We are always looking for strategic expansion opportunities to better serve our growing market and support our vision to be the World's Best Aircraft Painting Company.
Costa Mesa, CA (PRWEB) July 16, 2014
Leading Edge Aviation Services, Inc., the world's leading commercial, military and VIP aircraft painting company, today announced that its Washington-based division, Associated Painters, has opened a second aircraft-painting hangar at Spokane International Airport. Associated Painters expects to grow its local workforce by 50% during the next year.
The company secured a long-term 30-year lease with a 20-year option for the new hangar project. The new 32,000 square foot structure, which receives its first aircraft the beginning of August, boasts state-of-the-art intelligent air handling, energy efficient high lumen lighting and top of the line water treatment systems. The over $6 million hangar has one large painting bay that is capable of handling up to a Boeing 757-300 and is located adjacent to Associated Painters’ current facilities.
“There is a high demand for narrow body aircraft painting in the region, which we plan to meet with this new hangar,” says Chris Harano, President of Leading Edge Aviation Services. Based on current projections, the company conservatively expects to be running at 100 percent utilization within the next two years. “We are always looking for strategic expansion opportunities to better serve our growing market and support our vision to be the World’s Best Aircraft Painting Company.”
In addition to the new Spokane hangar, the company has put significant investments into upgrading its existing facilities, specifically in Victorville, California and Fort Worth, Texas. The California facility, currently processing Boeing OEM 777, 767 and 787 models from Everett and South Carolina, received new air handling units in both its wide body hangars within the past year. The Fort Worth, Texas location underwent substantial upgrades including air handling repairs, additional filter stages to make-up air intake units, energy efficient lighting upgrades, new dedicated paint mixing room, new air supply lines, and robust security upgrades.
“As the company continues to grow, we remain committed to providing the highest quality aircraft painting services in the market. Over the last year, we have made considerable improvements at numerous locations to do just that. But it doesn’t stop there,” says Harano. “Since the Leading Edge-Associated Painters acquisition in March of last year, we have implemented training programs, 5S and continuous improvement initiatives for our crews at the local level as well. We’re making every effort to be the undisputable best in the business.”
About Leading Edge Aviation Services, Inc.
Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California with operations in four state-of-the-art facilities nationwide, Leading Edge Aviation Services, Inc. is the leading commercial, military, OEM and VIP aircraft painting company. To date, the company has refinished nearly 7,500 aircraft and currently refinishes over 200 aircraft per year across all locations. Founded in 1989, the company’s success is attributed to its strong vision and a continuous commitment to quality and excellence. Today, Leading Edge delivers an extensive range of commercial services including aircraft interior and exterior paint, aviation graphics, aircraft weighing, interior deep cleaning and aircraft exterior wash and polish. For more information, visit our web site at http://www.leadingedgecorp.com.
About Associated Painters, Inc.
Headquartered in Spokane, Washington, with four state-of-the-art facilities in the United States, Associated Painters has been reimaging and painting all types of domestic and international aircraft since 1986. With over 2,000 aircraft painted to date, Associated Painters has emerged in the aerospace industry as the service provider of choice for aircraft manufacturers like Boeing, modification centers like Aviation Technical Services, Inc. (ATS) in Everett, Washington, AAR Aircraft Services (AAR) – in Oklahoma, and FlightStar in Jacksonville, Florida, as well as international and domestic airline companies. Currently, Associated Painters refinishes over 200 aircraft per year in four strategic locations in the United States. For more information, visit our web site at http://associatedpaintersinc.com.
