Gulfstream Breaks Ground on New Service and Support Center
Gulfstream Aerospace broke ground for a new Savannah Service and Support Center in August. The new facility will more than double the size of the current facility. The construction project will be completed in two phases. The construction project will be completed in two phases. The first phase of construction, which will be completed by July 2007, includes a 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 a 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, according to Gulfstream officials. Gulfstream's Savannah facility will expand nearly 70 percent in size by 2012.

"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.

Nordam Building New Plant in Wichita
The Nordam Group broke ground in late August on a new 120,000 square foot facility in Wichita, Kansas for its Interiors and Structures division. The new building will almost triple the size of its existing Wichita manufacturing space.

The facility is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2007. "Right now, we are steadily busy in our Wichita plant working to meet the demand for our cabinetry," said Gary Ball, vice president and general manager of Nordam Interiors and Structures division. "We are taking steps now to stay ahead of the curve."

The plans for a new Wichita facility follow the opening of Nordam Brazil, a 20,000 square foot joint venture interiors facility with Jet Star. Nordam has been producing custom cabinetry for the Embraer Legacy 600 since 2001 and the new location is located within minutes of Embraer's headquarters. "Proximity promotes reliability and enhances our ability to communicate with Embraer to meet their needs," Ball said. "The same principles hold true for our customers in Wichita.

B/E Aerospace Acquires New York Fasteners Corp.
B/E Aerospace announced in September that it completed the acquisition of New York Fasteners Corp. (NYF), a privately-held company, for approximately $66.5 million in cash. NYF, founded in 1956, had revenues of $56 million for its most recent fiscal year and is a distributor of a wide variety of aerospace fasteners and hardware primarily to the military sector.

B/E plans to merge New York Fastener's hardware distribution and vendor-managed inventory business with its own distribution operations based in Miami, Florida.

EAU consortium takes over SR Technics
A group of three EAU-based companies is taking over SR Technics, one of the largest maintenance, repair and overhaul service providers in Europe, for CHF1.6 billion ($1.29 billion US). The Emirati consortium includes the recently created Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) and two investment companies - Mudabala Development and Istithmar. SR Technics, which will retain its present structure, will thus become DAE's maintenance arm. The agreement was signed on September 7 in Zurich.

Under this agreement, the consortium will hold a stake of approximately 90 percent in SR Technics. Of these 90 percent, Mudabala will hold 40 percent and DAE and Istithmar 30 percent each. SR Technics' management will hold the remaining shares. The new shareholders insist that the company will retain its Zurich airport headquarters, its 5,000 employees and current CEO Hans Lerch. It will be a stand-alone, independent corporate entity.

The new board of directors will continue to be chaired by Frank Turner. However, the full board's composition will be announced after having finalized the transaction, which is expected by early November.

DAE sees "great opportunities to build the brand in the Middle East and the Asia/Pacific regions - the high-growth markets into which SR Technics has diversified." As a matter of fact, the Middle East is not new to SR Technics. In March, the company announced plans for a joint venture with Gulf Air. After having signed a contract for the maintenance of the airline's fleet of 34 aircraft, the next project was establishing maintenance and technical training facilities in Oman.

SR Technics has grown significantly in recent years. For example, in 2004, the company acquired and integrated London-Stansted- and Dublin-based FLS Aerospace. Since 2002, SR Technics had been mainly owned by Star Capital and 3i. Before, SR Technics used to be a subsidiary of Swiss national airline Swissair, until its demise in 2001.

The takeover by EAU interests illustrates the country authorities' will to heavily invest in aerospace. In February, DAE was officially launched. Its promoters want to build a major aerospace cluster with divisions in leasing, manufacturing, airports, training, maintenance and event organization. Last summer, former Honeywell CEO Bob Johnson was appointed CEO of DAE. Separately, Mudabala Development is already known in the aerospace industry for its 35-percent stake in Piaggio, the Italian-based business aircraft manufacturer. - Thierry Dubois