Flying Colours expected to announce expansion

MPP Jeff Leal, left, chats with director, completion sales and management Eric Gillespie and Provincial infrastructure minister Bob Chiarelli, who was in Peterborough checking up on the province's $7-million investment at the Peterborough Airport Thursday, Apr. 21, 2011 at the Flying Colours Corp. building. Flying Colours is making an announcement Wednesday morning on an expected expansion.

Flying Colours is soaring with the Peterborough-based aviation service company planning to expand its facilities and add jobs.

Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal plans to make a funding announcement at Flying Colours at the Peterborough Airport at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. A Flying Colours representative couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

The company has given several indications of its plans, recently announcing a new agreement for servicing and modifications for turboprop aircraft and a partnership that will lead to Flying Colours establishing a base in Asia to support its growing customer base in that region for aircraft servicing and refurbishments.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Dalton McGuinty toured the Flying Colours facility in October when they announced the completion of the $28.6-million upgrade of the city's airport through a joint federal-provincial-municipal project.

After that announcement in October, Flying Colours president John Gillespie told The Examiner the company was in negotiations with the city for another site at the airport for a 45,000-square-foot facility to handle larger Boeing and Airbus aircraft for its maintenance and refurbishing business.

"We'll be adding jobs…. Within five years it will double our workforce to about 350," Gillespie said.

In March 2010, Gillespie said the company's plans to build a new $12-million facility and add 175 jobs to its 200-person workforce hinged on the $28.6-million upgrade of the airport, which included a 2,000-metre runway extension.

The company opened a new 24,000-square-foot hangar and office building in 2008 to expand to 100,000 square feet of floor space at the airport. It had plans to build another 60,000-square-foot hangar.

Flying Colours specializes in converting large regional commercial jets into 14- to 16-seat corporate planes with custom details. It builds specially designed cabinets, upholsters seats and makes other interior features as well as upgrading capabilities of aircraft.

Flying Colours has facilities in Peterborough and Chesterfield, Mo.

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