Story ID: 646
Gulfstream To Expand PBI Service Center
By: James Wynbrandt
Caption: NBAA announcement is latest in a spate of service center expansions and the recent opening of a sales and design center in New York City
Word Count: 338
In the wake of opening a New York City sales and design center last week, Gulfstream Aerospace said on Monday at NBAA-BACE 2018 that it will construct a new, enlarged service center at its Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) location in Florida, the latest in a spate of recently announced service site expansions. Its planned 115,000-sq-ft PBI facility will include offices, back shops, and an approximately 75,000-sq-ft hangar located adjacent to a planned FBO operated by sister company Jet Aviation.

The two companies will invest more than $50 million in the project, and the combined facilities will cover more than 168,000 sq ft. Groundbreaking is scheduled for later this year, with the opening expected by the first quarter of 2020. The expansion will replace the smaller facility Gulfstream now operates at PBI and create some 50 jobs, doubling Gulfstream’s workforce at the location.

Gulfstream has recently announced a 50,000-sq-ft expansion of its Van Nuys, California maintenance facility, co-branded with Jet Aviation, set to open in early next year. Meanwhile, its Appleton, Wisconsin completion and service facility is in the midst of a 200,000-sq-ft upgrade scheduled to come online in the second quarter of 2019. Another 200,000 sq ft of service space is being added to Gulfstream’s Savannah, Georgia headquarters, allowing the site to service 100 airplanes at a time, and bringing the company’s total footprint at the site to almost one million square feet. 

Gulfstream is also building a 200,000-sq-ft facility at Farnborough Airport in the UK, capable of servicing 20 aircraft at a time, to support European, Middle Eastern, and African customers.

The new New York City office in Manhattan features digital tools, including a 20-foot “power wall” that can display cabin layout and other configuration options. In addition to regional clients, the center “can handle customers from around the world who happen to be in New York,” where they can be met by their local representative to help with the interior design process, said Gulfstream senior v-p of worldwide sales Scott Neal.