Friday, August 12, 2011

South Alabama’s aircraft maintenance and repair cluster is a healthy enterprise

Ever since STA Mobile flew its fixed-wing MRO operations into Mobile’s Brookley Field in 1991, Alabama’s southernmost counties have been a regional cluster in the high-tech field. MRO—maintenance, repair and overhaul—is the generic term for aircraft care, including everything from scheduled maintenance to conversions that change a plane’s purpose in life from carrying passengers in comfort to hauling freight in a craft where comfort is last on a list of considerations. STA Mobile, known as ST Mobile Aerospace Engineering in its early years, remains the high-tech cluster’s mother ship, working on an average of 150 to 250 planes a year with a crew of some 1,500 personnel.

Another five companies that perform MRO work also call the region home.

Newest of the group is AeroStar, which opened in June at Mobile’s Brookley Aeroplex and planned to be fully operational before the end of July. The fledgling firm, with close ties to its neighbor Star Aviation, will perform MRO services on hydraulic and pneumatic systems. President Greg Guzman, who opened the firm after working for more than a decade with similar firms in Baldwin County, says the Brookley site should be “logistically sound” only a couple of minutes from STA Mobile.

Goodrich Aerostructures actually predates STA Mobile, opening in 1984 as Rohr Aero Services and taking on the new name in 1997 when BFGoodrich merged with Rohr. The FAA-certified repair station performs MRO services on nacelle component, flight controls and pylon systems at its 160-acre site in Foley.

Pemco, at Dothan in the Southeast corner of the state, also predates STA Mobile. While Pemco has maintained MRO facilities in Dothan, the company moved its corporate headquarters to Tampa, Fla. about a year ago. Pemco CEO Wake Smith told the St. Petersburg Times in May, “We intend for our Tampa facility to be the company’s flagship, and we see Tampa as a better market to attract the sort of executive talent we need to lead the company.” For many years, Pemco had been a cheerleader for Dothan. The company website, which doesn’t reflect the HQ change, still sings the praises of life in the Wiregrass.

Regent Aerospace, a relative newcomer at Brookley Field in Mobile, announced plans to open in 2010, opened in 2011 and abruptly moved operations to its facilities to Indianapolis, Ind. in May, when a required FAA certification was delayed. Neighboring firms, especially STA Mobile, hope it returns promptly.

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