Mayor, AAS president sign contract to construct $12 million facility

With the signing of contracts, the city of Enterprise and Alabama Aircraft Support took the final step in cementing the construction of a 60,000 square-foot hangar facility that will bring 200 new jobs to Enterprise.

Enterprise Mayor Kenneth Boswell and Alabama Aircraft Support President Ronnie Kearns sat together at a Dec. 18 press conference where they signed a contract, making it official.

Construction on the $12 million project is scheduled to begin next month at the Enterprise Municipal Airport.

Once complete, the new facility is expected to bring in an estimated annual $18 million impact in Coffee County.

The headquarters for the company, which focuses mainly on helicopter and fixed-wing maintenance, refurbishment and avionics engineering, currently has administrative offices located at the Enterprise Business Incubator Building.

Jonathan Tullos, executive director for the Wiregrass Economic Development Corporation, said the WEDC was proud to play a supporting role in the process.

"I'd like to thank Mayor Boswell and the city council for supporting this project and for particularly being so forward thinking and for the business friendly climate that they've set for our city," Tullos said.

The Enterprise City Council set into motion the final stages of negotiations for the project at a Nov. 19 meeting when they approved a motion to invest $3.5 million in the form of a loan to company to cover a portion of the construction costs.

With the signing of the contract, Boswell welcomed Alabama Aircraft Support as the city's newest corporate citizen.

The project, he said, is something the city and Kearns have been working on for what, at times, felt like a lifetime.

"It's a wonderful day," he said. "This is one of the pieces of the puzzle ... that we wanted to see for our city for quite some time."

The timing of the project couldn't be better with sequestration causing a reduction in flight hours at Fort Rucker which, in turn, has resulted in a lesser need for as many aircraft mechanics.

Boswell said the city works to exploit the strengths within the community to attract new industry.

Enterprise's plentiful workforce with experience in aviation maintenance played a big role, Kearns said, in why he chose to locate in Enterprise.

"Not only does it help us put people to work, but gosh, what a great time for us to be able to do this especially with the sequester and the pressure that's on our military at this particular point in time," Boswell said. "(The project allows the city) to be able to make sure that those people have a place to go and be able to continue to raise their family in a quality community that would not only provide for them, but provide for others as they spend their tax dollars within our city limits."

Kearns thanked several state and local agencies including the Governor's office, Alabama Department of Commerce, Alabama Development of Economic and Community Affairs, Alabama Department of Transportation, Coffee County and the city of Enterprise.

"The commitment to our success (in Enterprise) started from day one with Mr. Boswell," Kearns said.

Kearns said before choosing Enterprise for the site of the new hangar, he visited every airport within a 150-mile radius looking for a suitable facility.

A phone call brought Boswell and Kearns together for a meeting where Kearns said Boswell spent hours escorting him to every vacant building in the city.

The company settled in a 30,000 square-foot temporary space on Highway 84, which they have since outgrown.

Kearns said the company would reciprocate that commitment to success to both the city of Enterprise and the customers they serve, which includes the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Department of Homeland Security and Department of State, among others.

Alabama Aircraft Support currently has a $120 million contract with the Department of State, their biggest customer.

The jobs that will be located at the new facility include administrative support staff, as well as positions for aircraft and power plant licensees, mechanics and avionics engineers.

Kearns said the close proximity to Fort Rucker, Enterprise State Community College and the Alabama Aviation and Technical College in Ozark provides a steady educated and experienced workforce for the company.

"The most important thing (about locating in Enterprise) is the labor pool that we have available here," Kearns said, adding that the location is also beneficial by being within a short distance of many of the company's customers.

"It doesn't hurt to be 10.3 miles from the largest helicopter training facility on the planet," Kearns said. "We've also got Whiting Field about 60 miles south of here."

According to construction engineer Barry Mott, of Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon, Inc., the estimated completion date for the new hangar is scheduled for October 2014.