Story ID: 
West Star Aviation GJT Boosts Paint Capacity
By: David A. Lombardo
Caption: The company's new paint facility is intended to provide services for the larger, longer-range aircraft customers are using.
Word Count: 179
West Star Aviation's base in Grand Junction, Colo., is holding an open house this Friday to showcase its new 45,000-sq-ft, two-bay paint facility. Dave Krogman, general manager, told AIN, “Several things went into the decision to add a second, larger facility. We have had far more demand than capacity, but equally important the industry is moving toward larger aircraft and global travel. We always want to move forward with our customers. They’re moving into larger aircraft and they expect us to be able to take care of their maintenance requirements, including paint.”

While the new facility is already heavily booked, Krogman said there are still some openings for this year. The previous three-bay facility accommodates aircraft the size of a Falcon 900 and turns out 88 aircraft a year. The new facility can accommodate aircraft as large as the G650 and Global 7000. It will raise the MRO's paint throughput by 32 aircraft annually. In the past six months, the Grand Junction facility has added 30 employees, including 23 dedicated to the paint facility, bringing the total paint-related positions to 63.