De Havilland Aircraft of Canada announced yesterday that it will construct a manufacturing complex in Wheatland County, Alberta, about 30 minutes east of Calgary. Named De Havilland Field, the 15-acre site will serve as the final assembly for the DHC-515 Firefighter aircraft launched earlier this year, DHC-6 Twin Otter, and Dash 8-400, the latter two of which the company is working to bring back into production.
The location will encompass an aircraft assembly facility, runway, parts manufacturing and distribution centers, and a maintenance, repair, and overhaul center. Educational space for workforce training, general office buildings, and a De Havilland Canada aircraft museum also will be features of the site.
De Havilland Field will complement the company’s parts manufacturing facilities in Victoria, British Columbia, and an engineering and customer support center of excellence in Toronto, Ontario.
The company estimates that De Havilland Field will provide 1,500 jobs once it’s fully operational. Construction is expected to begin in 2023, once the process of rezoning the property and other government approvals are completed. De Havilland officials said the full build-out of the site will likely take 10 to 15 years, though they hope the first buildings will be operational by 2025.