Story ID: NBAA427
West Star Aviation Outlines Expansion Plans
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Seeing increasingly steady work, the Illinois-based MRO has two major expansion projects in play.
Word Count: 507
Aviation services provider West Star Aviation has started construction on a new 48,380-sq-ft paint facility at its location at Tennessee’s Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport/Lovell Field (CHA). Large enough to accommodate aircraft up to an Embraer Lineage 1000, the facility will also feature a strip and preparation area. It is expected to be completed in September 2018.

“We are pleased to break ground on this project as it will allow us to begin offering our world-class paint services to our CHA customers,” noted Rodger Renaud, company president and COO. “Our expansion efforts in Chattanooga truly help us continue to make this facility a one-stop maintenance shop for West Star customers in the area.” Plans call for the construction of an additional 90,600-sq-ft maintenance hangar with offices and shop space at the facility, which recently altered its second shift work hours to 2 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Monday-Thursday to better meet demand.

At its flagship MRO at St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) in East Alton, Illinois, West Star (Booth N3521) is also planning an expansion later this year, as it breaks ground on the new 64,200-sq-ft “Hangar 66” project, which will be able store the latest big business jets. When completed in the third quarter of 2018, the addition will bring the location to more than 387,000 sq ft of office, shop and hangar space spread throughout 10 buildings, along with 200,000 sq ft of ramp.

“Our need for expanding stems from our growing customer list,” explained West Star CEO Robert Rasberry. “We want to make sure we are ahead of the game, and have the space to accommodate our organization’s rapid growth. We have a steady work flow, so building a new facility will help us manage the volume.”

That facility was also recently named an authorized service center for the Embraer Legacy series, encompassing the Models 450, 500, 600 and 650, as well as the Lineage 1000 and 1000E bizliners.

The approvals expand on the Brazilian airframer’s relationship with the company, which was previously granted authorization to work on Embraer Phenom 100 and 300 light jets. As such, the location can now support cabin interiors, paint and avionics activities, along with scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, on the full Embraer Executive Jets product line.

“We are excited to offer our customers all-inclusive service on the full line of Embraer Legacy and Lineage aircraft at our ALN facility,” said Rasberry. “We welcome the new authorizations and will continue to expand our capabilities scope on Embraer aircraft.”

The company also just bolstered its sales organization with the addition of two new regional sales managers. Scott McDonald, with 26 years of industry experience, most recently as managing partner with Aviation Consulting Partners, was named as regional sales manager for the East South Central region, consisting of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and western Tennessee. James Woodliff, who brings more than three decades of experience, most recently as an aircraft maintenance supervisor at Richardson Aviation, is the company’s new regional sales manager for Texas and Oklahoma.