Summit Aviation celebrated its 50th anniversary by breaking ground last week on a new 78,000-square-foot expansion on its 550-acre site. The new project includes a 37,400-square-foot hangar that can accommodate eight Boeing CH-47 Chinook model aircraft or three Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey aircraft.
Summit Aviation President Robert Fitzpatrick and Greenwich AeroGroup President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Ziegler were joined at the groundbreaking by Delaware Governor Jack Markell, New Castle County Executive Christopher Coons and Secretary Alan Levin of the Delaware Economic Development Office.
Summit’s parent company Greenwich AeroGroup, has invested $12 million in capital since acquiring the facility in 2008, which includes a $1.36 million performance-based grant from the Delaware Strategic Fund to help the company expand the site and add up to 188 new jobs over a three-year time period.
The expansion is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2011 and will include, in addition to the hangar, a 9,200-square-foot paint facility; two cold storage units; and an additional 11,400-square-feet of support and office space. This growth will increase Summit’s service and maintenance capacity and support for government and military aviation, general aviation and corporate segments, company officials said.
Located in Middletown, Delaware, the company offers aircraft and engine maintenance and modification services on Bell, Eurocopter, Sikorsky, Boeing and MD helicopters as well as on Pilatus, Cessna Caravan Beechcraft, King Airs, Beechjets and other light jet model aircraft. The company also provides engine maintenance and support to its customers which include Pratt & Whitney, Turbomeca, and others.
For more information: GreenwichAerogroup.com
