West Star Aviation Commits to 3-5 Year Facility Expansion Plans at Multiple Locations

West Star Aviation announces plans for major facility expansion at its East Alton, IL (ALN); Grand Junction, CO (GJT); and Chattanooga, TN (CHA) locations in order to keep pace with customer demand.

Plans for the East Alton, IL (ALN), facility include a new 40,000-square-foot general-use hangar and an additional 48,000 square feet of dedicated paint shop and hangar that, when combined with existing paint facilities, will significantly increase paint capacity at the location. These additions will bring the ALN operational footprint to over 400,000 square feet of office, hangar and shop space, with over 200,000 square feet of ramp space.

Additionally, the Grand Junction, CO, facility is planning a new 40,000-square-foot hangar with an additional 35,000 square feet of shop and office. The shop space will include a larger interior shop, a complete composite shop, and tool room. The new facility will be focused on the expansion of large aircraft capability and is slated to be complete in 2023. The expansion will increase the GJT location’s operational footprint from 304,000 square feet of office, shop and hangar space to approximately 379,000 square feet.

West Star’s Chattanooga facility has a new hangar planned that will consist of 40,000 square feet of active-hangar space and an additional 17,000 square feet of shop and support space. The expansion plans at CHA also include the lease of an existing 20,000-square-foot hangar on the field that will be leased from the airport. The planned expansion at the CHA location will increase the operational footprint from 179,828 square feet to approximately 266,000 square feet.

“West Star has been one of the fastest growing business MROs for past 20 years. This expansion plan is our most aggressive investment in our future to date,” says Jim Rankin, West Star Aviation CEO. “We are committed to implementing sustainable growth that benefits both our customers and our employees. I’m very proud of West Star’s 1,500 employees who have continued to provide our unique, industry-leading experience to our customers even during these recent dynamic times. These expansion projects will ensure West Star Aviation will be well-positioned to meet customer needs for the next five years and beyond.” 

For more information, visit www.weststaraviation.com or call 800-922-2421.