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Flying Colours Corp. the Canadian completions, refurbishment and maintenance specialist has completed the first phase, of a three phase expansion plan, at its Peterborough, Ont. headquarters. The new 20,000 sq.ft extension to an existing hangar was finished in April 2014 and is already housing a number of projects. These include an extensive corporate shuttle program that has seen six Bombardier CRJ 200 regional airliners converted to a 16 business class seat configuration, with a further three currently undergoing work. In addition a number of special mission conversions are in process which reflects a new sector of the aviation business for Flying Colours and will be promoted at this year’s EBACE 2014 where the company is exhibiting on Booth 1646.
The extra space, which took an investment of US$3.5 million, is equipped to handle refurbishment projects, avionics installations and upgrades, heavy maintenance projects and full interior completions, and will also be used to support the continued rise of the Canadian company’s large jet completion and maintenance capabilities. It is currently working on multiple Bombardier Global aircraft and Challenger 870 conversions for clients from Europe, Asia, and North America. Other projects in the pipeline include multiple large cabin completion/refurbishments for both VIP and special mission aircraft, and it is anticipated these projects will have significant maintenance tasks associated with them. The company is also in the final negotiating stage with an Asian client for a multiple aircraft contract for the unique Flying Colours CRJ ExecLiner conversion.
“The completion of this first phase of expansion underpins our international strategy for growth,” explains Sean Gillespie, VP sales and marketing, about the three phase expansion, “We have a robust client base from the USA and Asia, but have noted that we are receiving an increasingly higher percentage of requests from European and Middle Eastern owners/operators. Africa has also come online for us and we were literally running out of space for current and future workloads. The new hangar means we can accommodate a greater variety of aircraft types up to Global Express models.”
In the past twelve months Flying Colours has seen an increase in European orders buoyed up by the gradual increase in the number of pre-owned aircraft sales. It has also seen a great deal of interest in its CRJ ExecLiner conversion from charter and special mission operators. Flying Colours is eyeing Africa’s potential and has already completed two Nigerian-based aircraft this year, a Bombardier Challenger 604 and a Learjet 35 and has three more orders in final discussion phases. “We have had success in the emerging market of China and would like to repeat this with the newly rising continent of Africa. We are renowned for our innovative approach, flexibility and capacity to complete aircraft interiors on time and on budget. For the emerging markets these are all major factors when selecting the right interiors and maintenance company,” continues Gillespie.
Phases two and three are anticipated to complete in 2015. The extra 45,000 sq.ft will incorporate an additional large cabin hangar, increased shop space for maintenance and interior workshops, and a new down draft paint facility. This will provide Flying Colours with the capacity to work on the Airbus ACJ fleet, Boeing Business Jet family and the state-of-the-art CSeries models. When completed a total of 65, 000 square feet will have been added to the facilities. Once the final phase of building is completed at Peterborough, Flying Colours Corp. will explore the options for expansion at their US facility which is already running regularly full workshops.
Visit Flying Colours at EBACE 2014 – Booth 1646
