes to economic development," Blytheville Mayor Barrett Harrison said. State officials also have been aggressive in expanding Arkansas' aerospace industry, which employs more than 10,000 people and is the state's top export, contributing about $1 billion annually to the economy. More than 5,000 new jobs are expected to be created by aerospace firms in Arkansas during the next 10 years, state economic development officials said last month at the first Arkansas Aerospace Summit. In the second half of last year, Dassault Falcon Jet announced two expansions to its operations in Little Rock totaling $30 million. The company said the expansions would add about 300 jobs over the next three years to its work force of about 2,000 people. Those jobs were also to pay an average annual starting salary of $40,000, officials said at the time. Dassault Falcon Jet's Little Rock facility completes business jets manufactured in France. |
