Story ID: 
Flying Colours Opens New St. Louis Facility
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: The company said the additonal space, plus a reconfigured floorplan will increase its productivty there six-fold.
Word Count: 247
Canada-based MRO provider Flying Colours has opened its newly expanded facility at Missouri’s Spirit of St. Louis Airport. Last year the company purchased a vacant industrial building adjacent to the airport and spent $2 million to renovate it and expand its footprint there to nearly 100,000 sq ft. It claims the upgrade will improve production at the location by 600 percent with the additional workshop space and a new floorplan created with lean manufacturing principles that follow the natural work flow. While the capabilities echo those found at at the company’s flagship facility in Peterborough, Ontario, the St. Louis location also incorporates an edge-fill machine for working with composite material, and adds three new high-tech paint booths, including one specifically for complex fasteners and cabinet interiors. There's also space for upholstery, engineering, and avionics work as well as production control offices, conference rooms, and client meeting areas.

“This is the first full infrastructure development to take place in St. Louis since we acquired the business in 2009,” said Sean Gillespie, the company’s executive vice president. “It was needed, as demand for our cabinetry and completion skills was outstripping our capacity.” He added the company expects to begin a second phase of development in the U.S. later this year.

Manufacturing has already begun at the location, which primarily supports designing, building, and finishing woodwork monuments for large-cabin business jets, with the first components slated to be delivered by the end of March.